AVALIAÇÃO DA QUALIDADE DO SOLO EM ÁREAS DE CACAU CABRUCA, MATA E POLICULTIVO NO SUL DA BAHIA

Abstract

Evaluation of soil quality in areas of cocoa cabruca, forest and multicropping in Southern Bahia, Brazil. The soil, in general, seems to be one of the beneficiary components from this agricultural system. The soil quality index (SQI) is a tool for aggregation and simplification of various kinds of information for quantifying the edaphological quality. This study aimed to evaluate the indices of soil quality, using the methodology proposed by Karlen and Stott (1994), in systems of cacao-cabruca, forest and multicropping, comparing the soil quality with the land use and correlating it with tree attributes in cabrucas, in two rural properties in the cities of Ilheus and Arataca, southern Bahia, Brazil. Soil samples were collected at 0-10, 10-30 and 30-50 cm, to perform physical and chemical analysis. The soil quality indexes showed a variation descending of Cabruca 1> Cabruca 2 = Intercropping > Forest; in general, the soils had low levels of fertility and dystrophic character; and that the methodology proved to be adequate for the study of soil quality as a basis for decisions related to improvements in the soil. Key words: