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Short‐term Impacts on Soil‐quality Assessment in Alternative Land Uses of Traditional Paddy Fields in Southern Brazil
Author(s) -
Martins Amanda Posselt,
Denardin Luiz Gustavo de Oliveira,
Borin José Bernardo Moraes,
Carlos Filipe Selau,
Barros Thiago,
Ozório Dânia Vieira Branco,
Carmona Felipe de Campos,
Anghii Ibanor,
Camargo Flávio Anastácio de Oliveira,
Carvalho Paulo César de Faccio
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
land degradation and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.403
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1099-145X
pISSN - 1085-3278
DOI - 10.1002/ldr.2640
Subject(s) - environmental science , soil quality , soil carbon , agroforestry , monocropping , soil retrogression and degradation , agriculture , land use , grazing , soil organic matter , paddy field , agronomy , geography , soil water , ecology , cropping , soil science , archaeology , biology
No‐till, crop diversity and integrated crop–livestock systems are proposed managements to increase agriculture sustainability in the rice paddies of the Southern Brazilian lowlands and avoid degradation in the region. Because soil is considered a key medium in which management modifications can be measured, our study aimed to evaluate soil‐quality impacts by measuring carbon and nitrogen stocks and microbial activity 18 months after the adoption of different paddy‐farming systems in an Albaqualf soil of Southern Brazil. The treatments consisted of five paddy‐farming systems with a range of vegetation diversity (both in time and in space) and grazing seasons. In addition, a reference area (i.e. native forest) was sampled for comparison. We verified that soil quality was affected over the short term through the adoption of no‐till, crop diversity and integrated grazing practices. However, during the study period, only the system with low anthropic and/or mechanical intervention and high plant diversity differed from the traditional paddy land‐use approach in Brazil in terms of soil‐quality effects. This system achieved a carbon management index of 49 (approximately half that of the native forest) and had the highest enzymatic activity (similar to native forest). These outcomes were primarily due to an increase in the particulate organic matter fraction of the soil carbon stock (4·6 Mg ha −1 more than in rice monocropping). To evaluate changes in soil quality over the long term, additional studies are required. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.