Evaluation of soil structure using participatory methods in the semiarid region of Brazil Avaliação da estrutura do solo utilizando métodos participatórios na região semiárida brasileira
subject: Agricultura Familiar, Soil Structure, Soils - management, Solos - manejo, estrutura do solo, family farm
description: Conservation practices are important in improving the environmental protection of agroecosystems in semiarid regions, as these are considered to be fragile environments. Soil-quality indicators are useful elements in evaluating the impact of some agricultural management practices, and the use of recognized indicators which are able to be measured by farmers is an innovative approach that seeks to integrate both scientific and local knowledge. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of various management practices through indicators of soil quality related to soil structure, in areas of family farming where agroecological consortiums are employed. These indicators were identified as important by the farmers themselves, and methodologies were suggested for field application by the farmers, which were later compared to applications made in the laboratory. The indicators used were penetration resistance of the soil and stability and dispersion of aggregates for areas of agroecological consortium and natural vegetation. It can be concluded that agroecological consortia contribute to the conservation of soil structure and that the involvement of farmers plays an important role in developing research.Práticas conservacionistas são importantes na melhoria da proteção ambiental de agroecossistemas em regiões semiáridas por estes serem considerados ambientes frágeis. Indicadores de qualidade do solo são elementos úteis na avaliação do impacto de algumas práticas de manejo agrícola e a utilização de indicadores reconhecidos e possíveis de serem mensurados por agricultores é uma abordagem inovadora que busca integrar conhecimento científico e local. Este estudo objetivou avaliar o impacto de algumas práticas de manejo em áreas de agricultores familiares que utilizam consórcios agroecológicos através de indicadores de qualidade do solo relacionados à estrutura do solo. Estes indicadores foram apontados como importantes pelos próprios agricultores, sendo propostas metodologias pa…
creator: Ana Leônia de Araújo, Renato Teixeira de Oliveira, Tiago Osório Ferreira, Ricardo Espíndola Romero, Teógenes Senna de Oliveira
source: Revista Ciência Agronômica
publisher: Universidade Federal do Ceará
date: 2013
relation: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1806-66902013000300001
coverage: Agriculture (General)