Soil physical quality in integrated crop‑livestock systems

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate the physical quality of soil in integrated crop-livestock systems (ICL) in comparison to continuous pasture and native Cerrado. During two years (2005 and 2006), soil samples were collected from two layers (0–20 and 70–80 cm), in six areas under different crop rotation and ICL. Continuous pasture and native Cerrado were used as reference. The following physical and hydraulic properties were evaluated: bulk density, water saturation, total porosity, macroporosity, effective microporosity, effective saturation, lab and field‑saturated hydraulic conductivity, and soil‑water retention curve. All the cultivated systems caused impact on the physical and hydraulic properties of the 0–20 cm layer. The continuous pasture provided the best soil physical quality. In the comparison between years, only the soil under conventional tillage had its bulk density increased and its soil porosity decreased. The pasture in the rotation system with ICL, even after four years, does not restore soil physical quality in comparison to continuous pasture.