Linking Soil Water Changes to Soil Physical Quality in Sugarcane Expansion Areas in Brazil
Brazil is the world’s largest sugarcane producer with projections for expanding the current area by 30% in the coming years, mainly in areas previously occupied by pastures. We assess soil water changes induced by land-use change (LUC) for sugarcane expansion in the central-south region of Brazil. F...
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doaj-bfc58d80e81d41d9a3f40816b1812f042020-11-25T04:03:50ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412020-11-01123156315610.3390/w12113156Linking Soil Water Changes to Soil Physical Quality in Sugarcane Expansion Areas in BrazilFelipe Bonini da Luz0Martha Lustosa Carvalho1Daniel Aquino de Borba2Bruna Emanuele Schiebelbein3Renato Paiva de Lima4Maurício Roberto Cherubin5“Luiz de Queiroz” College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba SP 13418-900, Brazil“Luiz de Queiroz” College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba SP 13418-900, Brazil“Luiz de Queiroz” College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba SP 13418-900, Brazil“Luiz de Queiroz” College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba SP 13418-900, BrazilDepartment of Agricultural Engineering, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Recife PE 52171-900, Brazil“Luiz de Queiroz” College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba SP 13418-900, BrazilBrazil is the world’s largest sugarcane producer with projections for expanding the current area by 30% in the coming years, mainly in areas previously occupied by pastures. We assess soil water changes induced by land-use change (LUC) for sugarcane expansion in the central-south region of Brazil. For that purpose, soil samples were collected in a typical LUC sequence (native vegetation–pasture–sugarcane) in two contrasting soil textures (i.e., sandy and clayey). Soil hydro-physical properties such as pores size distribution, bulk density, soil water content, water tension, and drainage time at field capacity, plant-available water, and S-index were analyzed. Our data showed that long-term LUC from native vegetation to extensive pasture induced severe degradation in soil physical quality and soil water dynamics. However, conventional tillage used during conversion from pasture to sugarcane did not cause additional degradation on soil structure and soil water dynamics. Over time, sugarcane cultivation slightly impaired soil water and physical conditions, but only in the 10–20 cm layer in both soils. Therefore, we highlight that sustainable management practices to enhance soil physical quality and water dynamics in sugarcane fields are needed to prevent limiting conditions to plant growth and contribute to delivering other ecosystem services.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/11/3156land-use changesoil water retention curvesoil qualitysoil compactionbioenergy production |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Felipe Bonini da Luz Martha Lustosa Carvalho Daniel Aquino de Borba Bruna Emanuele Schiebelbein Renato Paiva de Lima Maurício Roberto Cherubin |
spellingShingle |
Felipe Bonini da Luz Martha Lustosa Carvalho Daniel Aquino de Borba Bruna Emanuele Schiebelbein Renato Paiva de Lima Maurício Roberto Cherubin Linking Soil Water Changes to Soil Physical Quality in Sugarcane Expansion Areas in Brazil Water land-use change soil water retention curve soil quality soil compaction bioenergy production |
author_facet |
Felipe Bonini da Luz Martha Lustosa Carvalho Daniel Aquino de Borba Bruna Emanuele Schiebelbein Renato Paiva de Lima Maurício Roberto Cherubin |
author_sort |
Felipe Bonini da Luz |
title |
Linking Soil Water Changes to Soil Physical Quality in Sugarcane Expansion Areas in Brazil |
title_short |
Linking Soil Water Changes to Soil Physical Quality in Sugarcane Expansion Areas in Brazil |
title_full |
Linking Soil Water Changes to Soil Physical Quality in Sugarcane Expansion Areas in Brazil |
title_fullStr |
Linking Soil Water Changes to Soil Physical Quality in Sugarcane Expansion Areas in Brazil |
title_full_unstemmed |
Linking Soil Water Changes to Soil Physical Quality in Sugarcane Expansion Areas in Brazil |
title_sort |
linking soil water changes to soil physical quality in sugarcane expansion areas in brazil |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Water |
issn |
2073-4441 |
publishDate |
2020-11-01 |
description |
Brazil is the world’s largest sugarcane producer with projections for expanding the current area by 30% in the coming years, mainly in areas previously occupied by pastures. We assess soil water changes induced by land-use change (LUC) for sugarcane expansion in the central-south region of Brazil. For that purpose, soil samples were collected in a typical LUC sequence (native vegetation–pasture–sugarcane) in two contrasting soil textures (i.e., sandy and clayey). Soil hydro-physical properties such as pores size distribution, bulk density, soil water content, water tension, and drainage time at field capacity, plant-available water, and S-index were analyzed. Our data showed that long-term LUC from native vegetation to extensive pasture induced severe degradation in soil physical quality and soil water dynamics. However, conventional tillage used during conversion from pasture to sugarcane did not cause additional degradation on soil structure and soil water dynamics. Over time, sugarcane cultivation slightly impaired soil water and physical conditions, but only in the 10–20 cm layer in both soils. Therefore, we highlight that sustainable management practices to enhance soil physical quality and water dynamics in sugarcane fields are needed to prevent limiting conditions to plant growth and contribute to delivering other ecosystem services. |
topic |
land-use change soil water retention curve soil quality soil compaction bioenergy production |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/11/3156 |
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