boletimsbcs_v44_n2 by Sociedade Brasileira de Ciência do Solo

SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018 |

SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018

welcome Dear Colleagues When the Portuguese navigators arrived in Brazil in 1500, they praised the potential of the Brazilian lands by writing to the King of Portugal: “if one wants to take advantage of it, everything will grow here”. More than 500 years later, Brazil emerges as one of the largest agricultural powers in the world. In the diverse soils of this immense territory (8,515,759,090 km2), which comprises seven important biomes, Brazil produced 238 million tons of grain last year. Agriculture accounts for almost 23% of the country’s gross domestic product, which is among the world’s largest producers of coffee, soybean, corn, as well as beef and poultry. Besides grains and oilseeds, it is also a major producer of milk, eggs, wood, cellulose, biofuels, sugar, fruit and vegetables. In addition to modern and specialized agriculture, Brazil also has diversified family agriculture, responsible for most of the food that Brazilians eat. The success of Brazilian agriculture represents a paradigm shift when it comes to thinking about all the negative statements on “tropical soils” reported in numerous scientific publications and technical dissemination texts in the world. The international performance of Brazilian agribusiness is the result of a long process of technological innovation wherein the Soil Science has made major contributions. Knowledge about Brazilian soils has evolved significantly since the 1970s when a marked expansion of soil surveys began in the country. Soils formerly considered infertile or unfit for agricultural use are today, the basis of the Brazilian agribusiness. Areas regarded as incapable of sustaining agriculture, by a combination of soil and relief and/or climate limitations, are used in modern production

systems. In the country, the initiatives of family farming, agroecology, integrated production systems and irrigated agriculture are also examples of overcoming limitations to soil use. At all stages of this extraordinary development, Brazil was able to count on the active participation of the Brazilian Soil Science Society (SBCS, in Portuguese acronym) and all researchers working in all areas of this science. The 21st World Congress of Soil Science (21WCSS), being held for the first time in Latin America, coincides with the 70th anniversary of SBCS. For us, Brazilian soil scientists, it is a great honor to host and welcome colleagues from all over the world. This will be a great opportunity to meet people, exchange experiences, strengthen relationships, and establish partnerships for science and a more sustainable world. The SBCS Bulletin is a four-monthly publication distributed to our members for the dissemination of news and current issues of Soil Science. For the 21WCSS, we prepared this special edition that highlights our Soils, Biomes, and Soil Science contributions to agriculture in Brazil. In addition to SBCS members, all 21 WCSS participants will receive a copy to learn more about what the Brazilian soil scientists have done around the country. We hope you enjoy this issue, the 21WCSS, and the Brazilian hosting. Welcome to Brazil! Welcome to the 21st World Congress of Soil Science!

SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018 |

4 7 BOARD of DIRECTORS (COUNCIL) 2017-2019 Executive Committee President

8 16

Fatima Maria de Souza Moreira (UFLA)

Adjunct Secretary

Raphael Fernandes (UFV)

COUNSELORS Past-Presidents

Flávio A. Camargo (UFRGS) Gonçalo Signorelli de Farias Directors of the specialized divisions DIVISION I – SOIL IN SPACE AND TIME

Lucia Helena Cunha dos Anjos (UFRRJ) DIVISION 3 – SOIL USE AND MANAGEMENT

Ildegardis Bertol (UDESC)

DIVISION 4 – SOILS, ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY

Cristine Carole Muggler (UFV)

Directors of the SBCS Branches Western Amazonia Regional Branch ( AM, RR)

Hedinaldo Narciso de Lima (UFAM)

37 40

Soil Biodiversity

The occupation of the Brazilian Cerrado

Reflections on soil science’s contribution to family farming

51 54

Agroecology and Soils

Integrated crop-livestock systems as an alternative for sustainable intensification on land use in Brazil

Soil Science’s contribution to the Brazilian forestry

Education and Gender Aspects in Soil Science - Graduate Studies

Challenges and difficulties of soil education in Brazil

Land reclamation in Brazil: an old history, however recent!

New interfaces of Soil Science in Brazil and in the world - the great interface of the terrestrial spheres

Eastern Amazonia Regional Branch (MA, TO, PA, AP)

Antonio Rodrigues Fernandes (UFRA)

Northeast Regional Branch (BA, SE, AL, PB, PE, CE, RN, PI)

Júlio César Azevedo Nóbrega (UFRB) West Regional Branch (MT, MS, GO, DF)

Robélio Leandro Marchão (Embrapa Cerrados) East Regional Branch (MG, ES, RJ)

Andre Garçoni (Incaper) São Paulo State Branch (SP)

Raphael Otto (Esalq/USP) Parana State Branch

Oromar João Bertol (Emater -PR) South Regional Branch (RS, SC)

Maurício Vicente Alves (Unoesc – SC) Secretary

Cíntia Fontes Denise Machado Denise Cardoso www.sbcs.org.br https://www.facebook.com/sbcs.solos/

SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018

Brazilian Biomes

The importance of studies on soil and climate change for Brazil

DIVISION 2 – SOIL PROPERTIES AND PROCESS

Dalvan José Reinert (UFSM)

Brazilian Soil

Treasurer

Igor Assis (UFV)

A BRAZILIAN SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL DEDICATED EXCLUSIVELY TO SOIL SCIENCE

The contributions of the Brazilian Soil Science

General Secretary

Reinaldo Bertolla Cantarutti (UFV)

THE CREATION OF SBCS

The Soil Science and environmental and socioeconomical sustainability of the Amazon

The soil science in the evolution of NoTill System in Brazil

he Brazilian Soil Science Society (SBCS in its portuguese acronym) was established in 1947, aiming to join people and institutions towards the promotion and development of Soil Science in Brazil. It is qualified as a civil, non-profit scientific organization. Its headquarters are located at the Soil Science Departament in the Federal University of Viçosa, Minas Gerais State. The main purposes of the Brazilian Soil Science Society are: I. To promote and enhance the gathering and intellectual exchange amongst those who work in research, teaching, divulgation or technical activities related to the knowledge and better utilization of soil and water in Brazil. II. To disseminate the knowledge of scientific methodology and adequate techniques in the exploitation, treatment, and conservation of soil and water. III. To deal with the adequation and uniformization of soils nomenclature and representation as well as the methods of analysis and their quality controls. IV. To ensure and cooperate with the improvement of the Brazilian Soil Classification System and to the detailing of soil surveys in Brazil. V. To stimulate the establishment of soils specialized libraries, museums and reference centers. SBCS is organized in four Divisions and fifteen Commissions. Due to the continental dimensions of Brazil, SBCS has nine Regional/State branches comprising the different parts of the country. Divisions: • Soil in Space and Time; • Soil Properties and Processes; • Soil Use and Management; • Soil, Environment and Society. Publications Since 1977 SBCS publishes the Brazilian Journal of Soil Science, an indexed, peer-reviewed journal, which good impact factor makes it well-recognized within the soil science community. Special editions of textbooks and a biennial series called Topics in Soil Science are also published and have contributed to knowledge advancements and technological innovation in many fields of soil science in tropical/sub-tropical conditions. The SBCS Bulletin is another serial publication. Meetings SBCS regularly promotes several scientific conferences”. Since 1947, the biennial Brazilian Congress of Soil Science has been the most proeminent. Other events are thematic, like the FertBio (Soil Fertility and Biology) , the Brazilian Meeting on Soil and Water Management and Conservation, the Brazilian Symposium on Soil Education, the Brazilian Meeting on Soil Classification and Correlation and the Regional/State Soil Science Meetings. SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018 |

THE CREATION OF

SBCS

ne of the most important facts for Brazilian Soil Science was the creation of the Brazilian Soil Science Society (SBCS) in 1947. The history of the SBCS dates back to the IV Inter-American Conference on Agriculture held in Caracas (1945), which recognized the need for the creation of an Inter-American Soil Science Society, whose consolidation should occur

with the creation of National Soil Science Societies. Based on this recognition and with a considerable number of professionals working in the field of soil science, some participants of the 2nd Pan-American Congress of Mines and Geology (PetrĂłpolis, 1946) advocated the need to group the researches and the researchers of the subject from more specific scientific meetings.

The idea was widely discussed at the 5th Brazilian Congress of Chemistry (Porto Alegre, February 1947), where a new meeting was set up for the creation of the Brazilian Soil Science Society. The preparatory meeting for the creation took place in the Hunting and Fishing Building of Rio de Janeiro (October 6), with a group designated to write the Statutes, consisting of Carlos Del

Meeting of the SBCS founding held at the Agricultural Chemistry Institute in 1947, with the chairman Waldemar Raythe, at the center, flanked by secretaries Felisberto Camargo (left) and Fernando Ramos (right). From behind, from left to right Moacyr Pavageau, Taygoana Fleury de Amorim, Leandro Vetori, Estevan Strauss and Alfredo KĂźpper (the last two on the right were not identified).

SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018

The SBSC fosters the Brazilian Soil Science Congress every two years since 1947. Other biennial events, such as Brazilian Meeting of Soil Management and Conservation, Soil Fertility and Biology Meeting, and the Brazilian Soil Education Symposium are also organized by the SBCS. Lectures, conferences, and presentation of works are promoted in all of them to disseminate acknowledgment. SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018 |

Negro, Thomaz Alberto Coelho Filho, and José Emílio Araújo. The first meeting of the Brazilian Soil Science Society took place at the Agricultural Chemistry Institute (now Embrapa Solos), in Rio de Janeiro, between October 6 and 20, 1947. At the end of this meeting, in the Conference Room, the first Assembly General approved the creation of the SBCS. Dr. Álvaro Barcellos Fagundes was the first President, and the SBCS was headquartered at the Institute of Agricultural Chemistry until 1975. In this year, it was transferred to the Agronomic Institute of Campinas (IAC), and the Executive Secretariat was created. In this period, the Brazilian Journal of Soil Science (1977) and the SBCS Bulletin (1976) were created. In 1997, the Headquarters were moved to the Department of Soil Science of the Federal University of Viçosa (UFV), where it stays until today. The first statute of the SBCS of 1947 provided for the continuation of the Meetings and Specialized Committees and lasted until the most significant change of the statute in 2009, when it was adapted to the structure of the International Union of Soil Science (IUSS). The SBCS defines its main purposes in the Article 2 of its Statute of creation: a) to promote and increase the approximation of its members and the exchange of knowledge among those engaged in research, teaching, dissemination or technical activities for better use of soil and water in Brazil; b) to disseminate knowledge of scientific methods and rational techniques of exploitation, treatment and conservation of soil and water; c) to deal with the adequacy and uniformity of the nomenclature and representation of the soil, as well as the methods of analysis and their 6|

SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018

quality controls; d) collaborate and ensure the improvement of the Brazilian Soil Classification System and the detailing of the soil surveys in Brazil; f) to stimulate the formation of Specialized Libraries, Museums, and Soil Reference Centers. In order to fulfill its mission, SBCS has held numerous specialized events and periodical meetings of members for the exchange and discussion of information as well as the presentation and dissemination of technical and scientific works on Soil Science. Since its creation, SBCS has held 36 national congresses, 23 editions of the Brazilian Meeting on Soil Fertility and Mineral Plant Nutrition, 26 editions of the Soil and Water Management and Conservation Meeting, 6 editions of FertBio (Brazilian Meeting of Soil Fertility and Biology), and reaches the 9th edition of the Brazilian Symposium on Soil Education now in 2018. SBCS has also been responsible for the Meetings of Soil Correlation and Classification, a meeting with pedologists to discuss mainly knowledge on soil genesis, morphology, and classification for use in soil management and conservation and its framing in the Brazilian Soil Classification System. In addition to these periodic scientific meetings, since 1977, SBCS has maintained the Brazilian Journal of Soil Science, currently internationally indexed and with impact factor since

2004. It is the main means of disseminating research carried out in Soil Science in the country. At the same time, it maintains a significant number of specialized libraries and museums in order to promote the dissemination of knowledge related to Soil Science. The Society currently has more than 1000 members, including active, inactive, correspondent, honorary and student members. In its 71 years of activities, integrated and maintained by associates operating in all regions of the country, the SBCS has been responsible for deep changes in the productive sector of Brazilian agriculture, based on the studies and research produced by its members in different national and international institutions. Flávio Anastácio Camargo

Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. E-mail: fcamargo@ufrgs.br

The researcher Álvaro Barcellos Fagundes was the first president of the Sociedade Brasileira de Ciência do Solo (1947-1949).

A brazilian scientific journal dedicated exclusively to Soil Science

uring its 41-year history, the Revista Brasileira de CiĂŞncia do Solo (RBCS) has been consolidated with the purpose of disseminating a quality science and as the unique Brazilian scientific journal dedicated exclusively to Soil Science. The RBCS is among the 34 journals which are presently dedicated exclusively to Soil Science in the Web of Science. Initially, the RBCS mission was to promote the most outstanding scientific researches presented at the Brazilian Soil Science Congresses, but soon the journal became the main vehicle to disseminate the Brazilian Soil Science researches. The quality, reliability, integrity, and consistency of the scientific production were, since the beginning, ensured by the peer-review. Although RBCS evolution has been continuous, it can be assembled in three welldefined cycles: 1977-1996; 1997-2014 and from 2015. The first cycle was marked by the

publication of three issues per year. In the second cycle, the journal had relevant changes: the publication started to be quarterly in order to meet the growing demand of the scientific community; the graphic quality was improved; the manuscripts began to be submitted and processed through an own software; the editorial board was renewed and extended; and the adoption of the English language was encouraged by the RBCS team. In the current cycle, which began in 2015, the RBCS is focused on achieving the standards practiced by the most important worldwide Soil Science journals. To do so, the changes were even more remarkable. Under the management point of view, the more relevant changes were the editorial board reformulation, the redefinition of the manuscript processing flow, and the adoption of the ScholarOne, an internationally known online submission and paper management system. The RBCS also was submitted to technical

reformulations: the English language became mandatory at the manuscript submission and the journal moved to a continuous publication model, which is a global trend. Another advance in the current evolution cycle is the provision of a new website with structure, functionality, and accessibility compatible with the emerging necessities required by the worldwide scientific editorial community. All these efforts aim to broaden the journal coverage, increase its visibility, but preserving, fundamentally, ethics and the quality of scientific dissemination. The authors who entrusted their scientific production to the RBCS, as well as the editorial board feel gratified and proud. This evolution, and especially this moment, also ennoble the Sociedade Brasileira de CiĂŞncia do Solo (Brazilian Soil Science Society), as RBCS supporter. Learn more: www.rbcs.org.br SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018 |

SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018

Brazilian

Soils

he largest humid tropical space of the planet, since the beginning of Brazilian colonization abound descriptions of different soil types, more or less adapted to specific crops, like the famous MassapĂŞ (Chernosols) of the sugarcane, and the good lands for coffee cultivation, the humic Latosols.

Since the 1950s, there has been a great evolution of knowledge about Brazilian soils, with a strong expansion of systematic surveys of soils throughout Brazil, serving until today as the basis and reference in decision making.

Photo: SĂŠrgio Shimizu SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018 |

With the technological evolution, soils previously considered unsuitable for their very low fertility, and not recommended for agricultural use based on handbooks for temperate soils, have become the basis of the Brazilian agribusiness, in continuous expansion. Cerrado (savanna) areas in medium textured soils, for example, presumed to be incapable of sustaining agriculture, are now used in modern production systems. In areas of hilly to mountainous relief, in soils of varied fertility, but without possibilities of mechanization in large extensions, family agriculture developed, using more agroecological systems, or irrigated fruit-growing. Most of the food consumed in Brazil still comes from family farming. Although the vast majority of soils in Brazil have low availability of nutrients, with acidity associated with high levels of aluminum, suitable agronomic and management techniques have made it possible to incorporate large adverse areas for agricultural production in Brazil, making it one of the largest food producers on the planet. In large part, the abundance of water resources, regular rainfall and solar radiation throughout the year, allowed us to develop agricultural production technologies, designed according to the potentialities and limitations of our soils and climate. Today, all Brazilian agribusiness, a global giant, flourishes due to this intensive use of Brazilian soils, with 100% Brazilian techniques. 10 |

SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018

Photo: Bigstock

In this scenario, technologies such as biological nitrogen fixation, no-tillage system, split fertilization, integrated croplivestock-forestry production systems, agroecological practices, deserve special mention. At the same time, there was a growing awareness of the environmental services of soils, their role in protecting biodiversity, in the production and protection of water sources. Thus, it is sought today to reconcile the potential of soils with the need for environmental protection, respecting the carrying capacity of soils.

Photo: Maria Catarina Kasuya

SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018 |

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The agricultural expansion began in Southern states, soon reaching the great central plateaus of the Midwest, where it developed and adapted to the increasingly hot and dry conditions. In parallel, there was rapid progress in soil science in the cerrado, bringing new information about the potential of soils in these regions, as well as adequate management of the different climatic, relief and soil conditions (liming, irrigation, fertilization). In the last 30 years, the advance reached the borders of the Amazonia forest, where agribusiness encountered environmental pressures for the conservation of forest resources, the largest primitive area in the tropics, worldwide. Although it is aimed to develop and improving traditional methods of exploitation and extractivism of forest resources, with market-oriented products, it is necessary to consider solutions for soil recovery and intensification of the agriculture in already deforested areas, as a mean to prevent further advance of deforestation.

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Alluvial soils, known as Fluvic Neosols (Fluvisols) are other relevant soils, with 25,000 km2 or 2,500,000 hectares, of great importance for family agriculture, which produces about 90% of cassava, 70% of beans, 46% of maize, 38% of the coffee, 34% of the rice productions, in these soils. Today, there are more than 4,500.00 family farming establishments in Brazil, representing 85% of total establishments. CYbe

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Como citar este mapa: UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DE VIÇOSA; FUNDAÇÃO CENTRO TECNOLÓGICO DE MINAS GERAIS; UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DE LAVRAS; FUNDAÇÃO ESTADUAL DO MEIO AMBIENTE. Mapa de solos do Estado de Minas Gerais Belo Horizonte: Fundação Estadual do Meio Ambiente, 2010.

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In fact, the soil map of Brazil (legend updated in 2013) at small scale (1: 5,000,000) shows the great geographical expression of two classes tal das unidades mapeáveis of soils: Latosols and Argisols, with very low CEC, which together represent almost 60% of the territory. However, there are about 40% of the national territory that is not in these classes. Nitosols, for example, previously known as Terra Roxa (considered as having good agricultural potential and associated with coffee cultivation, citriculture, and grain production in the southern and southeastern states) represent only 1.14% of the Brazilian territory, but have an area of almost 100,000 km2 or 10,000,000 hectares. LEGENDA

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A myth that soil science in Brazil has overturned is a supposed homogeneity of soils in Brazilian territory. In the light of the classic relationship between soil and formation factors (parent material, relief, climate, organisms and time), it was assumed that the country with a predominance of tropical climate, great tectonic stability, and relative dominance of mature rocks of very ancient origin, Brazilian soils would be uniformly weathered, thick and with minimal reserve of nutrients.

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SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018 |

The great majority of the Brazilian territory was mapped at regional scales of macro-regions, and we still lack surveys at scales adequate for both familiar or intensive agriculture. To this end, knowledge of Brazilian soils should be sought on scales compatible with that recommended by Brazilian legislation for the planning of soil, water and biodiversity resources, that is, on the scale of catchment. The Brazilian soil science has made a crucial contribution to a great break in paradigm, concerning all the classic negative accounts about “tropical soils”, reported in numerous scientific publications and texts of technical diffusion in the world. Many of the myths associated with the productivity of tropical soils were overturned by sustainable, practical results of Brazilian agriculture and livestock production. And there is a long road ahead, aiming at promoting sustainable ways of soil management, in the long term, for the global food security.

Brazilian soils

Lúcia Helena Cunha dos Anjos

Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ) E-mail: lanjos@ufrrj.br

Humberto Gonçalves dos Santos Embrapa Solos

Carlos Ernesto Schaefer

Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV)

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Photo: Centro de Tecnologias Alternativas da Zona da Mata (CTA-ZM) SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018 |

Brazilian Biomes

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Photo: Bigstok SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018 |

Amazonia Comprising the largest tropical basin and humid tropical forest on the planet, Amazonia can be seen as a vast “hydrobiome”, with its infinite network of rivers that discharge 20% of planet’s fresh water to the Atlantic ocean. The weel-drainned lowland forests under hot and humid climates can have trees up to 65 meters high, growing on nutrient-poor soils (Latosols and Ultisols with very low CEC). Not only the Amazon represents over 50% of remaining tropical rainforests, but it’s also the largest hotspots of biodiversity in the world, home of more than 45,000 plant species, as well as some 3,000 bees, 1,800 butterflies, 1,300 freshwater fishes, 1,000 birds, 311 mammals, 305 snakes, 163 amphibians, 89 lizards, 14 tortoises and four crocodile species. Forty-five percent of Brazilian Amazonia is in conservation areas, of which half are national parks and half indigenous reserves. This represents the largest absolute and relative protected areas in the tropics, globally, and the largest carbon reservoir. Not all of Amazonia is forested, and extensive areas of white-sand formations, called Campinaranas or Campinas, form a rich sandy domain associated with black waters, rich in colloidal organic matter. The floristic uniqueness of Campinaranas in Amazonia is now recognized as a separate Biome. One of the great challenges for Brazilian society is to set public policies to tackle the problem of deforestation, linked with widespread logging, unplanned human settlement and agricultural and pasture development. In recent years, we have some good news on this battle against deforestation, but much remains to be done, and education certainly plays a key role in changing the public awareness on this issue, aiming at environmental conservation for the next generations of Amazon people. 18 |

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Photo: Bigstok SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018 |

Photo: Carolina Malala

Caatinga In northeastern Brazil, the climate is much drier and plants are adapted to long dry seasons and scattered rains. There, the Caatingas are thorny, shrubby to forested formations, well adapted to survive in a semiarid landscape, covering 11% of the country. The name “Caatinga” is an indigenous Tupi word meaning “whitish forest” or “whitish vegetation”. Cacti, succulents, deciduous, thorny bush, and a few hardy grasses make up the plant communities, growing on nutrient-rich, usually shallow soils, with a trend of high stoniness. The semiarid climate variety makes the Caatinga home to a very biodiverse fauna, with several endemic species of birds, 148 mammals and 100 amphibians and reptiles. Some degraded areas of Caatinga are affected by desertification, and the scientists believe this phenomenon can be also related to climate change, with intensification of droughts.

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Photo: Nadson Leite de Souza

Photo: Diego Frankley

SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018 |

Pantanal In the midst of Highland Cerrado (Savannas) is located the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest wetland of any kind, a huge tectonic depression between the Bolivian Andes and the High Central Plateaux of Brazil. The lowland of coalesced alluvial plains receives runoff and sediments from upland areas, from the weathered landmass of the Central Plateau and slowly drains the water through the Paraguay River and main tributaries. The Pantanal is bordered by the Chaco depression at the Andes foothills at the west, and with the Cerrado highlands to the east. The climate is hot and seasonal, with a prolonged dry season, so that vast inundations and severe drought alternate. Rare animals inhabit the wetlands of Pantanal, such the Marsh Deer and the Giant River Otter, and any others species are endangered or threatened: the Hyacinth Macaw, the Jaguar, the South American Tapir and the JacarĂŠ (alligator) Caiman. Cattle-ranching, illegal fishing, hunting and smuggling of endangered species are the main threats to the Pantanal biodiversity, but there are many large environmental protected areas that afford a good prospect for conservation.

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Photo: Bigstok SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018 |

Photo: Marcos Gervรกsio

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Atlantic Forest The Atlantic Forest is the pluvial (rainforest) widely distributed along the Atlantic coastal tablelands and inland dissected plateau, ranging from the southern to the northeastern Brazil. It has been the most exploited biome in Brazil since colonial times, from the earliest days of Pau-Brasil extraction in the 16th century, soon followed by sugarcane and later, by coffee plantations, up to now. Most of the forest was cleared and converted into coffee plantations and pastureland, with widespread and countless losses of biodiversity; more recently, rapid industrialization and urban growth led to widespread fragmentation of its degraded remmants, and less than 7% of the Atlantic Forest remains today. Despite this, it is home to an astonishing diverse assemblage of mammalian species (51 of which endemic), 57 rodents, 160 endemic birds, 183 amphibians and 143 reptiles. Many of them are endangered and threatened with extinction. In southern Bahia state, for example, one hectare of forest can host more than 350 species of trees, alone. The Atlantic Forest biome is home to more than 110 million people, concentrated in 3400 cities spread over 17 Brazilian states. All this population depends on water supply which is closely dependent from forest protection and conservation measures. Many important ecosystems occur in the limits of Atlantic Forest, of which the Rupestrian Grasslands (Campos Rupestres) are the most threatened with mining, fire and pasture establishment. Coastal Restingas, Mussunungas (white-sands) and Mangroves are also key environments in the Atlantic Forest realm that deserves close attention for conservations measures. SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018 |

Cerrados The Brazilian savannas, or Cerrados, cover extensive flattened surfaces of the Central Brazilian Plataeu, representing the most central Brazilian biome, covering 24% of the territory. The climate is very seasonal, with a pronounced dry season, and soils are deeply weathered and very nutrient-poor (Latosols/Ferralsols/ Oxisols), with a oligotrophic vegetation adapted to a combination of frequent burning, oligothophy and drought. The trees are not tall, scattered, with thick and twisted stems and very deep roots. The Cerrado hosts a huge biodiversity: a multitude of insects, more than 230 species of orchids and 6,000 woody plants, many of which used by local people in popular medicine and other applications, such as charcoal production. Some of the most characteristic animals from the savanna are the GuarĂĄ wolf, the giant anteater and the armadillo. The historical process of occupation of the region, especially after the 50â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, led to the degradation of over 70% of its natural vegetation and its replacement by pasture and agriculture. However, many protected areas in the Cerrado are now established, despite the increasing pressure by intensive expansion of agriculture frontier in very suitable landforms for agricultural mechanization.

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Photo: Manoel Ricardo de Albuquerque SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018 |

Araucarias Forest Araucaria is the oldest living genus of a tree, a true living fossil, dating back to the Triassic, some 200 MA ago. In Brazil, Araucaria angustifolia forms the largest subtropical and mixed/monodominant forest in the highlands of southern Brazil, and have a transitional character with the surrounding Atlantic Forest at the lowlands, and the highland grasslands. Because it lives long (more than 1000 years in some cases), the Araucaria pine can be found in areas overgrowth by the Atlantic Forest, thus representing relics of former colder climates when it was dominant. Soils under Araucaria are usually acid and organic rich, as many other pine forest worldwide, and overexploitation for wood production took place until recently, when environmental law banned its exploration. In the Araucaria forests, the small tree Ilex paraguariensis the famous â&#x20AC;&#x153;Erva Mateâ&#x20AC;?, harvested by Guarani Indians, whose leaves produce the Mate Tea, which became a global drink of big success. Araucaria shares most fauna species with the Atlantic forest, but many others are truly endemic and adapted to feed on pine seeds (PinhĂŁo).

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The Pampas The only true temperate area in Brazil is known as Pampas, a type of Southern prairies or grasslands, covering most of the South American lowlands in Argentina, Uruguay and a little part of Brazil (60% of the State of Rio Grande do Sul). Its vegetation types are grassy prairie and grass steppe, a shrubland. Taller shrubs and forests grow along the watercourses. They have an important contribution for fighting erosion and for the conservation of biodiversity. The biome is home to some 3,000 plants species, 90 mammalian species and 385 birds. The fertile soils of these lowlands are now threatened by erosion and chemical degradation due to the widespread conversion of natural vegetation into pasture and intensive mechanized agriculture, with high productivity. 30 |

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Carlos Ernesto Schaefer Universidade Federal de Viรงosa (UFV) E-mail: carlos.schaefer@ufv.br Photo: SEDACTEL/RS SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018 |

Photo: Bigstock

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The contributions of the Brazilian Soil Science SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018 |

The importance of studies on soil and climate change for Brazil Photo: Wanderlei Bieluczyk The intensification of sustainable agriculture has been fostered in different regions through the adoption of several integrated production systems such as crop-livestock, crop-forest, livestock-forest, or crop-livestock-forest systems.

here has been growing worldwide concern about climate change on the planet, mainly as a result of increased emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHG) such as methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). The greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon that occurs because of GHG concentrations in the atmosphere. The solar energy, of short wavelength, surpasses the terrestrial atmosphere without interaction with the GHG present in this layer. Upon reaching the Earth’s surface, energy is reflected back into the atmosphere with a longer

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wavelength (infrared radiation) that partially interacts with GHG. Part of this radiation is absorbed into the atmosphere by increasing the average air temperature. This interaction allows the average temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere to be 15°C. If there were no such GHGs in the atmosphere, the Earth’s average temperature would be 33°C lower than the current one, i.e., -18°C, which would make life impossible for most beings alive on the planet. In the last decades, anthropic activities have caused a series of changes in the terrestrial

landscape and, more recently, in the atmosphere. Increased GHG emissions have intensified the greenhouse effect, reflecting changes in the planet’s climate patterns. The participation of agricultural systems, especially soil management, in terrestrial heating is a reality that has been widely evaluated and debated by the scientific community. This situation has worsened, prompting the search for strategies aimed at reducing this warming. These proposals, in turn, should be treated in a globalized manner, as agreed at the 21st Conference of the

position process. On the other hand, soils under conservation management can accumulate from 30 to 60 Pg of C, in a period of 25 to 50 years of cultivation (Lal, 2004). Therefore, suitable management practices, in a relatively short period, can remove almost the same amount of C that has been released into the atmosphere over the years of change in its use.

Figure 1 Global C stocks in the soil-plant-atmosphere system. * Values in Pg of C (1 Pg = 1.000.000.000.000 kg)

Parties (COP-21) in Paris (Paris Agreement), since all countries, to a greater or lesser extent, contribute to GHG emissions and its consequences. The main strategies to reduce GHG emissions from anthropogenic sources are to reduce the burning of fossil fuels, reduce deforestation and burnings, manage the soil, and finally, strategies to maximize carbon sequestration (C) in the soil. As far as the last two strategies are concerned, the management of soils, using conservationist practices, is indisputable for their optimization. The soil is the largest reservoir of terrestrial C. It is estimated that the amount of C stored in soil up to one meter deep is around 1,550 Pg1 of C (Lal, 2004). This constitutes about three times the amount of C present in the 1

1 Pg = 1.000.000.000.000 kg

biotic reservoir and twice the amount contained in the Earthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s atmosphere (Figure 1). The C stock in the soil organic matter (SOM) in the first 30 cm of soil is around 800 Pg, that is, almost the same amount stored in the atmospheric compartment. Therefore, increases in soil C stocks, even if small, contribute significantly to reducing the concentration of C in the atmosphere and, therefore, to mitigating the greenhouse effect and global climate change. Historically, the decrease in the amount of SOM, expressed by soil C inventories attributed to changes in soil use and cultivation, has contributed with 78 Âą 12 Pg of C to the atmosphere (Lal, 2004). These losses of C from the soil are intensified in tropical regions, such as Brazil, where the climatic conditions associated with intensive soil tillage systems favor the decom-

In this context, in the last decades, Soil Science has played a key role in studies that aim to evaluate or develop soil management practices that lead to greater soil C accumulations and/or to mitigate GHG emissions to the atmosphere. On a global scale, it is estimated that the adoption of different soil management practices (Figure 2) could potentially mitigate the emission of another 8 Pg CO2 (eq) year-1 (Paustian et al., 2016). The contribution of each practice is associated with the extent of the area that is capable of adopting the practice, the history of use and management of the area, type of soil and climate, and synergism when more than one practice is applied simultaneously. In Brazil, the no-tillage system (NTS), without the turning of the soil, with crop rotation and retaining of the straw on the soil surface began in the late 1970s in the South Region. Later, it spread to the other producing regions, becoming the most widespread conservation practice (more than 30 million SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018 |

from these systems, there is still a lack of information for most of them.

Figure 2 Global potential for mitigation of greenhouse gases related to the agricultural sector. Adapted from Paustian et al. (2016).

ha) in the country. Typically, the adoption of NTS to replace the conventional tillage is associated with increases in soil C stocks (mean of 0.34 t ha-1 year-1), varying depending on the region and the soil management adopted in the area (Fig. 3). Since the early 2000s, the mechanized harvesting of sugarcane without burning of the straw has gradually replaced the manual harvesting with straw burning, generating a series of socioeconomic and environmental benefits. Currently, about 90% of the 9 million hectares cultivated with sugarcane in Brazil adopt the mechanized harvest, promoting an annual deposition of 10-20 t ha-1 of straw on the soil and, consequently, resulting in average increases in soil carbon stock of about 1 t ha-1 year-1 when compared to burning of the sugarcane straw. More recently, the intensification of sustainable agriculture 36 |

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has been fostered in different regions through the adoption of several integrated production systems such as crop-livestock, crop-forest, livestock-forest, or crop-livestock-forest systems. It is estimated that the adoption of integrated systems already amounts to about 11.5 million ha in Brazil. Although much has been researched about the C sequestration potential of soil

However, studies indicate that the crop-livestock integration system accumulates on average 0.8 t ha-1 year-1 C (Fig. 2). The recovery of degraded pastures and use of organic waste (animal waste, agroindustrial byproducts, and biochar) in agriculture are other examples of management practices that have wide potential for mitigation of climate change. Finally, this text aimed at pointing out some of the main conservation practices of soil management that are important strategies to mitigate climate change, showing the importance of studies on soil and climate change for Brazil. C.E.P. Cerri M.R. Cherubin Universidade de SĂŁo Paulo (USP) E-mail: cerri@cena.usp.br

Figure 3 Soil C accumulation rate by different management practices adopted in Brazil. Error bars represent the standard deviation. Sources: Data compilation from scientific articles that included results for 0-20 or 0-30 cm. Most of the articles used are cited in Cherubin et al. (2018), the others can be obtained directly from the authors.

Soil Biodiversity Photo: Maria Catarina Kasuya

n the last three decades, biodiversity has been a recurring theme in the media in general, especially from Rio 92 on, at which time an agreement on biological diversity was signed by 150 countries. Biodiversity above the soil is most commented on, although it is often treated more from an aesthetic perspective, without considering the relevant functions that these organisms perform in the diverse ecosystems where they are. Thanks to various national and international initiatives, including popularization of science, soil biodiversity, in recent years, has emerged from its role

of source of repugnant organisms that cause diseases and pests to recognition of its role as a driving force of the important biochemical and biophysical processes related to diverse services of the agricultural and natural ecosystems and of their sustainability. Johanna Dรถbereiner was one of the pioneers of soil science in Brazil and also in studies of biodiversity. In 1958, Dรถbereiner and Ruschel founded their analysis only on phenotypic characteristics and described the first bacterial species based on isolates native to Brazilian

soils - Beijerinckia fluminensis. Twenty years later, this time with the collaboration of foreign researchers, Johanna described a new genus, Azospirillum, with two new species: A. lipoferum (reclassified from Spirillum lipoferum) and A. brasilense. The ease of isolating these species using media of semisolid consistency, their ubiquity in grasses and cereal crops, and, especially, what was known as the petroleum crisis, which came to demand alternatives for agriculture that are more economically and ecologically viable, gave international projection not only to J. SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018 |

performing other plant growthpromoting processes (i.e., their multifunctionality), and joint inoculation of these species with rhizobia in legumes.

The description of Azospirillum for nitrogen fixation internationally projected the Brazilian soil microbiology.

Dรถbereiner, but also to the Brazilian soil microbiology. After that, the effect of inoculants produced from these species was tested in diverse countries in various plant species. Currently, inoculants produced from these species are already sold in Brazil and 38 |

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other countries, with promising results. Nevertheless, a wide diversity of other N2 fixing species have been neglected, and use of Azospirillum species continues to be predominant. Two new lines of research with promising results have arisen in recent years: that which explores the capacity of N2 fixing species in

In the last three decades, rapid evolution of molecular methods (ribosomal and housekeeping gene sequencing, or even genome sequencing) and their accessibility to laboratories in tropical regions, including Brazil, as well as freely accessible worldwide databases, have made it possible to reveal microbial diversity and resolve the taxonomy of polyphyletic groups, of both micro- and macro-organisms. Methods that were restricted to laboratories in the northern hemisphere are now available at increasingly accessible cost in various Brazilian laboratories. In relation to bacteria, for example, for a long time there was dependence on laboratories abroad to arrive at description of new species, since DNA:DNA hybridization, though quite criticized, was required by international committees, composed predominantly of researchers from the northern hemisphere, as in the case of description of the first species of Azospirillum. Now, various bacterial genomes have already been sequenced in Brazilian laboratories, allowing not only description of new species, on a more reliable foundation, but also studies from a biotechnological perspective. Identification of bacteria by molecular methods

has brought new insights to microbiology, including the following: other associative diazotrophic species grow in media of semi-solid consistency considered selective for Azospirillum species; rhizobia represent a much more diverse phylogenetic group than had been believed; and many nonsymbiotic bacterial species cohabitate the nodules induced by rhizobia in legumes. Thanks to the pioneering work of João Rui Jardim Freire, Johanna Döbereiner, and others, the economic and ecological success of soybean inoculation with selected rhizobia strains is well known and recognized. There is still a controversy as to whether these strains are derived from the inoculants introduced in Brazil with the crop. But the fact is that success in inoculation is expanding to other legume crops, such as dry edible bean and cowpea, and this time with strains recognized as having been selected from the native biodiversity of Brazil. The evolution of molecular methods has allowed the enormous diversity of soil microorganisms to be revealed, including those that cannot be cultured, which represent more than 90% of the microbiota. The application of these methods to Brazilian studies has produced relevant results, such as those regarding the effects of management methods and land use systems on soil microorganisms, with the aim of finding answers

to conserve their biodiversity and the processes they perform. In the system for verifying research groups of the CNPq (http://dgp.cnpq.br/dgp/faces/ consulta/consulta_parametrizada.jsf), searching by the word ¨microbiome¨ in the name of the group, the name in the line of research, the keyword in the line of research and in repercussion of the group, we can find at least 35 research groups, among which the following institutions act in Soil Science: IPA, UFLA, UFRB, ITV, UNESP, USP, FURB and UNIPAMPA. Research on the diversity of eukaryote groups of soil organisms has also benefitted from advances in molecular biology, though not yet to the same degree as microorganisms such as bacteria, due to the greater complexity of their genetic material. Yet, there will certainly be expressive contributions in the near future, as in the case of mycorrhizal fungi and other groups of fungi. The investments of funding agencies in projects that seek to increase knowledge of biodiversity and training of human resources, from which research in microbial diversity has also benefitted, has been another preponderant factor in the increase in knowledge of Soil Biodiversity. The reduced space of this text does not allow discussion of the various groups of micro-, meso-, and macrofauna, but we highlight four groups considered engineers of the ecosystem through their influence on soil physical attributes and consequently on water and aer-

ation relationships: earthworms, termites, ants, and beetles, with hundreds of native species already described, but with the as yet little known potential of new species to be discovered. Brazilian research, in general, has been dedicated more to knowing Soil Biodiversity from the functional perspective and obtaining subsidies for sustainable management of natural ecosystems and of agroecosystems, the basis of which is precisely to preserve and increase the contribution of biochemical and biophysical processes. Our native biomes have quite expressive dimensions compared to those of other countries. Our agriculture has been the foundation of our gross national product. We expect that investments and policies continue to place value on all that has been built up by the 47 research groups of the CNPq of institutions from all regions of the country (IFTM, IFB, UFFS, UFAC, IFAL, UFSM, UNICENTRO, UFRJ, UNIP, INPA, UFOP, UFLA, UNITINS, UFT, UFSM, UNEB, UFRRJ, UFRB, UFPI, UFBA, MPEG, UFRA, UEMS, UFRJ, UFRR, UP, UFMT, UFG, PUC-RJ, Embrapa, IFES, UFS, UFSC, FIOCRUZ, UFSCAR, UNIFAP, UNESP, UNIFESSPA, ICMBIO, IBt, UnB, UCB) and those that will yet be created with the new generations of researchers that need to be encouraged. Fatima Maria de Souza Moreira Universidade Federal de Lavras Email: fmoreira@dcs.ufla.br

SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018 |

The Soil Science and environmental and socioeconomical sustainability of the Amazon

Photo: Bigstock

he Brazilian Amazon is one of the oldest and most extensive geologically stable areas in the world, on a large area of predominantly lowlands, with gentle landforms, by limited drainage incision conditioned by low altitudes in relation to sea level. An â&#x20AC;&#x153;oceanâ&#x20AC;? of rainforests, surrounded by the uncontrolled advance of the agricultural and cattle ranching frontier over very poor, acid, weathered soilscapes. Although the Amazon is dominated by lowlands, much of the region is associated with well-

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drained soils, and is strongly influenced by sea-level oscillations, which accompanied the great Quaternary climatic oscillations. Few Brazilian regions have such a strong influence of the fluvial/marine hydrological regimes to the soils, as the Amazon, and this phenomenon operates on variable time scales. One can experience years of low rainfall, when the level of lakes and rivers drops much, or extraordinary floods, when global climate phenomena (El Nino, La Nina) affect the entire Amazon basin. Thus, the region is extremely sensitive to climate change.

Given the vast extent of the region, the knowledge of Amazonian soils, whose systematic studies began in 1950 with the pioneering works of Italo Falesi and Rodrigues, is still comparatively incipient, despite many studies concentrated in parts of the region. In spite of numerous recent studies, there is a need to expand this knowledge to a better understanding of Amazonian ecosystems and soils, especially cultivated soils, relationships and adaptations in response to human interventions.

It seems even more urgent and fundamental to know the limitations imposed by the physical environment, whether physical or chemical, as well as the practices of coexistence developed by the local people, especially the riverine ones, to cope with environmental constraints. For more than five centuries, semi-aquatic societies have evolved along the fluvial-marine plains of the Amazon, all perfectly adapted to the environment.

The geomorphological control in the distribution of Amazonian soils is remarkable: in a general sketch, flat and residual geological formations on flat low plateaus are generally associated to Red-Yellow Latosols in areas of crystalline rocks, or Yellow Latosols in the areas of tertiary

sediments; in the middle and lower thirds of the flattened hills or residuals hillocks Argisols (Ultisols) occur, with or without plintite or petroplintite, as well as Quartzarenic Neosols and Spodosols. In the alluvial plain (floodplain) of white water rivers, Gleysols and Fluvic Neosols

Although the Amazon region is subjected to a log-term deep weathering process, the chemical and mineralogical characteristics of the Amazonian soils are surprisingly varied, and dictated by the nature of the parent material. Extensive areas of rich and eutrophic soils only exist where there is an influence of Andean or sub-Andean sediments, either present (along the alluvial plain of the Amazon) or past (terraces and low hills of the Acre and Upper Amazon basins); or yet rocks of higher chemical richness (limestones and marls in Monte Alegre-Ererê, basalt and diabase in Roraima, Pará and Amapá, marine fluvial plains of Marajó). In general, in the other areas, the current bioclimatic conditions, coupled with a certain homogeneity of the characteristics of the sedimentary or crystalline material, in gentle landforms, lead to the formation of very deep and weathered soils, whose uncontrolled agricultural use has led to degradation and erosion.

Photo: Sérgio Shimizu Indian Black Earth (Terra Preta de Índio), an Antroposol in Brazilian Amazon.

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predominate. Plinthosols and soils with plinthite are predominant in the lowlands of the Upper Amazon, in the Madeira / Purus / Juruá and Solimões / Japurá watersheds. The Holocene floodplain fringing white water rivers (muddy rivers rich in suspended sediments such as the Amazon, the Madeira, the Purus), and subject to seasonal flooding is regionally called Várzea. It comprises large stretches of land, forming elongated alluvial plain that can reach up to 100 km wide, showing a complex system of channels, lakes, islands and marginal levees. Latosols and Argisols are dominant in Amazonia, always dystrophic soils, of low natural fertility, except where there are anthropogenic deposits, called Indian Black Earths. In general Amazon soils have good physical characteristics, being perfectly mechanized, when the limitations are taken into account and cultural practices recommended for the tropical humid region, applied. Latosols extend to more than 40% of the region, while the Argisols amount to almost 29%, totaling a vast area of more than 3,580,000 km². They show good potential for agroforestry systems, and can be recovered by sound soil management, even if degraded. The great majority of Amazonian soils (96%) show severe P 42 |

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deficiency; K deficiency (76%); deficiency of Ca and Mg (70%) and low CEC. For their long-term sustainability, such deficiencies must be corrected, or adoption of conservative systems of low fertility. Far distant from large markets, the cost of fertilizers and pesticides can make agronomic recommendations for agricultural intensification unfeasible. For this, regional research has developed alternative processes of green manure, mulching, alley cropping, to reduce costs and better soil conservation. From the very first steps of agricultural research in the Amazon (1939) with the creation of the Agronomic Institute of the North (IAN), the current Embrapa Amazônia Oriental, a lot of knowledge and specific techniques for the region were developed. There is today a true Amazonian knowledge, resulting from in situ research, with local people, and oriented to the interest of the Amazonian societies, now widely available. Many products of great economic value stand out, such as the native cacao, açaí, cupuaçu, camu-camu, guaraná, in addition to forest species such as Paricá (Schyzolobium amazonicum Huber ex Ducke) and freijó (Cordia goeldiana Huber). Alongside these, exotic successes also occur, such as pepper, palm oil, Bahia coconut, African mahogany (Khaya ivorensis A. Chev.). Despite the history of degradation, there has been, more recently, a strong evolution of livestock raising,

with research on the formation and management of high productivity pastures, on a more sustainable and ecological basis. But there are still many areas of degraded pastures to recover, to reduce pressure on the advance of deforestation in the Amazon. Even in humid climates, it is possible to implemente irrigation in the Amazon in more seasonal areas, with longer dry seasons. To solve the ecological and productive challenges, soil conservation techniques aiming at maintaining or increasing soil fertility, should be sought. The adoption of practices for the Integration of ForestryCropping (IFC), in light of the growing world demand for food, fiber and energy, can become a development process for mesoregions that have most soils with a marked decline in productivity. The use of IFC makes farming a more intensive and sustainable activity, with better annual profitability through the sale of products and derivatives, adding value to the property, besides landscaping, allowing ecotourism. The same is true of agroforestry systems, which are naturally suited for the Amazon region, and should be always based on successful experiences of the local farmers.

Italo Claudio Falesi Embrapa Trópico Úmido José Frutuoso do Vale Junior Universidade Federal de Roraima (UFRR). E-mail: valejr51@gmail.com

The occupation of the

Brazilian Cerrado Photo: Bigstock

Campo Cerrado and Cerradão. In addition, semi-deciduous native forests may occur in the Cerrado region.

“Cerrado” is a broad term that involves different types of vegetation having specific names according to changes in grass coverage, as well as the density and height of shrub and tree plants, as follows: Campo Limpo,

A major portion of this biome occurs in Oxisols and Ultisols - highly weathered soils -, as well as in some Entisols with serious problems and limitations for production of food crops, feed, fibers, and renewable fuels, which are mostly related to their low natural soil fertility. Such soils are acidic, with low natural availability of most nutrients, namely N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Zn, B, and Cu. They also present high Al saturation and high P fixing capacity, due to the predominance of low-activity clays and Fe and Al oxides in their clay fraction.

he expansion of sustainable agriculture in the Brazilian Central Plateau is considered one of the greatest accomplishments of the Agricultural Sciences in the 20th century. But achieving this was not an easy task. Until the 60’s, about 23% of Brazil (2 million km2) was occupied by savanna-like vegetation, called Cerrado, which was mostly used for the extensive production of beef cattle in low-quality native pastures.

Additional limiting factors that complicate adequate agricultural production in the Cerrado region include: a) a well defined dry season of 5 to 6 months (from April/ May to September/October); b) the occurrence of “veranicos” (dry spells of variable incidence and length that occur during the rainy season, usually associated with high evapotranspiration rates); c) low soil moisture retention capacity; and, d) limited root development of the vast majority of crops, due to Al toxicity and/ or Ca deficiency in the subsurface layers of the soils. On the other hand, the combination of smooth slopes (usually less than 3%) with adequate drainage and good stability of SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018 |

Photo: Manoel Ricardo de Albuquerque Filho The greatest change in the occupation of the Cerrado was the expansion of agriculture. Crops as a whole grew from 7.4 million to 20.5 million hectares between 2000 and 2016.

soil aggregates, which implies in no physical restrictions for deep root development, are favorable aspects. These features allow for successful mechanization of most agricultural operations in the region, yet the limiting factors related to constrains of soil fertility need first to be fixed. In fact, it is estimated that 50% of the area of the Cerrado - about 1 million km2 - is considered arable land and 2/3 are suitable for crop/livestock integration. Many incentives were offered in this area starting during the 60’s, mainly as a result of moving the nation’s capital from Rio de Janeiro to the newly founded city of Brasília, located in the heart of the Cerrado region. As part of this effort, there was a large multi-faceted government program involving the construction of paved roads, railways, and large farmers’ settlement 44 |

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projects (PADAP, POLOCENTRO, PADEF, and others). These settlements allowed farmers - mainly from Southern Brazil - to purchase lots of 300 hectares, with low interest rate loans, as well as subsidies for the purchase of lime, fertilizers, and agricultural machinery. They were also supported by a broad program of technical assistance and rural extension, all of that with the aim of encouraging southern farmers to move to this region, which was until then considered marginal to agricultural production. It was also noteworthy the administrative efforts from both federal and state governments to implement research centers to diagnose the multidisciplinary problems limiting the development of agriculture in the region. In this regard, research was developed to address these problems by establishing work priorities so as to provide a scientific

basis on the recommendations deriving from research institutions. Such recommendations were permanently decoded to be transformed into practical guidelines for better field management by the newly arrived farmers. Also notable as key partners in this huge research effort are the public and private universities located in the Cerrado region, as well as numerous state research and extension foundations - public and private - that have collaborated closely with federal and state official research agencies to achieve the objectives of making the Cerrado region one of the most productive agricultural regions of the world. Research advances in Soil Science were among the most important ones for unveiling scientific knowledge that allowed the agroecosystems in the Cerrado region to reach the levels of technology and productivity achieved so far. Particularly outstanding examples of research work will be mentioned below, without any claim to completeness: 1. Pioneer Work on Soil Fertility: a) First Soil Fertility Work. The first soil fertility study developed in the Cerrado region began in 1907 in Sete Lagoas (State of Minas Gerais), in an area of 4.84 hectares, divided into four plots that were fertilized with cattle manure, Thomas basic slag, Chilean nitrate, and control (without fertilizers). This study showed that plants of the fertilized plots had developed satis-

Photo: Manoel Ricardo de Albuquerque Filho

factorily, producing corn and bean grains, in comparison to the control plot that produced nothing, i.e., the “Cerrado” soils could be productive if properly fertilized. b) IBEC Research Institute Program. One of the most important programs dealing with soil fertility and crop yields in the Brazilian Cerrado started in 1950 under the coordination of the IBEC Research Institute, which became the IRI Research Institute, in 1963, with funding from the Rockefeller Foundation. During 14 years, this project has developed

the initial bases for advancing the technologies that would be later used for agricultural production in the Cerrado areas. Soil Fertility studies developed in this period generated 23 technical bulletins out of the 58 produced by IRI during its history - containing all relevant findings from this Program. c) Agronomic Institute of Campinas. One of the first experiments involving a perennial crop (coffee) in soils under Cerrado was set in 1958 and remained for 13 years. This study was con-

ducted in an extremely infertile sandy soil with the aim of breaking the paradigm that coffee plantations could succeed only in soils derived from recently deforested areas of dense natural forest, with high natural fertility and high organic matter content. The conclusion of this study was that it was possible to produce coffee in these poor “Cerrado” soils through the use of adequate and balanced amounts of fertilizers and after alleviating soil acidity and micronutrient deficiencies. Furthermore, the SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018 |

3. Agronomic-Economic Research on Tropical Soils. Also coordinated by the Department of Soil Science of North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA, this project had a dual purpose: 1) to draft the pilot plan responsible for setting the Center for Agricultural Research of the Cerrados (now Embrapa Cerrados) located in Brasília; and, 2) to develop dozens of scientifically sound research studies involving numerous aspects relevant to soil chemistry and soil fertility that allowed establishing the bases for the true “build-up” of soil fertility and proper management of these soils.

study showed that manure was not essential for obtaining adequate yields. 2. International Soil Fertility Evaluation and Improvement Project. Coordinated by the Department of Soil Science of North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA, this project started in 1963 and resulted in setting up dozens of semi-automatic fertility soil fertility labs all across Brazil, allowing laboratories that were used to perform 10-20 analyzes per day to reach 150 analyzes per day. This initiative caused a revolution in technical recommendations to farmers concerning the adequate use of lime and fertilizers for sustainable agricultural production in this region. 46 |

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4. FAO-ANDA-ABCAR Project. In 1969, the Brazilian Fertilizer Industry Association ANDA began an ambitious project installing 500 demonstration field plots to promote the judicious use of liming materials and fertilizers in relevant field crops located in the Cerrado region, e.g., rice, corn, beans, and cotton. By 1975, 5000 experimental fields were already set in the states of Goiás, Minas Gerais, and Mato Grosso, three of the most representative states with relevant agricultural production in the Cerrado in the 70’s. As a result of all of these initiatives that promoted scientifically sound management strategies not only in Soil Science but also in different areas of knowledge comprising the Agricultural Sciences, the Cerrado region was able to reach the following share of the total Agricultural Brazilian production in

2006: 89% for cotton, 69% sorghum, 55% beef, 53% soybean, 48% coffee, 37% rice, 30% corn, 25% beans, and 13% sugarcane, showing also an increase in volume of grains production from 5.6 million tons in 1970 to 44 million tons in 2003, all of that using the most advanced agricultural technology. All of these achievements in the Cerrado region of Brazil are unquestionable a proof that “a dream can not come true unless you break the inertia”. Thanks to all of that, the Brazilian Cerrado is leading the next revolution in tropical agriculture with a concept on “Sustainable Intensification”, focusing on low-carbon, resource-saving technologies and gains in land productivity to assure sustainable production of food, feed, fiber, and renewable fuel, while also guaranteeing that the Cerrado agroecosystems will be able to continue producing relevant ecosystem services. Additional information concerning the sustainable occupation of the Brazilian Cerrado are available at: Lopes, A.S. & L.R.G. Guilherme. A Career Perspective on Soil Management in the Cerrado Region of Brazil. Advances in Agronomy, Vol 137; 2016, p. 1-72. Alfredo Scheid Lopes Luiz Roberto Guimarães Guilherme Universidade Federal de Lavras (UFLA). E-mail: ascheidl@dcs.ufla.br

Reflections on soil science’s contribution to family farming Photo: Centro de Tecnologias Alternativas da Zona da Mata (CTA-ZM)

amily farming in Brazil is responsible for over 70% of the food production that comes to people’s homes, coming from more than 4 million properties (about 80% of agricultural establishments in the country). Family farmers, including traditional peoples and communities, are those who have the closest connection to soil resources. One of the adversities faced by them

1 In Brazil, according to Law nº 11.326 / 2006, is considered a family farmer one who has a small area (up to four fiscal modules), family labor, family income linked to the establishment itself, including the management of the establishment or enterprise by his ownfamily. This category includes the traditional peoples and communities, represented by indigenous and other traditional non-indigenous populations such as riverside people, babaçu coconut brakers, artisanal fishermen, azoreans, gypsies, quilombolas, catingueiros, pomeranos, faxinalenses, among others.

to enable their production and their ways of life is the intrinsic characteristics of most tropical soils, which is their high degree of weathering resulting in inadequate fertility for most of the cultivated species. The family farmers use mainly soils in difficult work areas (steep land soils, shallow soils, with difficult access, etc.), which become productive due to the management of organic matter, nutrient recycling, crop diversification and the use of alternative inputs instead of the methods used by modern agriculture, predominant in areas of large farmers. These techniques are the result of their creativity and knowledge accumulated over generations as a way to ensure their food production and

food security. The result has been the development of a wide variety of land useways, including a diversity of agricultural systems, all of them adapted to their daily reality. These different ways to do agriculture both by family farmers and traditional communities are directly linked to the diversity of Brazilian soils that, in a process of coadaptation, allowed the development of production strategies, which persist for several generations and are therefore considered sustainable. The advent of modern agriculture with the use of chemical fertilizers, while on the one hand enabled less fertile land use for cultivated plants, created a problem for family farmers who saw their traditional systems being unstructured. SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018 |

Photo: Centro de Tecnologias Alternativas da Zona da Mata (CTA-ZM) Family farming in Brazil is responsible for over 70% of the food production that comes to peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s homes, coming from more than 4 million properties (about 80% of agricultural establishments in the country).

The systemic and multidisciplinary tone of these farmers activities indicates that there is a strong link with multiple knowledge areas, especially when we think about the ways of crop management, social relations between family farmers and their lands and agrarian and agricultural policies that may influence decision making on land use resource. That is, thinking of soil science without considering other fields of knowledge does not contribute to the strengthening of family farming. Another important factor to consider is that the construction of knowledge on soils related to this social segment should be done 48 |

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by articulating local knowledge and scientific knowledge, the latter understood as knowledge drawn from universities and research centers. Nowadays, we see that Brazilian soil science has great progress in studies with alternatives that can contribute significantly to family farmers and traditional communities, especially about organic and agroecological production and participative planning land use. Despite the difficulties of establishing relationships between soil science, family farming, and related sciences, several initiatives of researchers and soil professionals

have been implemented, starting from local experiences and taking into account knowledge on soils and their management built by generations of farmers according to their needs. It is already possible to visualize soil science from a postmodern view of science as advocated by Professor Boaventura Santos, who believes that scientific action will become local. That is, it will develop based on themes considered important bylocal social groups. It is, for example, the path taken by ethnopedology, a hybrid discipline closely related to soil science. It is structured combining natural and social sciences, which allows the

understanding of the local reality of the soil as well as its use and management by a human population. In this way, it is possible to generate knowledge in a more accessible and integrated way with farmers. In Brazil, several masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and doctoral theses have been feeding this scientific path and contributing to the participatory planning of land use in different Brazilian regions. One example was the creation, in 2014, of the Sustainable Use Conservation Unit2 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nascentes Geraizeiras Sustainable Development Reserveâ&#x20AC;?, a result of the struggle of family farmers and extractivists3 from the north of Minas Gerais State to maintain their territory. The dialogue and interlocution between researchers and farmers using methods of ethnopedology contributed to support the beginning of the Reserve creation process. This interdisciplinary field offers an adequate methodology for soil mapping in areas occupied by rural communities, allowing the local knowledge about the lands used by them to guarantee their ways of life. Other initiatives have also been carried out, especially about the use and management of agricultural systems, where soil knowledge is integrated with other fields of knowledge. This is the case of the Ecological Economic Evaluation of Agroecosystems, a methodology that has been used 2 Category that is part of the Brazilian National System of Conservation Units (SNUC). 3 Refers to people who use the wild resources in a sustainable way.

Farmers and researchers discussing about land use planning in Rio Pardo de Minas, MG

by several Brazilian public institutions of education, research and extension and non-governmental organizations in the semi-arid region of the Northeast and Rio de Janeiro. This method has allowed farmers to carry out the participatory evaluation of their production systems from parameters based on soil and water resources as the basis of production. It also allows the strengthening of the strategy of building autonomous and conscious citizens to face the challenges of their process of social, economic and cultural development. It is possible to reconcile the knowledge generated by scientific research about soils with the knowledge generated and accumulated by family farmers, peoples, and traditional communities. It is the latter knowledge that has fed, for example, the

FAO4 Program of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS). Currently, there are 50 agricultural systems in several countries that are recognized as world agricultural heritage and involve mainly local knowledge on soils. Since over 2,000 years,for example, the Chinese people have been using an organic production system that integrates rice, fish, and duck, maintaining communities of farmers. Chinese researchers, including soil scientists, have studied this system and found that the production of rice and fish remains satisfactory, providing food for about 3,000 people. This experience reveals the need to broaden our perspective on knowledge production strategies of soil science in Brazil. 4 The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

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The diversity managed by family farmers throughtheir production systems provides a service of conservation of agricultural biodiversity, the basis for a sustainable agriculture, allowing not only its maintenance but also its expansion. However, for the continuity of this process, it is essential that the existence of the family farmerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s livelihoods and their diverse food culture be guaranteed. Soil science contributes to this regard, especially when it incorporates the perception that family farmers and traditional communities

have knowledge and specificities that need to be considered in the field of research (there are still few research programs centered on the direct relation between family farming and soil science). Recognizing the knowledge of these social actors while seeking to understand it and accept their demands to meet the challenges of agriculture, including climate change, is essential in order to share the knowledge and wisdom conceived by all. The route that unites us is a fairer, less unequal society that con-

tributes to the sustainability of our planet. Many other initiatives observed on Brazilian research and rural extension use the strategy of exchange knowledge (between the empirical/tacit and the academic/scientific) to understand the most varied ways of local soil use and management. ItÂ´s a path to understand and recognize the importance of family farming decision-making based on their know-how (savoirfaire) involving agricultural and non-agricultural land use. These are some examples of strategies developed by soil scientists that can contribute to the improvement of the quality of life and increase the self-esteem of family farmers. The recognition that these farmers have essential knowledge for their survival and social reproduction is a sine qua non condition for the sustainable development of family farming in Brazil. The refined knowledge that the multiple expressions of family farming in their territories carry throughout generations can make our research and extension activities more useful to contribute to the resolution of the challenges posed by the need for food production and the quality of life for society as a whole.

JoĂŁo Roberto Correia Embrapa Sede E-mail: joao.roberto@embrapa.br Photo: MDA

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Agroecology and Soils

Knowledge exchange between the empirical and the academic/scientific looking for to understand the most varied ways of family farmers promote the soil use and management. Photo: Heitor Teixeira

or some centuries we have witnessed the emergence and consolidation of the paradigm of modernity science. This, on the one hand, has brought about consequences that many consider positive to humans. On the other hand, the negative consequences are undeniable, and among them the production of “indolent reason”, which is imposed when producing the Monocultures of Knowledge, that is, treating everything that is alternative to it and that does not fit into its epistemologies and methodologies as nonscientific, invisible, non-credible, non-existent, absent, despicable (Santos, 2002).

An example of this conception is the way in which modern science, including Soil Science, stands in the face of the rural transformations, in particular with the “agriculture´s modernization” - a unilineal proposal of development, agricultural and livestock farming methods considered as “ideal”. At the end of the nineteenth century, the Green Revolution, as the package of practices of the agricultural modernization became known, expanded considerably with post-World War II technologies. Government programs to boost agricultural productivity through the control of nature using science-based technologies were essential in spreading

Green Revolution technologies. The justification for formulating such programs was to end world hunger, which was argued to be a problem associated with low production. The solutions, according to the scientists and technicians, was an agrochemical model that advocates the use of synthetic fertilizers and agrochemicals, the use of high yield varieties inbreed at research stations, the introduction of heavy machinery, the replacement of diversified systems by monocultures, and, in the case of Brazil, in the cultivation of large tracts of land (latifúndio), to the detriment of other forms of land SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018 |

use. Faced with such solutions, soils have come to be considered by many as a container for adding chemical fertilizers and for fixing plants. The agrochemical model associated with monocultures demands a very high energy expenditure, especially from petroleum, throughout the production process. In addition to energy expenditure, the monocultures of the green revolution did not solve the problem of world hunger and led to the narrowing of the genetic basis of agriculture (genetic erosion). This made crops vulnerable, fragile to imbalances, and favorable to the emergence of pests and diseases, and in the unsuccessful attempt to control them, to the greater use of pesticides. All this increased the dependence of farmers on the corporations responsible for the production of inputs, processing and commercialization of food the Food Empires (Ploeg, 2008). In the face of this situation, the negative impacts were quickly felt, among them the loss of biodiversity, soil degradation, contamination of nature, and extensive process of deterritorialization of peasant populations around the world. Faced with these negative impacts, from the 1960s onwards, criticism by researchers and civil society groups of the Green Revolution grew. The agrarian crisis that we are experiencing today is a consequence of the interconnection 52 |

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between three processes: the progressive industrialization of agriculture; the introduction of the global market as a driver of agricultural production and marketing, and the restructuring of the processing industry and marketing enterprises, which monopolize the relations among food production, processing, distribution, and consumption. Thus, a new and global food system was created. This new system is profoundly affecting the nature of agricultural production, the ecosystems in which agriculture is rooted, and the forms of food distribution (Ploeg, 2008). The expansion of this model on a global scale strongly impacted peasant family agriculture, especially in the lack of recognition of its knowledge, in the loss of autonomy due to dependence on the green revolution packages, changes in eating habits, loss of environmental quality and territories. Even so, peasant family farming is still responsible for the production of 70% of food in Brazil, with only 10% of the credits used by business agriculture, in only 25% of arable land, even 85% of agricultural establishments. This same peasant family farming occupies the majority of the rural labor force and is more effective than the business agriculture, since it provides greater return to every real spent in it (IBGE, 2006). Faced with so many threats, peasant family farming began to develop strategies of resistance, struggling not only for the defense of territories, but also for

the autonomous and ecological management of these territories and the human right to adequate food. Among these resistance strategies emerged Agroecology. Agroecology, as conceived today, appeared in the Americas in the late 1970s and early 1980s and is now understood as movement, practice, and science. In Brazil, in the early 1980s, Agroecology was based on the movement known as alternative agriculture, together with the social movements that were recomposed as the end of the military dictatorship. The experiences (practices) of family farming disseminated throughout the national territory were and are the practical bases of agroecology, from the beginning as alternative agriculture. These experiences were developed from a way of relating to the nature mediated by the peasant culture, that is, based on a knowledge transmitted from generation to generation, customs and habits with local specificities. As a movement, Agroecology seeks the transformation of food systems, which must be anchored in the benefits of nature so that they are sustainable and not in a package of agrochemicals. As a science, Agroecology studies food systems (Gliessman, 2015), and this approach is multidisciplinary, with input from a variety of other sciences, including Soil Science, especially those scientists critical to the Green Revolution model. Soil Science has much to contribute to the pursuit of sustainabil-

ity, because for food systems to be sustainable, it is necessary to diversify plant and animal in time and space. This requires a new form of land use and management that minimizes soil and water losses and potentiate cycling and nutrients by stimulating soil biology and exploring the synergies between plants and plants, plants and animals, and animals and animals (Gliessman, 2015). The sustainability of food systems requires scientists to look at soils as living systems that generate life and are generated by them. Living beings in the soil require care, such as adequate food and environment for them to perform well. Soil beings, like us, feed on organic matter. Adequate environment presupposes the non-use of pesticides or fire and good aggregation, which also requires adequate inputs of organic matter. We need to understand the soil as the community of hidden beings, and we should not do with the community of others (to that of hidden beings) what we would not want to be done with ours. To strengthen Agroecology as a science, movement and practice, soil scientists must learn to understand soil as peasants and with peasants. For them, the soil is land and the land is the mother that sustains us. Our mother we treat with care. For Agroecology, peasant knowledge is as important as scientific knowledge. Soil scientists need to be able to work interdisciplinarily and articulate the process of education,

Photo: Centro de Tecnologias Alternativas da Zona da Mata (CTA-ZM)

research, and learning. The articulation of these processes in Brazil has been called of indissociability of teaching, research, and extension, which is a function of Brazilian universities foreseen in our constitution (Citizen Constitution of 1988). The indissociability of teaching, research, and extension presupposes the dialogue of knowledge, which requires a re-signification of the understanding we have about the production of knowledge and the role of research in this production. Research on soils in particular, but also on other areas, needs to be articulated with transformational actions, as in action research. In action research, methodologies that allow the dialogue of knowledge need to be used. In action research, the dialogue between researchers and other participants of the research provides a mutual learning that also promotes the social production

of knowledge. This is important because, as Paulo Freire taught, neither science nor education can ignore the traditional knowledge in its processes and the knowledge must be built from the dialogue with the population and from the look at what people do to solve their problems. The path of the dialogue of knowledge and action research has not been easy in Brazil and in the world, since research and teaching institutions, including those in which soil science is developed, do not understand its importance. Are soil scientists interested in promoting such a dialogue? Irene Maria Cardoso FabrĂcio Vassalli Zanelli Universidade Federal de ViĂ§osa (UFV) E-mail: irene@ufv.br The authors thank CNPq and Brazilian minisÂtries that support ECOA (Chamada 21/2016).

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The soil science in the evolution of No-Till System in Brazil Photo: J Zancanaro

t the beginning of 70s decade, the initiative to adopt a system that controls soil water erosion was a farmer (Mr. Herbert Bartz) of RolĂ˘ndia, Northern of ParanĂĄ State, and this successful experiment was soon followed by others. Up to 1980, area expansion (Fig. 1) under no-till (NT) was 0.13 million ha (Mha), whose annual rate of 0.014 Mha occurred mainly in the South. In 1990 it increased to 0.9 million hectares (0.081 Mha yr-1), and in 2000 had significant expansion expanding to 14.0 million hectares (1.64 Mha yr-1). The surface

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has doubled in 2010 to 30.3 Mha (1.51 Mha yr-1) and in 2016/17 reached 36.8 Mha. Although slow the development of NT in the early phase (Fig. 1), the participation of pioneer farmers was crucial to encourage the scientific community in implementing experiments aimed at answering frequently asked questions raised by them, such as: how effective is NT in soil water erosion control? What is the relationship between the amount of crop residues on the surface and the reduction of soil water erosion? Which species are most suitable to combine with commercial

crops for crop rotation? What are the soil attributes changed with the adoption and maintenance of this system? How to correct the acidity of the soils and make the liming in the NT system? How to control weeds? In addition to these, farmers have also addressed numerous other questions to the scientific community. The indicators to measure the advances of soil science in the evolution of the no-tillage system were selected from the SCOPUS database (https:// www.scopus.com) through two

Figure 1 Timeline by decades, published articles (*), most relevants eventis in each decade (**), and No-till expansion rate by decade (***) based on No-till surface area (Mha yr-1). The dashed line represents the published articles.

keyword combinations, “No-tillage”and”No-till” to be found in the Article title, Abstract, Keywords, and “No-tillage”and”No-till” only in the Article title. In the first case (Article title, Abstract, Keywords) a total of 11,538 articles were published mainly in the following journals: Soil and Tillage Research (1.063 articles), Soil Science Society of America Journal (560), Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo (525) Agronomy Journal (524) and Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira (300). In the second case (Article title) a total of 2,788 articles were found mainly in the following journals: Soil and Tillage Research (213 article), Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo (171), Agronomy Journal (157), Soil Science Society of America Journal (150) and Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira (103). In addition, articles

were selected through the Google Scholar database, written in Portuguese and English of indexed and non-indexed journals (the most relevant ones), with a high number of citations in articles, dissertations, and theses. Based on the main themes of these publications in the period 1973-2018, the “timeline” of the NT system was created (Fig. 1). The approach on the timeline and the main references selected by the authors as part of the procedure to characterize the advances of soil science in the evolution of the NT system are found int he Supplementary Information available on https:// is.gd/yi4sXi (Tables IS-1 to IS-9). The control of water erosion and changes in soil physical attributes were the main themes in the 1970s (Fig. 1). Although the main scientific contribution was

made by foreign authors (mainly from North America) whose local characteristics (climate, soil type, etc.) differ from ours, it had a relevant contribution to the scientific advance in Brazil. The information reported by R. Lal (1974, 1978), Harrold and Edwards (1974), Langsdale et al. (1979) with about 139 citations by SCOPUS corroborated the work of researchers in Brazil. This theme was further advanced in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s by the contributions of researchers (N.P. Cogo, F. Eltz, I. Bertol and others) from Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina universities (1,367 citations, Table IS5), Derpsch and collaborators, from Paraná(575 citations, Table IS-5), Lombardi and collaborators, from the Southeast (177 citations) and R.A.Dedeck et al., from the Midwest (105 citations) in scientific articles, dissertations SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018 |

and theses, forming the baseline for the development to erosion control strategies. In the decades of the 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s (Fig. 1) the advance of NT system had strong support from the understanding of the role of soil microorganisms in the nutrient cycling and the crop residue decomposition to recover the soil organic matter (SOM). Accordingly the remarkable contribution of J.Doran (1987, 242 citations table IS-3) in the discussion of microbial biomass and N mineralization, which advanced with E.J.B.N. Cardoso, E.

Balota, M. Hungria, I. Mendes, L.C. Babujia and other Brazilian researchers (more than 850 citations in Brazil). The deepening of SOM dynamics and its relations with the mechanisms and aggregation processes, and with C accumulation and cropping systems, consolidated NT with the conservationist character making it an important tool to act as a mitigating system of greenhouse gases. The relevant contributions of J.M. Tisdall and J.M. Oades (1982, with 2,959 citations in Scopus, table IS-7), J.M. Oades

(1979, 1984, 1988, 1991 and 1993, with about 3.010 citations, table IS-7) constituted the bases for M.H. Beare et al. (1993 and 1994, with 922 citations, table IS-3). Subsequently the remarkable contributions of J. Six et al. (1999, 2000, 2002a, 2002b and 2004) with about 5,060 citations (table IS-3 and IS-7). These works contributed to the information generated in Brazil by C. Bayer (2000a, 2000b, 2002, 2006) with about 780 citations, table IS-3, IS-7), by B. Madari (2005, with 107 citations), by J.Diekow (2005a,

The participation of soil science researchers has been essential for the consolidation and evolution of the NT System.

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2005b; with 277 citations, table IF-3) and by J.C.M. Sá and others (1993, 2001, 2009, 2012, 2015 and 2018; tables IS-3 and IS-7) with 930 citations. That information influenced more than 200 dissertations and theses in several regions of Brazil. This knowledge base was closely related to improvements in the soil physical, chemical and biological attributes and in several cases with increased crop productivity. The advances in soil acidity and liming management with the contributions of E.L. de Oliveira and M.A. Pavan (1996, with 112 citations) and E. Caires et al. (2000, 2005 and 2008, with more than 300 citations) were important in the consolidation of the NT system. Discussions on the causes and consequences of compaction amounted to a yellow light on the proper conduct of the NT system. The contributions of J.M.Reichert, D.J.Reinert, C. Tormena, A.P.Silva and others (more than 900 citations, tables IS-3 and IS-6) elucidated the causes of the collapse of the NT system due to the constraints that compaction may affect the crop development. In 2004, J.C.M.Sá et al. proposed a NT evolution scale based on the system adoption time and the changes in the SOM and soil attributes (Table IS-8), that was divided into four phases: initial (0-5 years), transition (610 years), consolidation (11-20 years) and maintenance (> 20

Photo: BigStock

years). The evolution and validation of these NT phases can be observed in the main publications in the period 1973-2018 that is summarized in the “timeline” (Fig. 1 and table IS-3). From 2010, the vision of the system as a tool for mitigation of the greenhouse gases and climate changes mitigation had important contributions from C.Bayer, C.C.Cerri, T.J.C.Amado, C.E.P. Cerri, R.Boddey, J.C.M.Sá with numerous studiesthat supported the NT system’s advancement. In this context, the number of scientific papers in

poster form and oral presentation at congresses promoted by the Brazilian Soil Science Society was remarkable. Likewise, the participation of researchers from the Soil Science area as speakers in No-Till National Meetings since 2006 to date has been about 70 researchers (30%) stating how much it was essential in the evolution of the NT system. João Carlos de Moraes Sá Ademir de Oliveira Ferreira Universidade Estadual de Ponta Grossa (UEPG) E-mail: jcmoraessa@yahoo.com.br

SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018 |

Integrated crop-livestock

systems as an alternative for sustainable intensification on land use in Brazil

ustainable intensification is an answer to one of the great challenges regarding food production, which is the need to increase production in existing areas while putting less pressure on the environment. In this context, integrated crop-livestock-forest (iCLF) systems, in its various modalities, isconsidereda key strategy. Crop-livestock-forest integration is a production system that integrates, in consortium, rotation or succession, different agricultural, livestock and forest, in the same area, in such a way that there exist synergies between the components (the total is greater than the sum of the parts). The total area presently cultivated with integrated systems in Brazil is estimated at 11,5 million hectares.

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The conversion of monocultures (the dominant practice) to polycultures should be under stood as a gradual process of transformation to a more complex productive model. This complexity results from several positive and negative interactions between the systemâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s components (annual crops, pastures,and trees). The increasing interest in iCLF systems is based on the potential benefits that result from synergies between the systemâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s different components. Examples of effects, among others, are improvements in soil physical, chemical and biological properties; greater infiltration levels, greater soil water stocking levels as well as improved carbon sequestration resulting from increased soil organic matter; soil erosion decreases as well as

less soil nutrient losses resulting from greater plant coverage levels and improved soil structures resulting from productive pastures; greater fertilizer use efficiency resulting from greater nutrients cycling by the systemâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perennial components (forages and trees); greenhouse gas emissions mitigation as well as other results. Research results in iCLF systems throughout Brazil allow us to conclude that crop and pasture rotation in grain production systems is an effective solution to improve soil chemical, physical and biological qualities. Such externalities occur as a result of increases in organic matter and improvements in soil structure. Verified synergies between crops and pastures are respon-

sible for grain and meat productivity gains taking place in these mixed systems. In livestock production, iCLF systems are an interesting alternative that enables correction of soil fertility in Brazil. The positive effect that pastures have on subsequent grain crops can also be directly observed by higher grain productivity levels, in particular when pastures fertilization takes place in the livestock phase. From an economic standpoint, increases in crop and pasture productivity should be considered as well asthe more rational use of inputs, machinery and labor, improvements in cash flow and increases in liquidity. As a result of the greater diversification of activities in rural properties, it is possible to reduce the risks that the business faces. For example: without irrigation it is possible to obtain two harvests each year: soybeans and intercropped maize-forage, followed by pasture for the dry season and also straw for soil cover for no-till to the next crop cycle. The possibility of having a smaller demand for the use of inputs such as fungicides, herbicides and insecticides in iCLF systems brings short-term economic benefits that are easily estimated. Similarly, nutrients cycling by forages and the greater efficiency in soil nutrients use by grain crops in iCLF systems, in comparison to that of single crops, generates savings in fertilizer use and, as a result, leads to reductions in production costs.

In well-managed systems in Brazil, positive impacts of iCLF systems include: a) increases by 15 to 20% in soil organic matter in comparison to organic matter levels of native Cerrado; b) increases by 90% in phosphorous use efficiency, in the long term, in comparison to that verified in soybean-corn rotation; c) productivity gains of soybeans by 10 to 15% when in succession to fertilized and higher productivity pastures; d) average increases in animal productivity in the fattening stage by about 4 times (600 kg of live weight/hectare/ year in relation to the breedingfattening stage of tradition livestock with 120-150 kg of live weight hectare/year); e) animal productivity average increases in the breeding stage by about three times (300 kg of weaned calves/ hectare/year in comparison to traditional livestock with 85-110 kg of weaned calves/hectare/ year).

In environmental terms, there are medium and long-term benefits of pastures on grain crops, among others, due to positive impacts onthe conservation of natural resources and to improvements in soil quality observed during the pasture phase. Therefore, soil and water conservation tend to benefit from crop-pasture integration, since water and soil losses are substantially lower than those verified in conventional planting crop cultivation systems (soil plowing) and no till planting; therefore, leading to greater water table recharge. Because of the numerous benefits provided by forages (grasses and legumes), these should also bebe consideredas key components in the development of new plant and livestock systems. RobĂŠlio Leandro MarchĂŁo Lourival Vilela Embrapa Cerrados E-mail: robelio.marchao@embrapa.br

SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018 |

Soil Scienceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s contribution to the Brazilian forestry

eforestation is one of the activities of the agribusiness that contributes most to the Brazilian economy, with about 6% of GDP of the industrial sector. Currently, 7.8 million hectares in the country are occupied by forest plantations. Most of this area is occupied by eucalyptus (5.7 million ha) and pines (1.6 million ha) whose plantations are the most productive in the world and managed using social and environmentally sound techniques, which has allowed the forest companies to obtain internationally recognized certification. A significant part of the reforested areas were converted from the agricultural and pastoral uses, often with a considerable degree of degradation.

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The Soil Science has been one of the responsible for the Brazilian forest sector competitiveness, especially when considering that in the tropical region, the availability of water and nutrients are the two main factors determining forest productivity and that both recourses are controlled by the soil. To obtain the maximum productivity, without compromising the environmental components, the forest companies adopt knowledge from various disciplines of the Soil Science, such as mineralogy, physics, classification, conservation and fertility. Soil mapping, including the characteristics defining growth, preparation systems, conservation practices and civil works such as road construction, is the first initiative by

the companies before starting their operations. These maps allow planning the size and shape of the forest stands, the genotype to be planted, the fertilization regime to be adopted, besides the nutritional requirement of the genotype, the type of equipment to be used in the preparation of the soil, the most appropriate time of year for the harvest, the type of machine being used in harvesting, etc. The advancement of that knowledge in the forestry sector has resulted in an increased productivity of 10 to 15 m3/ha/year, in the 70â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, to more than 45 m3/ ha/year, and can reach 60 m3/ ha/year, in some situations. The studies related to soil fertility, tree nutrition, and soil prepara-

tion were fundamental to this increased productivity. In the 70’s, the fertilization of eucalypts, for example, was restricted to a few grams of NPK per plant and the soil was intensively prepared, as was done for agricultural crops. With the advance of knowledge, the minimum site preparation was adopted, and a limited portion of the soil is revolved to enhance growth and deepening of the root system of trees. The fertilization is made according to the nutritional requirement of the genotype used, expected production, mineralogical and physical characteristics of the soil that control the availability and movement of nutrients, and in phases of increased demand for plants. Computer systems are used in the recommendation and in the nutritional diagnosis

of plantations. The combination of all this knowledge allows the adoption of management “packages” that lead to the concept of “precision silviculture”, whereby each management unit is considered in a specific way, maximizing the use of resources in a rational way. Considering the rotation length of eucalyptus as seven years, each year approximately 800,000 hectares receive lime and fertilizers, i.e., around 1 million and 320,000 tons, respectively. The pursuit of sustainability of the Brazilian forestry requires studies related to soil science, which, ultimately, have as main objectives the dynamics and in the rational use of the resources water and nutrients. In this sense, more conservative

techniques of forest harvesting and transport are evaluated to quantify nutrient removal, soil compaction, soil organic matter content, etc. Industrial residues with potential for forestry use have been studied and tested as soil conditioners and sources of nutrients for the trees and as possible contaminants of soil and water. In summary, the Brazilian competitiveness in the production of fiber and wood energy has in the knowledge of the Soil Science applied to forestry one of the fundamental pillars. Nairan Felix de Barros Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV) E-mail: nfbarros@agros.org.br

The Brazilian competitiveness in the production of fiber and wood energy has in the knowledge of the Soil Science applied to forestry one of the fundamental pillars.

Photo: Sérgio Shimizu SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018 |

Education and Gender Aspects in Soil Science - Graduate Studies Photo: Reinaldo Pacheco

ndergraduate and graduate studies in Brazil are quite recent in relation to various countries of the northern hemisphere. The undergraduate course in Agronomy is the main course for the education of researchers/ scientists that are active in the area of soils. The oldest school of Agronomy in Brazil is the Imperial Escola Agrícola da Bahia (Imperial Agricultural School of Bahia) inaugurated in 1875, now known as the Universidade Federal da Bahia (Federal University of Bahia), followed by the Imperial Escola de Medicina Veterinária e de

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Agricultura Prática (Imperial School of Veterinary Medicine and Practical Agriculture) in 1883, currently known as Universidade Federal de Pelotas (Federal University of Pelotas). Currently, there are 222 courses of Agronomy spread throughout all 26 Brazilian states and Federal District. Graduate studies courses in Brazil emerge from the creation of the Campanha Nacional de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (National Campaign for Refinement of Personnel in Higher Education) (currently Capes) in 1951,

by Decree no. 29.741, for the purpose of “ensuring the existence of specialized personnel of sufficient quantity and quality to meet the needs of public and private undertakings that aim at the development of the country”. There are now 15 graduate study courses in soils (Table 1) in Brazil, which are evaluated every four years through various criteria that primarily include the education of Master’s degree and Doctoral students, but also the participation of undergraduate students and scientific research. The courses

Table 1 Graduate Studies Programs in Soil Science in Brazil, 2018 Number of professors women/total

Programme

Institution/Brazilian region

Agronomy (Soil Science)

Universidade Est. Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho/Jaboticabal / Southeast

3/24

Agronomy (Soil Science)

Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco / Northeast

4/13

Agronomy (Soil Science)

Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro / Southeast

7/25

Agronomy (Soil Science and Plant Nutrition)

Univ.de São Paulo/Escola Sup. de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz /Southeast

2/17

Agronomy (Soil Science and Plant Nutrition)

Universidade Federal de Viçosa / Southeast

2/23

Agronomy (Soil Science and Plant Nutrition)

Fundação Universidade Federal do Piauí / Northeast

2/14

Soil Science

Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina /South

2/14

Soil Science

Universidade Federal do Paraná / South

4/19

Soil Science

Universidade Federal de Lavras / Southeast

4/23

Soil Science

Universidade Federal de Santa Maria / South

1/17

Soil Science

Universidade Federal do Rio Grande Do Sul / South

3/17

Soil Science

Universidade Federal da Paraíba/Areia / Northeast

1/12

Soil Science

Universidade Federal do Ceará / Northeast

4/18

Soil and Water Managemente

Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido / Northeast

3/22

Soils and Quality Of Ecosystems

Universidade Federal do Recôncavo da Bahia / Northeast

4/17

Source: https://sucupira.capes.gov.br/sucupira/.

that currently have the maximum score (6 and 7) in this evaluation are listed in Table 2. Five of these courses are also in some of the oldest universities of Brazil. Soil science in Brazil was for many years an area predominantly for males. In 1915, that is, 20 years after the first group that graduated (1895), the first woman agronomist received a degree. In addition, in 1979, 11 years after the first doctoral degree, the first woman received a doctoral degree. Probably this is one of the causes of a low percentage of women professors in graduate programmes (Table 1). Nevertheless, in many universities nowadays, men and women students of Agronomy represent the percentages they have in general society. But in graduate schools, we have fewer women students (Figure 1). The report “Gender in the global

research landscape”, released in 2017 by the publisher Elsevier, analyzed articles in scientific journals indexed in the Scopus database over a period of 20 years, comparing 12 countries and regions and considering 27 areas of concentration. In the period 1996-2000, the total number of women that authored

articles (regardless of area) reached 38%. From 2011-2015, this number rose to 49%. In this scenario, Brazil and Portugal were at the top of the list, followed by large powers, such as Australia, Canada, the European Union, and the United States. Another important point is that, in Brazil, most of the articles published

Figure 1. Number of graduates in Soil Science by gender in some Brazilian regions. Sources: https://sucupira.capes.gov.br/sucupira/. Data compiled by Oliveira, Martins & Moreira, 2017. Bulletin of SBCS SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018 |

Table 2 Graduate Studies courses in Soil Science with Capes 6 and 7 ratings and their respective ages and the ages of their institutions Institution

Ratings

Age (Foundation date)

Institution foundation date

ESALQ

54 (1964)

1901

UFLA

42 (1976)

1908

UFV

41 (1977)

1922

UFRRJ

52 (1966)

1910

UFRGS

53 (1965)

1910

UFSM

47 (1971)

1960

from 2011 to 2015 were in the area of medicine, followed by agriculture and biological sciences. In these areas, the number of men and women authors was similar. Many Brazilian professors did their graduate studies partially or totally in universities of the northern hemisphere. Af-

ter their return, they soon perceived that it was necessary to produce books that dealt with the particular nature of a tropical country such as Brazil, using them in teaching activities and as a basis for research and extension. The results of research grew in number, and various textbooks on Brazilian soil science were produced, including

by the Brazilian Soil Science Society (SBCS). Probably due to foundational education in Agronomy, Brazilian soil science has produced more practical results than theoretical ones. Techniques of soil use and management refined in Brazil undoubtedly had the contribution of our soil scientists and have allowed us to reach high levels of yield with reduction in planted area, with less pressure on areas of natural ecosystems, such as forests. Fatima Maria de Souza Moreira Universidade Federal de Lavras (ufla) E-mail: fmoreira@dcs.ufla.br

Techniques of soil use and management refined in Brazil undoubtedly had the contribution of our soil scientists and have allowed us to reach high levels of yield with reduction in planted area, with less pressure on areas of natural ecosystems, such as forests.

Photo: Reinaldo Pacheco (UFV)

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Understanding soil as natural wealth to all of us, and not as a private resource for the production of goods.

Challenges and difficulties of soil education in Brazil Photo: Nilvania Aparecida de Mello

artesianism has influenced not only the ways in which knowledge is produced, fragmenting and reorganizing it in several disciplines, but also, it has had broader implications. For example, Cartesianism has impacted the organization of professions and even the ordinary manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s concept of the world. This new view of the worldcomes from a type of science that is not rooted in inquiry or discussion. In society, this generates both over-specialization and ignorance. It was in this context that soil science became a branch of specialized knowledge. Knowledge about soils is fundamental for a true understand-

ing of the environment and the complex relationships within it. Nevertheless, even among professionals who are directly involved in the use of this natural resource, there are huge knowledge gaps. It was from this observation that, in the late eighties, initiatives to strengthen soil education in Brazil began to emerge. Although this was not the exclusive focus of the first Brazilian Symposia on Soil Education, there was a clear concern about the need to rethink teaching strategies. Thus, professionals working in soil science needed to start using different teaching approaches such as Constructivism, Systemic Approach, and Teaching through Research in their practices.

Soil science in Brazil has always had a very strong link with higher education. As a result, it is possible to see the progress of soil science through the consolidation of higher education. Because of this close relationship, the early events in Soil Education essentially dealt with the teaching of soil science in higher education. However, it soon became clear that addressing the soil pedagogy was different from addressing soil education. After all, education is something greater than teaching; it is something that happens in all spheres of human life. We are educated from the moment we are born and no matter where we are. In SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018 |

citizen’s interest in the preservation of nature, a new educational approach has emerged, prepared to elucidate society's relationship with the environment in a m ore profound and conscious way. This new trend focuses on developing research methodologies that account for environmental problems while also explaining the role of each human being in the rising environmental crisis. Itaims to encourage not only a discussion about environmental problems but also to deepen peoples’ understanding of how these challenges are inter-related. For example, this branch of science examines the deep nexus between environmental and social degradation. More over, it seeks to tackle the responsibility of the various actors involved, and the power plays rooted in the so-called environmental crisis.

Photo: Museu de Ciências da Terra Alexis Dorofeef (UFV)

fact, it is important to consider that in this pedagogical process we are not only educators but also learners. Education is not restricted to happening within the school or university walls, because learning never stops and people can always discover more about how to live in har66 |

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mony with others and with the environment. The uneasiness resulting from the findings of teaching strategies gave rise to Environmental Education. Parallel to the growth of environmental movements and the increase of the common

This new approach restates what has been considered as the teaching of soils, definitively transforming it into Soil Education, and beyond; it is no longer restricted to higher education. The reflections provided by environmental education show that it was necessary to reinsert the subject of soil in different educational contexts in order to share with society all of the accumulated knowledge. This movement has also revealed that the only viable educational strategy is to make soil relevant in a society where 80% of the population lives in urban areas

Photo: Juliano Rossi de Oliveira Environmental education allowed the reinsertion of the subject soil in basic education.

and no longer has any direct relationship with the land. The theme and agenda of the Brazilian Symposia on Soil Education (SBES, in portuguese) in the 21st century reflect this new approach, showing that the soil is no longer discussed as an element of production and is now understood as an integrating element in the cycles of nature. As such, it needs to be known and understood throughout society. Thus, the 2010 SBES event set out to discuss the popularization of Soil Science; that of 2012 dealt with soil in an integrated analysis of nature and society; that of 2014 proposed to discuss the relationship among soil, the environment, and society; in 2016 the discussion turned to the ground in the urban environment and in 2018 the discussion was resumed to evaluate who should oversee this extra-curricular program and how it should be administered.

When approaching this level of development within the soil science community, it is important to question whether we have reached the apex of Soil Education in Brazil, or if there are still other goals to be reached. Going back to the educator Paulo Freire, who affirmed that a person is always incomplete and therefore, always in need of education, it is possible to affirm that there is still considerable work to be done. We currently understand soil education as the diffusion and the popularization of soil knowledge for a better understanding of the environment. However, is this approach enough to propelneeded social changes if we want to ensure a healthy environment for all? Obviously not. The next step that soil education should take is to go beyond promoting awareness to advance the understanding that the soil is a common good

of humanity, just like water and air. One step that the soil science community can take is to achieve a heightened level of understanding and promote critical education that opens the possibility for social change. Another step for the soil science community to accomplish is to use an understanding of soil to discuss the production of goods. This will allow people to appreciate how soil provides a natural wealth that is common to all of us and enables us to derive private benefits. When these aims are realized, the soil will receive proper social recognition, and we will have reached our goal as soil scientists, and more importantlyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;as soil educators. Nilvania Aparecida de Mello Thais Aparecida Mendes Universidade TecnolĂłgica Federal do ParanĂĄ (UTFPR) E-mail: nilvania@utfpr.edu.br SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018 |

Land reclamation in Brazil: an old history, however recent! Photo: Luiz Eduardo Dias

razil, through its emperor D. Pedro II in 1861, was one of the pioneer countries in the environmental reclamation when designing a forest restoration program in an area deforested by the wood exploitation and cultivation of species such as coffee and sugarcane. It is estimated that over more than a decade 100,000 seedlings of forest species were planted. This area, which currently is part of the Tijuca National Park in Rio de Janeiro, is recognized as one of the most beautiful tropical forests in Brazil and has an environmental role of extreme importance for the Rio de Janeiro city.

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However, despite this pioneering initiative, little was done in terms of environmental reclamation in Brazil from that time to the last Brazilian Constitution promulgated in 1988. From that date, the land reclamation became a legal requirement, and it was established that the degradation agent was responsible for the land reclamation. Immediately the mining companies became the focus of reclamation actions, which were marked by the planting of forest and herbaceous species, notably exotic. At that time, it was common to perform land reclama-

tion based on information and successful “recipes” from environmentally diverse areas, without any concern with similarities between the environments. The same techniques were adopted for tailings dam and sterile piles. The “recipes” for success were based on the fact that there was good soil cover by the vegetation. However, many plantations were carried out with a single eucalyptus specie, for example. There was no concern, at least initially, about the ecological role and sustainability of the area to be reclaimed. Much less regarding the contextualization of the area in relation to the surrounding areas.

Nevertheless, like any science, environmental reclamation has been evolving thanks to the research emergence and the offering of courses and disciplines related to the subject in postgraduate programs, as in the case of the Graduate Program in Soil Science and Plant Nutrition of Federal University of Viรงosa (MG), the pioneer in implementing a Land Reclamation discipline on a regular basis in 1994. Similarly, scientific events like the Ecological Restoration Symposiums, which takes place since 1989; the Land Reclamation Symposiums, which takes place since 1991; and the Brazil Forum for Degraded Areas, which since 2014 is held annually. Researches from Paranรก and Rio de Janeiro, who held the first symposiums on the subject in the early 1990s, had an equally important role for the initial development of environmental reclamation as a science.

considerably. However, there are still inconsistencies and ambiguities in the legislation that hinder decision making by environmental agencies. Important concepts such as restoration and rehabilitation are understood in an antagonistic way by the Brazilian legislation. Additionally, these concepts differ from those established by the International Society for Ecological Restoration, SER. Currently, it is a consensus among researchers in the area that in many projects the most important is the reestablishment of ecosystem functions, even if they are different from the original conditions. In some cases, such as mining projects in the Amazon region, reclamation processes can provide environments with ecological functions at a higher level than the pre-degradation

condition. Furthermore, rehabilitation can be understood as a step towards restoring the degraded ecosystem. After the rupture of the Samarco tailings dam (Vale and BHP Biliton Brasil Ltda) in Mariana Minas Gerais, the environmental reclamation in Brazil started to reach a new level due to the complexities resulted from the impacts. Different ecosystems have been impacted and the social issue that became a strong component to be considered in the reclamation program. Until then, small accidents that occurred or the environmental impacts resulting from mining or industrial activities always had little repercussion in social terms. The current scenario highlights the need for projects to incorporate a broader vision

For more than a decade, until the mid-2000s, the majority of the work had as a reference to the formal mining areas. This scenario changed with the formation of new researchers who embraced other land reclamation fields, such as agricultural activities, forest restoration, gold-digging areas, roads, railways, etc. In the same sense, Brazilian environmental legislation, specifically on the land reclamation, has been evolving

Photo: Igor Assis The current scenario of environmental reclamation in Brazil is optimistic, as we keep developing critical professionals, we have legal protection and regulations that subsidize the actions.

SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018 |

of environmental reclamation goals. Where not only the technical issues linked to the functioning of the recovering environment should be considered, but also how social issues act on the environment and how they can be leveraged to promote environmental sustainability. There are still important shortcomings in this area, such as the financial reserves required for the effective fulfillment of reclamation projects. Another short-

coming is the definition of time and practical and effective criteria for monitoring land reclamation processes. This is a crucial step in the land reclamation, which enables interventions to make the process sustainable and with an effective socio-environmental gain. Finally, the current scenario of environmental reclamation in Brazil is optimistic, as we keep developing critical professionals, we have legal protection and regulations that subsidize

the actions. In certain situations, Brazil still fails to oversee and monitor reclamation processes - new assessment approaches are needed - but today's scenario is more favorable than that of the 1980s when Brazil was still crawling in environmental reclamation actions. Luiz Eduardo Dias Igor Rodrigues de Assis Universidade Federal de Viรงosa (UFV) E-mail: igor.assis@ufv.br

In Brazil, environmental reclamation has been evolving thanks to the research emergence and the offering of courses and disciplines related to the subject in postgraduate programs.

Photo: Igor Assis

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Soils of Antarctica: studying polar soils, their long history in severely dry and cold conditions and the dynamics of ecological processes, is now one of the frontiers of pedology.

New interfaces of Soil Science in Brazil and in the world - the great interface of the terrestrial spheres

welve years have passed since the International Union of Soil Sciences held a wide and timely debate in 2006, headed by Prof. Hartemink, who wanted to appreciate how different actors in soil science envisioned the future of the discipline. The many opinions, to some extent converging, were published in a short book entitled The Future of Soil Science. Curiously, no Brazilian contribution was recorded at that time, although our soils were already the scene of the greatest global agricultural revolution after the Second World War, and

sustained the second largest food production on a global scale. Among the opinions collected and published, from a total of 55, only 8 came from scientists located in the tropical zone. An asymmetry perhaps expected, never justifiable. In 2018, when the 21WCSS is eventually carried out on Brazilian soil, it is possible to have a fresh rethinking, which looks at the future (s) imagined, in the quest to unravel, as things are in Soil Science, in a more tropicalized look and current view. There are global phenomena, but also specificities of Brazil

and the Tropics, which deserve a critical examination. The soil, the delicate terrestrial skin, plays a fundamental role in the main ecosystem services that sustain life on the planet. Soil science already represents in itself the interface of several correlated disciplines: geology (from the geosphere) ecology (biosphere), hydrology (hydrosphere) and climatology (atmosphere). It evolved from an agronomic tradition to much broader environmental aspects, with a concern for the sustainability of the agricultural landscape, as predicted by SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018 |

Tinker (1985) and Greenland (1991). In addition, it started to cooperate much more in ecology and hydrology, in the recent years. Each of these disciplines, with their long tentacles in the soil, allows for innumerable innovative visions and unexplored scientific trails. Although very brief and incomplete, I will examine some of the many paths where interfaces that can be deployed in innovative challenges. For this exercise, I have chosen four thematic areas on different scales, all of which are very contrasting, that still walk in their infancy as interface disciplines: (1) Climate Change and soils of extreme environments; (2) Pedometrics; (3) Pedoarchaeology, Technosols and their applications; (4) Soil-plant nanotechnologies. 1. Soils are polycyclic. Climates and landscapes change constantly Soils do not have the static dimension of a one-way genesis; rather, they reveal the cumulative effects of formation processes that vary both timely and spatially, imprinting records of contrasting climate cycles to be unvailed. The carbon dating of the deepest soils of the Brazilian tropics (Latossolos) point to a genesis that fits within the time interval of the last 10,000 years (Pessenda et al. 1998); that means they would be Holocene mantles, formed after the last great glaciation, and therefore, would not be entities as â&#x20AC;&#x153;oldâ&#x20AC;? as one might suppose. This would indicate the 72 |

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profound environmental and climatic change experienced by the tropics only during the late Pleistocene and Holocene. In an effort to model Brazilian tropical paleospace in the last 18,000 years, pioneering the input of soil variables in the model, Arruda et al. (2017) revealed a large retraction of the Amazonian forests in the last glacial, with creation of new ecological niches favorable to dry forests, instead of savannas, as previously thought. However, no arch of xerophilous vegetation was predicted by the classical ecological conception (Prado and Gibbs hypothesis). Future models that include pedological and climatic information in a more detailed scale can provide a great gain of knowledge on the changes of the Brazilian landscape since the last glaciation. Within the same line, the frontiers of pedology have become even more broadened with the discovery of unique pedological systems, present in regions of extreme climates. Polar regions, such as Antarctica, on the one hand, have become sites of privileged soil studies despite no agricultural purpose, for representing a collection of long-term climate records as well as repositories of life forms uniquely adapted to extreme conditions (the extremophiles), such as high salinity, low temperatures and severe water deficit. Studying polar soils, their long history in severely dry and cold conditions and the dynamics of eco-

logical processes, is now one of the frontiers of pedology, as Bockheim (2016) pointed out in his book Soils of Antarctica. Despite the many recent advances in knowledge, much remains to be known, as well as the need for studies that point out the potential for carbon emissions and sequestration in polar terrestrial environments (Thomazini et al., 2016), as well as a much broader netweork of soil climate monitoring (Vieira et al., 2010). 2. Pedometry and spectral methods in the future mapping of soils Digital soil mapping techniques that allow the quicker and more efficient production of soil surveys can allow the adjustment of the continuous spatial distribution of soil properties in discrete categories, according to the inherent complexity of the soil variability, increasing the accuracy of spatial information. Systems that employ fuzzy logic allow the prediction of soil classes and their properties, reducing the inconsistency and costs associated with traditional manual procedures. However, it is important to note that the use of digital mapping is not a substitute for the traditional method of soil surveys since strong knowledge of soil-landscape relationships is irreplaceable (Menezes et al., 2013). Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and multivariate analyzes allow the rapid and economical prediction of clay content in soils, as well as several other important physical and chemical properties. In

recent work, Dotto et al. (2016) show their potential for application in a large study of soils in southern Brazil, but there is still much to be done in a wider collection of Brazilian soils. 3. The brave new world of Technosols and Anthrosols The radical transformation of the terrestrial landscape by human societies has created a scenario where technology has generated human-made soils, whether by intensive agricultural use (Anthrosols) or by the artificial deposition of waste or materials normally resulting from industrial or exploration processes. As Archaeological records, the Indian Black Earths, old known by the Brazilian pedologists, were first mentioned and soon aroused interest in the world scientific community, opening a vast field of pedoarchaeological studies that last until now, in several sub-areas and research fronts (Teixeira et al., 2010). Pedoarchaeological studies have shown that pedogenic processes of iluviation, phosphatization, melanization by burning and magnetization (Correa et al., 2013, Vasconcelos et al., 2013) are common, representing a new frontier of applications of the knowledge of the soils for multidisciplinary approaches. In the other hand, Anthrosols have gained prominence in rural areas around the world, and notably in Brazil. The extensive and cumulative fostatization, liming, the transit of heavy ma-

Photo: Carlos Schaefer Technosols generated by the severe dam rupture of the FundĂŁo Dam, in Mariana, were studied and monitored, pointing out several strategies for its in situ remediation, without removal of sediments.

chinery and minimal (no-till) cultivation resulted in profound physical-chemical and morphological transformations of agricultural soils, transforming the original soils into new artificial entities, still little studied. Our

classification system, unlike the WRB, does not consider the Anthrosols, although all who study the soils in the field perceive the profound differences of the legacy of 40 years of intensified land use in Brazil. SBCS Bulletim | MAY/AUGUST 2018 |

On the other hand, the legacy of industrialized societies in the terrestrial pedosphere can be well exemplified by the Technosols, recognized by the WRB. From the Amazon to the poles, all regions of the planet have soils artificially created by the human action. Guerra et al. (2011) revealed the unexpected presence of a century-old deep Technosol in an old Antarctic explorers’ camp in Hope Bay, resulting from the continuous action of depositing rubbish and various residues on a heavily degraded Cryosol. More recently, Technosols generated by the severe dam rupture of the Fundão Dam, in Mariana, were studied and monitored, pointing out several strategies for its in situ remediation, without removal of sediments. Another case study in Brazil, Carvalho et al. (2005) described Technosols associated to the waste spills of the Uranium mine of Lagoa Real (BA), noting that the physical and structural

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problems of the Technosol were more limiting than problems of a chemical nature, in the revegetation of the area with native species of the semiarid Caatinga. Biogeochemical processes associated with root growth were monitored and demonstrated the success of techniques used in the recovery of Technosols. This is a very promising field of research for recover of mining areas. 4. Nanotechs and Biogeochemical processes: the ultimate scale As a delicate interface between terrestrial spheres (bio, geo, hydro and atmo), the soil has a dynamic and hierarchical biological system, which operates from the macroscopic scale to micro, submicro and nanoscales. Despite a great advance in the knowledge of macro-scale physical-chemical processes, biogeochemical phenomena at nanoscales have only recently begun to be unraveled, and there is much to be known. The new research

should promote an increase of mechanistic knowledge of micro- and nano-architecture of the interfaces between soil and organisms, and in the interdependence of physical-chemical and biological processes. Major challenges and opportunities are expected in the molecular scale areas, which requires the integration of disciplines of molecular biology, applied physics to nanostructural materials and computational chemistry. In order to use a Brazilian example, a review of the use of nanotechnology in soil remediation has recently highlighted the use of nanoparticles to assist in the degradation of soil contaminants, representing an emerging research area of great applied potential (Thomé et al., 2015). Many progresses are expected to emerge in the coming years, notably on soil fertilizer applications. Carlos Ernesto Schaefer Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV) E-mail: carlos.schaefer@ufv.br

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Gliessman SR. Agroecology: the ecology of sustainable food systems.3rd ed. Boca Raton: CRC Press; 2015. Greenland DJ. The contributions of soil Science to society – past, presente and future. Soil Science.1991;151:19-23. Guerra MVV, Schaefer CEGR, Rosa PF, Dimas FNB, Pereira TTC, Pereira-Filho ER. Heavy metals contamination in century-old manmade technosols of hope bay, Antarctic Peninsula. Water Air Soil Pollut. 2011;222:91-102. Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística - IBGE. Censo agropecuário 2006: Brasil, Grandes Regiões e Unidades da Federação. Rio de Janeiro: Ministério do Planejamento, Orçamento e Gestão; 2006. Disponível em: http://www.sidra.ibge.gov.br. Lal R. Soil carbon sequestration impacts on global climate change and food security. Science. 2004;304:1623-7. https://doi. org/10.1126/science.1097396 Menezes MD, Silva SHG, Owens PR, Curi N. Digital soil mapping approach based on fuzzy logic and field expert knowledge. Cienc Agrotec. 2013;37:287-98. https://doi.org/10.1590/S141370542013000400001 Paustian K, Lehmann J, Ogle S, Reay D, Robertson GP, Smith P. Climate-smart soils. Nature. 2016;532:49-57.https://doi. org/10.1038/nature17174 Pessenda LCR, Gouveia SEM, Aravena R, Gomes BM, Boulet R, Ribeiro AS. Radiocarbon dating and stable carbon isotopes of soil organic matter in forest savanna boundary areas in the southern Brazilian Amazon forest. Radiocarbon. 1998;40:1013–22.

Ploeg JDVD. Camponeses e impérios alimentares: lutas por autonomia e sustentabilidade na era da globalização. Porto Alegre: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; 2008. Santos BS. Para uma sociologia das ausências e uma sociologia das emergências. Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais. 2002;63:23780.https://doi.org/10.4000/ rccs.1285 Tinker PB. Soil science in a changing world. J Soil Science. 1985;36:1-8. Thomazini A, Francelino MR, Pereira AB, Schünemann A, Mendonça ES, Almeida PH, Schaefer CEGR. Geospatial variability of soil CO2–C exchange in the main terrestrial ecosystems of Maritime Antarctica. Sci Tot Envir. 2016;562:802-11. Thomé A, Reddy KR, Reginatto C, Cecchin I.Review of nanotechnology for soil and groundwater remediation: Brazilian perspectives. Water Air Soil Poll. 2015;226:1-20. Vasconcelos BN, Ker JC, Schaefer CER, Prous A, Andrade FV. Antropossolos em sítios arqueológicos de ambiente cárstico no norte de Minas Gerais. Rev Bras Cienc Solo. 2013;37:986-96. Vieira G, Bockheim J, Guglielmin M, Balks M, Abramov AA, Boelhouwers J, Cannone N, Ganzert L, Gilichinsky DA, Goryachkin S, López‐ Martínez J, Meiklejohn I, Raffi R, Ramos M, Schaefer C, Serrano E, Simas F, Sletten R, Wagner D. Thermal state of permafrost and active-layer monitoring in the Antarctic: advances during the international polar year 2007– 2009. Permafrost Periglac Process. 2010;21:182-97.https:// doi.org/10.1002/ppp.685

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Photo: Reinaldo Pacheco

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