Production systems and their impacts on the physical and microbiological characteristics of the soil in the Cerrado of Mato Grosso.

The physical and microbiological characteristics of the soil are indicators considered in the assessment of the conditions of anthropized areas and are tools to identify levels of degradation, define the best crops, and thus, propose actions that help the producer to choose the appropriate soil management. In this regard, the aim of this work was to analyze the physical and microbiological properties of the soil in different agricultural production systems and in a preserved area. The research was carried out at a property located in the municipality of Campo Novo do Parecis - MT, Cerrado's Biome. For the physical analysis, samples at depths of 0-0.10 m, 0.10-0.20 m and 0.20-0.30 m in five locations were collected randomly, within each production system and in the forest fragment. To evaluate the microbial activity of the soil, soil samples were collected at the 0-0.10 m layer also in five locations. All uses showed changes in physical characteristics, when compared to natural conditions. In the microbiological analysis, the integrated systems did not present significant differences in relation to the organic matter and the basal respiration of the soil when compared with the conventional systems and the forest fragment. The carbon of the microbial biomass of the soil and the metabolic quotient showed a difference between the systems of use and the preserved area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]