Pedometric tools applied to zoning management of areas in brazilian semiarid region.

• Autor(a) principal: PINHEIRO, H. S. K.
• Data de Publicação: 2019
• Outros Autores: XAVIER, P. A. M., ANJOS, L. H. C. dos, CHAGAS, C. da S., CARVALHO JUNIOR, W. de
• Tipo de documento: Capítulo de livro
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da EMBRAPA (Repository Open Access to Scientific Information from EMBRAPA - Alice)
• Texto Completo: http://www.alice.cnptia.embrapa.br/alice/handle/doc/1112161
• topic: Sistema de Informação Geográfica; Zoneamento Agrícola; Análise do Solo; Profundidade; Geographic information systems; Agricultural zoning; Soil depth; Soil analysis

Brazilian semi-arid region is a recent frontier in the country for agribusiness. The objective of this study is to apply pedometric tools to zoning areas with distinct potential and limitations to agricultural purposes. The research was set in three main steps: (i) to compile a database with all complete profile data collection; (ii) to analyze the vertical variability of soil properties and select a set of soil key properties useful to define the land potential and limitations; and (iii) to classify the area according to potential for agriculture, considering a medium technological level of the farmers. The quantitative methods applied are supported by geographic information systems (GIS) and spatial statistics. The soil data compilation was based on legacy data, with corresponding topographical data and information from remote sensing images of the area. Tree-based and geostatistical algorithms were applied to predict the spatial variability of the soil key properties. The definition of management zones was based on Iso Cluster and Maximum Likelihood Classification tools. The results pointed three different management zones according to risks of salinization and requirements for irrigation control. The approach showed to be a simple and useful way to select and recommend primarily potential areas for agriculture based on soil properties.