Clay Fraction Mineralogy and Structural Soil Attributes of Two Soil Classes under the Semi-Arid Climate of Brazil

Thaís Cristina de Souza Lopes, Jeane Cruz Portela, Rafael Oliveira Batista, Diego José da Costa Bandeira, Isaque de Oliveira Leite, Luirla Bento Ramalho, Joaquim Emanuel Fernandes Gondim, Joseane Dunga da Costa, Marcelo Tavares Gurgel, Carolina Malala Martins Souza, Eulene Francisco da Silva, Edivan Rodrigues de Souza, Fábio Henrique Tavares de Oliveira, Neyton de Oliveira Miranda and Francisco Vanies da Silva Sá ()
Additional contact information
Thaís Cristina de Souza Lopes: Department of Agronomic and Forest Science, Federal Rural University of the Semi-Arid—UFERSA, Mossoró 59625-900, Brazil
Jeane Cruz Portela: Department of Agronomic and Forest Science, Federal Rural University of the Semi-Arid—UFERSA, Mossoró 59625-900, Brazil
Rafael Oliveira Batista: Department of Agronomic and Forest Science, Federal Rural University of the Semi-Arid—UFERSA, Mossoró 59625-900, Brazil
Diego José da Costa Bandeira: Department of Agronomic and Forest Science, Federal Rural University of the Semi-Arid—UFERSA, Mossoró 59625-900, Brazil
Isaque de Oliveira Leite: Department of Agronomic and Forest Science, Federal Rural University of the Semi-Arid—UFERSA, Mossoró 59625-900, Brazil
Luirla Bento Ramalho: Department of Agronomic and Forest Science, Federal Rural University of the Semi-Arid—UFERSA, Mossoró 59625-900, Brazil
Joaquim Emanuel Fernandes Gondim: Department of Agronomic and Forest Science, Federal Rural University of the Semi-Arid—UFERSA, Mossoró 59625-900, Brazil
Joseane Dunga da Costa: Department of Engineering and Technology, Federal Rural University of the Semi-Arid—UFERSA, Pau dos Ferros 59900-000, Brazil
Marcelo Tavares Gurgel: Department of Agronomic and Forest Science, Federal Rural University of the Semi-Arid—UFERSA, Mossoró 59625-900, Brazil
Carolina Malala Martins Souza: Department of Agronomic and Forest Science, Federal Rural University of the Semi-Arid—UFERSA, Mossoró 59625-900, Brazil
Eulene Francisco da Silva: Department of Agronomic and Forest Science, Federal Rural University of the Semi-Arid—UFERSA, Mossoró 59625-900, Brazil
Edivan Rodrigues de Souza: Agronomy Department, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco 52171-900, Brazil
Fábio Henrique Tavares de Oliveira: Department of Agronomic and Forest Science, Federal Rural University of the Semi-Arid—UFERSA, Mossoró 59625-900, Brazil
Neyton de Oliveira Miranda: Department of Agronomic and Forest Science, Federal Rural University of the Semi-Arid—UFERSA, Mossoró 59625-900, Brazil
Francisco Vanies da Silva Sá: Department of Agronomic and Forest Science, Federal Rural University of the Semi-Arid—UFERSA, Mossoró 59625-900, Brazil

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 12, 1-17

Abstract: Mineralogical studies are incipient and necessary in the Apodi Plateau, Brazil. This study aimed to evaluate the interrelationship between the mineralogy of the clay fraction and its structural and chemical attributes and to differentiate two important pedo-environments in the semi-arid region of northeastern Brazil (Ferralsol and Cambisols of the Apodi Plateau-RN) using the multivariate technique. We evaluated the interrelationships between mineralogy and the structural and chemical attributes of the soil and differentiated between agroenvironments. We collected soil samples from six profiles in diagnostic horizons of the Ferralsols and Cambisols. In the mineralogical analysis of the clay fraction, X-Ray Diffraction was used to identify mineral peaks of clay and iron oxides. The physical and chemical properties of the soils were determined. The multivariate statistical technique was applied to process the data. The clay minerals identified were hematite, goethite, kaolinite, and illite. The principal component analysis allowed for the separation of environments according to soil density, Fed and Mg 2+ for developed soils, and potassium, weighted average diameter, microporosity, total organic carbon, sodium, the sum of bases, calcium, total porosity, aeration, potential acidity, and Feo discriminated developing soils. This study revealed that the clay fraction influenced the structural attributes of the soil according to the degree of soil development. Two profiles presented atypical situations: High contents of crystallized iron in Cambisols and illite peaks in Ferralsolos. These mineralogical results are not commonly found in the literature, highlighting the potential for further studies. The answers concerning the mineralogy of semiarid soils in Brazil and the world show similarity.

Keywords: crystalline forms; atypical Cambisols; Brazilian drylands (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/12/2192/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/11/12/2192/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:11:y:2022:i:12:p:2192-:d:992616

Access Statistics for this article

Land is currently edited by Ms. Carol Ma

More articles in Land from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().