Chemical Characteristics of Soil and of the Earthworm Casts in Commercial Plantation of Eucalyptus grandis

• Autor(a) principal: Quadros, Ruth Maria Bianchini de
• Data de Publicação: 2002
• Outros Autores: Bellote, Antonio Francisco Jurado, Dionísio, Jair Alves
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Pesquisa Florestal Brasileira (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://pfb.cnpf.embrapa.br/pfb/index.php/pfb/article/view/1748
• topic: Eucalyptus; Earthworm casts; Nutrient cycling; Eucalyptus; Excrementos de minhocas; Ciclagem de nutrientes

The chemical characteristics of earthworm casts and a soil sample from a commercial plantation of Eucalyptus grandis aged 3 years old near the city of Mogi-Guaçu in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, were compared. The casts were collected at the surface of the mineral soil, while the soil was collected at depths of 0 - 5; 5 - 10; 10 - 20 and 20 - 30 cm. The Ca+2 and Mg+2 contents of casts, in comparison to the 0 to 5 cm soil depth, were 11 times higher,while the K+ contents were 3 times higher. In addition, the cation exchange capacity (CEC) and C contents were 4.41 and 2.83 more concentrated in the casts, respectively. It was observed a decrease in Aluminum saturation (m%) from 73%, in the depth of the 0-5 cm, to 45% in the casts. While the chemical characteristics of the native earthworm casts represent a distinct improvement over the soil, it remains to be seen what influence, if any, this has on the growth and nutrition of E. grandis.