Atributos químicos e físicos de um Argissolo Vermelho-Amarelo em sistema integrado de produção agroecológica Chemical and physical attributes of an Udult soil in agroecological production systems

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a influência de sistemas de manejo agroecológico sobre os atributos físicos e químicos de um Argissolo Vermelho-Amarelo. Foram selecionadas as seguintes áreas: preparo convencional (milho/feijão); plantio direto (berinjela/milho); consórcio maracujá/Desmodium sp.; área cultivada com figo; e sistema agroflorestal (SAF). Amostras indeformadas de solo foram coletadas em duas profundidades (0-5 e 5-10 cm) e em duas épocas (verão/2005 e inverno/2006). As propriedades edáficas analisadas foram: densidade do solo (Ds); volume total de poros; diâmetro médio ponderado (DMP) e diâmetro médio geométrico (DMG) de agregados; pH, Al, Ca+Mg, K, H+Al, P e carbono orgânico total (COT). Os maiores valores de Ds, P e K foram verificados na área de figo. O sistema milho/feijão apresentou os menores valores de DMP e DMG. Os maiores valores de DMP e DMG foram observados nos sistemas maracujá/Desmodium e berinjela/milho. As diferenças entre os valores de COT foram maiores à profundidade de 5-10 cm. O SAF apresentou maiores percentuais de porosidade total. A análise de componentes principais mostrou que a área cultivada com figo está associada a maiores índices de fertilidade do solo.<br>The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of agroecological management systems on physical and chemical attributes of an Udult soil. The following areas were selected: conventional tillage (corn/beans); no tillage (eggplant/corn); consortium of passion fruit/Desmodium sp.; fig cultivation; and an agroforestry system (AFS). The undisturbed soil samples were taken from two layers (0-5 and 5-10 cm) and in two periods, the summer of 2005 and the winter of 2006. The soil properties analyzed were: bulk density (Ds), total pore volume, mean weight diameter (MWD) and mean geometric diameter (MGD) of aggregates, pH, Al, Ca+Mg, K, H+Al, P, and total organic carbon (TOC). The highest values of Ds, P and K were observed in the fig area. The system with corn/beans had the lowest MWD and MGD values. The highest values of MWD and MGD were observed in the passion fruit/Desmodium and eggplant/corn systems. Differences in TOC were greater at the 5-10 cm depth. Soil in the AFS had the highest percentage of total porosity. The analysis of main components showed that the area cultivated with fig had the highest soil fertility

Influência da granulometria e da mineralogia sobre a retenção do fósforo em latossolos sob pastagens no cerrado Influence of soil texture and mineralogy on phosphorus retention in cerrado oxisols under pasture

As pastagens abrangem cerca de 50 milhões de hectares na região do Cerrado. Os Latossolos, ocupando aproximadamente a metade da área, são solos intemperizados, constituídos, principalmente de caulinita, óxidos de Fe e Al e estes óxidos têm grande influência na retenção de P. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar os teores totais de P, assim como sua disponibilidade e retenção em Latossolos sob pastagens do Cerrado, e relacionar estes dados com suas características mineralógicas, granulométricas e químicas. As relações entre as características estudadas foram avaliadas por meio da análise de componentes principais e correlações de Pearson. O P disponível resina mostrou-se correlacionado negativamente com as características mineralógicas e granulométricas e positivamente com os teores de matéria orgânica do solo. Tanto os óxidos livres totais como os amorfos tiveram correlações negativas com o P remanescente (Prem). Os teores de gibbsita, goethita e hematita apresentaram correlações negativas com o Prem. Por outro lado, a caulinita não exerceu influência sobre o Prem, indicando a baixa participação desta na adsorção de P nos Latossolos do Cerrado. Observou-se correlação negativa entre o Prem e o C total, explicada pelo fato de o estoque de C aumentar linearmente com o conteúdo de argila e silte no solo. Os óxidos de Fe e Al foram os componentes mineralógicos que exerceram maior influência sobre o Prem.<br>Pastures cover nearly 50 million hectares in the Cerrado region. The Oxisols, which cover approximately half this area, are highly weathered soils composed mainly of kaolinite, iron and aluminum oxides. Iron and aluminum oxides have a great influence on the retention of phosphorus (P) in these soils. The aim of this study was to quantify the total phosphorus levels, as well as P availability and retention in Oxisols under pasture in the Cerrado region and to relate the data with soil mineralogical, textural and chemical characteristics. The relations between the studied parameters were analyzed by principal component analysis and linear correlation analysis. The ion-exchange resin extractable P was negatively correlated with mineralogical and texture soil characteristics, and positively with soil organic matter contents. Both the total free and the poorly crystalline oxides were negatively correlated with equilibrium P (Prem). Gibbsite, goethite as well as the total free and poorly crystalline oxides were negatively correlated with Prem, indicating their effects on P adsorption to Cerrado Oxisols. Conversely, kaolinite was not significantly correlated with Prem. The negative correlation between Prem and total carbon (C total) was due to the linear increase of soil carbon with the clay and silt contents. The iron and aluminum oxides were the characteristics that most influenced Prem of Cerrado Oxisols

Einstein Gravity Explorer–a medium-class fundamental physics mission

The Einstein Gravity Explorer mission (EGE) is devoted to a precise measurement of the properties of space-time using atomic clocks. It tests one of the most fundamental predictions of Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity, the gravitational redshift, and thereby searches for hints of quantum effects in gravity, exploring one of the most important and challenging frontiers in fundamental physics. The primary mission goal is the measurement of the gravitational redshift with an accuracy up to a factor 104 higher than the best current result. The mission is based on a satellite carrying cold atom-based clocks. The payload includes a cesium microwave clock (PHARAO), an optical clock, a femtosecond frequency comb, as well as precise microwave time transfer systems between space and ground. The tick rates of the clocks are continuously compared with each other, and nearly continuously with clocks on earth, during the course of the 3-year mission. The highly elliptic orbit of the satellite is optimized for the scientific goals, providing a large variation in the gravitational potential between perigee and apogee. Besides the fundamental physics results, as secondary goals EGE will establish a global reference frame for the Earth’s gravitational potential and will allow a new approach to mapping Earth’s gravity field with very high spatial resolution. The mission was proposed as a class-M mission to ESA’s Cosmic Vision Program 2015–2025.Earth Observation and Space SystemsAerospace Engineerin