Levantamento pedológico semidetalhado e avaliação da aptidão agrícola das terras da sub-bacia córrego Olho d'água, Prudente de Morais-MG: estudo das divergências entre uso efetivo e potencialidades do solo

Abstract

The lands agricultural aptness is the identification of the maximum agricultural use that lands provides in accordance with environmental and economic characteristics present in an area. The knowledge of soil behavior with their different patterns of agricultural use helps in aproper environment planning, since it allows the use of this natural resource in a sustainable way. In order to understand if the current land use of the Olhos d´Água stream sub-basin (Prudente de Morais - MG) is according to their aptness, and discuss the environmental changes occurred, many procedures have been developed in this research. Initially a semi detailed soil survey was conducted for the stream sub-basin, identifying six soil classes, including Oxisols, Cambisols, Argisols and Entisols. It was noted a direct relationship between the distribution of soil classes and lithological and topographic parameters. Subsequently, the study demonstrated the existence of eight classes of agricultural aptness in sub-basin, the soil potentialities are for crops and pastures planted (by changing the restriction degree according to the three levels of soil managements adopted). It was also identified eight use classes, principally the remnant forest and crops and pasture areas. Although agricultural characteristics are predominant, the area shows good environmental quality, since most of the sub-basin is preserved. With the combination of agricultural aptness and land use parameters, it was found the adequacy between both, showing that 63.24% of lands are underutilized and with inappropriate use. The erosion is the cause of the environmental impacts seen in higher incidence in the sub-basin. However, they were found even in areas where the use was appropriate to the soil potentiality.