GRANULOMETRIC FRACTIONS OF ORGANIC MATTER OF A LATOSOL UNDER NO-TILL WITH GRASSES

The study of soil organic matter and its compartments seeks to obtain information about their stability, localization in soil structure as well as their quantity and quality under land use systems. The objective of this study was to evaluate the organic matter fractions in soil under no-till management with grasses. The experimental design was a randomized block, with three replications and five treatments (cropping systems), with repeated measures in space. The treatments consisted of corn; Brachiaria humidicola; Panicum maximum cv Aruana; corn + Brachiaria humidicola, corn + Panicum maximum cv Aruana. The concentrations of total organic carbon, particulate organic carbon and organic carbon associated with minerals were analyzed in the soil at depths 0-5, 5-10, 10-20 and 20-30 cm. Increases and reductions of carbon stocks in organic matter fractions, using the Cerrado as a reference, were also analyzed. The results demonstrated that the systems with intercropping and fodder caused different effects on organic matter pools. Because of the short period of no-till the changes promoted by crops in organic matter fractions were more significant in the soil surface layers. Under no-till, maize only or intercropped with Brachiaria humidicola promoted an increase in total organic carbon and organic carbon fractions, when the native cerrado soil was used as reference. In other systems, land use increased stocks of OCam and TOC, but promoted reduction in POC stocks.