IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i11p8790-d1159144.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Post-Harvest Eucalyptus Residue Removal Reduces Soil Aggregation and Biological Activities in Central-West Brazil

Author

Listed:
  • Karla Nascimento Sena

    (Department of Plant Health, Rural Engineering, and Soils, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Ilha Solteira 15385-000, SP, Brazil
    School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, TX 78539, USA)

  • Thaís Soto Boni

    (Department of Plant Health, Rural Engineering, and Soils, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Ilha Solteira 15385-000, SP, Brazil
    School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, TX 78539, USA)

  • Kátia Luciene Maltoni

    (Department of Plant Health, Rural Engineering, and Soils, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Ilha Solteira 15385-000, SP, Brazil)

  • Ana Maria Rodrigues Cassiolato

    (Department of Plant Health, Rural Engineering, and Soils, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Ilha Solteira 15385-000, SP, Brazil)

  • Engil Isadora Pujol Pereira

    (School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, TX 78539, USA)

Abstract

Tree residue removal from Eucalyptus plantations after timber harvest can reduce soil functioning by reducing the organic matter input. To assess the effects of residue management systems (RMS) on soil aggregation, carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) content, and biological activities, a field trial was conducted in a commercial Eucalyptus plantation (loamy sand soil) in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. The study assessed three RMS: cut-to-length (CTL), tree-length (TL), and bare litter (BL), respectively. After 21 months, undisturbed soil samples were collected and physically isolated into three aggregate-size fractions: large macroaggregates (LM), medium macroaggregates (SM), and microaggregates (MI). Results showed that these soils are mostly composed of LM (54%), and that removing harvest residues from the growing site included total organic carbon (TOC) by 28%, microbial biomass-C by 20%, fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis by 17%, and β-glucosidase activity by 26%, when compared to CTL. TL outperformed CTL for the proportion of LM and LM-associated TOC. Across fractions, a higher microbial quotient was observed in SM and MI fractions, suggesting that the TOC has higher stability inside the LM. This study suggests that leaving harvest residues on the soil should be recommended for Eucalyptus plantations, especially in low-fertility sandy soils, as it helps in maintaining the soil structure and biological activities critical for soil health and ecosystem function.

Suggested Citation

  • Karla Nascimento Sena & Thaís Soto Boni & Kátia Luciene Maltoni & Ana Maria Rodrigues Cassiolato & Engil Isadora Pujol Pereira, 2023. "Post-Harvest Eucalyptus Residue Removal Reduces Soil Aggregation and Biological Activities in Central-West Brazil," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-13, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:11:p:8790-:d:1159144
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/11/8790/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/11/8790/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zuzana Feketeová & Andrej Hrabovský & Ivan Šimkovic, 2021. "Microbial Features Indicating the Recovery of Soil Ecosystem Strongly Affected by Mining and Ore Processing," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-16, March.
    2. Nicolodi, Margarete & Gianello, Clesio, 2014. "Understanding Soil as an Open System and Fertility as an Emergent Property of the Soil System," Sustainable Agriculture Research, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 4(1).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mohammad Ghorbani & Elnaz Amirahmadi & Petr Konvalina & Jan Moudrý & Marek Kopecký & Trong Nghia Hoang, 2023. "Carbon Pool Dynamic and Soil Microbial Respiration Affected by Land Use Alteration: A Case Study in Humid Subtropical Area," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-13, February.
    2. Katarzyna Wolny-Koładka & Renata Jarosz & Michał Juda & Monika Mierzwa-Hersztek, 2022. "Distinct Changes in Abundance of Culturable Microbial Community and Respiration Activities in Response to Mineral–Organic Mixture Application in Contaminated Soil," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-16, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:11:p:8790-:d:1159144. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.