Relationships between physical soil properties and characteristics of south brazilian soil

Abstract

Functional relations between soil attributes may be used to associate different physical soil properties with soil characteristics. The objective of this work was to determine the relationships between some soil physical properties, namely bulk density (BD), particle density (PD), field capacity (θFC), permanent wilting point (θPWP) and available water capacity(θAD) with soil attributes measured in routine soil surveys. Eighteen representative soil profiles from Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina State, Southern Brazil, were used in this study. Disturbed and undisturbed soil samples were collected from A and B horizons to quantify BD, PD, θFC, θPWP and θAD, particle size, organic matter, iron, and aluminum oxides. Multiple regressions demonstrated that BD, PD, θFC, θPWP and θAD were related with some soil characteristics, chiefly clay, silt and iron oxide contents. These preliminary results may help direct further studies on pedotransfer functions for Southern Brazil.

physical soil attributes; chemical soil attributes; multiple regression analysis