Quality of soils cultivated with eucalyptus in Itaporanga D'´Ajuda – Sergipe, Brazil

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of soils cultivated with eucalyptus clones in Itaporanga D'´Ajuda, Sergipe, Brazil. Samples were collected from rhizosphere soil, at 5 and 20 cm depth, of two eucalyptus clones (Clone 1 - Copener 1250 - cultivation and brachiaria; Clone 2 - 1277 North Bahia - cropping of eucalyptus) and native forest, during the rainy and dry season. The parameters analyzed were: texture, pH, total organic carbon, total nitrogen, phosphorus, colony-forming units and respiratory rate. The forest soil showed the highest microbial activity compared to the two soils cultivated with eucalyptus clones, but no difference was observed between the dry and rainy season. The cultivation of eucalyptus clone favored the increase of total organic carbon, phosphorus, density of fungi in cultivated soil in comparison to the clone 2. The period of sampling, wet and dry, influenced the chemical and microbiological attributes of the soil. The cultivation of clone 1 with brachiaria contributed to the increase of soil fertility (carbon, phosphorus) and the development of fungi and bacteria in soil.