Joint analysis of physical and biological soil attributes under crop‑livestock integration system

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of the integrated crop-livestock system on the morphological, physical and biological properties of soil. The experiment was carried out in Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil, in a typic Hapludox soil. The following systems were sampled: grain crop under conventional soil tillage system, integrated crop-livestock system under no-tillage, continuous Urochloa decumbens (Syn. Brachiaria decumbens) pasture and natural system. In each system, a trench was opened in order to detect morphological changes caused by different management, using the cultural profile method. Assessments of soil macroinvertebrates were done according to the method Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility. Undisturbed soil samples were also used to assess the physical attributes of soil (soil density, total porosity, macro and microporosity). Among the cultivated systems, better soil structure was observed in the integrated crop-livestock system, in the layers 0–0.1 and 0.1–0.2 m. The systems under crop-livestock and pasture continuously cultivated favored a more biologically active soil environment, among the other agricultural systems. The visualization of soil attributes showed that crop-livestock integration is a promising strategy to develop sustainable production systems and that the period of two years of management is considered suitable for crop-pasture rotation.