The Effect of Soil use and Management on the Chemical Properties of an Ultisol

The use of vegetation cover to protect the soil and increase the soil organic matter content available to plants is a good practice to minimize loss of soil quality. The effect of soil management practices on the objective of this study was to evaluate the soil quality under different types of management. A completely randomised experimental design was used with three treatments as; area of natural vegetation; Area of perennial crop cultivation and degraded pasture area; with five replications. Chemical soil properties evaluated were: Phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and calcium contents by extraction with ion exchanger resin. The content of organic matter was determined by the colorimetric method and the pH, in calcium chloride, as well as the acidity potential of the pH 7.0. The sums of bases, cation exchange capacity and base saturation were calculated. Under the treatment of natural vegetation the soil depths: 0.00-0.10; 0.10-0.20 and 0.20-0.40m. Data were analyzed statistically using the Tukey test at 5% for comparison of means. In the treatment, there was an accumulation of exchangeable bases, organic matter and phosphorus, as well as reducing potential acidity. The results show that soil use in spite of its management interferes with the chemical quality of the soil.