Variação de atributos e dinâmica de carbono e nitrogênio em Organossolos em função de uso e manejo agrícola no Rio de Janeiro.

Abstract

The Histosols are characterized by high organic content, distinguishing this class from others in the Brazilian System of Soil Clasification. Because of this characteristic they are more fragile in face of agricultural use and management than mineral soils. The agricultural drainage is the most important practice that changes soil properties and it is the cause of subsidence, which impacts on other attributes. On the other hand, Histosols are an important natural reservoir of carbon in the soil. However, there are few studies on the dynamics of carbon and nitrogen and potential contribution of greenhouse gases as a result of agricultural usage. The study aims to identify changes in edaphic attributes and dynamics of carbon and nitrogen of Histosols in a floodplain environment in State of Rio de Janeiro, according to types of land use and agricultural management. Three areas with different managements were selected. Two areas are located in Macae municipality, under pasture and annual crop rotation, and the third in Santa Cruz, in Rio de Janeiro city, cultivated with cassava (Manihot esculenta). They were evaluated: chemical and physical attributes, including aggregate stability and specific attributes of Histosols; content soil organic matter (SOM), carbon in the fractions - humin (HUM-C), humic acid (HAF-C) and fulvic acid (C-FAF); stocks of C and N; and flux of gases CO2 and N2O from soil to atmosphere. In general, the area cultivated with cassava had the highest values for the exchangeable cations at all depths; in the first sampling the H value varied from 32.1 to 33.2 cmolc kg-1, and Ca from 20.4 to 15.7 cmolc kg-1. In the second sampling K and P (5.16 to 4.36 cmol c kg-1, and 4 mg kg-1, respectively) were highest in the cassava crop area. The levels of (SOM) were highest in the pasture for the two sampling periods, with values ranging from 306.3 to 249.0 g kg-1 (WB method) and 297.8 to 278,5 g kg-1 (oven method) for the first sampling, and from 303.2 to 153.9 g kg-1 (WB) and 322.9 to 176.1 g kg-1 (oven) in the second period, indicating that this usage is less aggressive to the soil. The physical properties of Histosols may be used to indicate degree of subsidence. Thus, the high values of particle density and bulk density (1.9 and 0.8 Mg m-3); the total volume of pores that ranged from 54 to 60% with the lowest values in the two samplings; and minimum residue and mineral material highest than other usages (0.49 to 0.44 cm and 85.1 cm-1 to 80.7%, respectively) in the cassava area point to the high subsidence ot these soil. As for SOM chemical fractionation, the C_HUM indicated that this fraction had highest expression in all areas. In the second sampling the cassava area showed the lowest values of C-HUM (79.05 to 76.27 g kg-1), followed by C_FAH (44.56 to 40.05 g kg-1) and C_FAF (20.37 to 14.36 g kg-1). The stocks of C and N were highest in the pasture area, indicating better preservation of SOM, with values from 72.93 to 117.12 mg kg-1 for C and from 8.35 to 2,67 mg kg-1 for N. The values of CO2-C flux were within the range of variation proposed by the IPCC, where the highest emission value corresponded to 0.09 Mg CO2 ha-1 day-1 in the pasture area. The values of N2O-N flux were lower than the emission rate proposed by the IPCC, with the highest value around 270 g N2O-N m-2 day-1 in the area with beans. In general, the area with pasture management stood up as management that caused the least damage to the Histosols properties, among the land use evaluated.