Chemical attributes of traditional agriculture and Caatinga managed at different depths in an Inceptisol

ABSTRACT The objective of this work was to evaluate changes in the chemical attributes of an Inceptisol in two areas of sustainable management of the Caatinga Biome and a conventional tillage, compared with the native forest. The areas were managed in the following way: in areas under sustainable management, the Caatinga was thinned in a savanna system (1), and in the other area, the Caatinga was thinned in strips (2); the area under conventional tillage was burned, plowed and harrowed (3), and the native forest (4). The following chemical attributes were analyzed: pH, electrical conductivity, Ca2+, Mg2+, H + Al, P, Na+, K+ and soil organic matter (SOM), calculating CEC and base saturation. The treatments were evaluated using multivariate analysis, at different depths up to 0.52 m. In the Caatinga areas thinned in a savanna system and in strips, the greater availability of exchangeable bases and SOM occurs close to the depth of 0.20 m and, in the area with traditional agriculture, it is limited to 0.10 m. In the area thinned in a savanna system, sodium showed a negative correlation with the other elements