Microbial biomass and enzyme activity of a cerrado oxisol under agroecological production system

Resumo

Aiming to evaluate the effects of soil management and cover crops on microbial indicators of soil quality, an experiment was carried out under field conditions in which common bean and corn were cropped under no-tillage (NT) and conventional tillage (CT) after sunnhemp, velvet bean, pigeon pea, jack bean, sorghum and fallow (weeds). The basal soil respiration (BSR), C and N of the microbial biomass (C mic and N mic ), metabolic quotient (qCO 2 ), total enzymatic activity (TEA), β-glycosidase (β-GA) activ- ity and acid phosphatase activity (APA) were evaluated in samples collected in 0-0.10 m depth. C mic , qCO 2 , TEA, β-GA and APA were more sensitive in determining the effects caused by tillage and cover crops. Although the cover crops had not provided a remarkably influence on the studied indicators, in general, the highest values of C mic , N mic , BSR, TEA, β-GA and APA and the lowest values of qCO 2 were observed under NT compared to CT. C mic and TEA values were 35% and 13% higher under NT when compared to CT, respectively. In addition, NT showed values closer to those found under “Cerrado” area for the studied parameters, indicating a greater sustainability under this soil management system compared to CT management. Key words: green manure, cover crops, soil quality, sustainability.

Descrição

Palavras-chave

Green manure, Soil quality, Cover crops, Sustainability, Adubos verdes, Qualidade do solo, Culturas de cobertura, Sustentabilidade

Citação

FERREIRA, Enderson Petrônio de Brito; WENDLAND, Adriane; DIDONET, Agostinho Dirceu. Microbial biomass and enzyme activity of a cerrado oxisol under agroecological production system. Bragantia, Campinas, v. 70, n. 4, p. 1-9, 2011.