Physical Quality of a Typic Hapludult Soil Under Forest Leguminous Trees and Pasture

ABSTRACT Revegetation with leguminous trees has been used to recover degraded areas. This study aimed to evaluate the physical quality of a Typic Hapludult soil under secondary forest, pasture and three leguminous tree species: Acacia (Acacia auriculiformis), Sabia (Mimosa caesalpiniaefolia) and Inga (Inga spp. ), in Conceição de Macabú County, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. Soil samples from the 0-0.10 m and 0.10-0.20 m layers were collected and analyzed in July, 2015. Lower bulk density and higher total porosity and macroporosity values occurred under forest. The higher microporosities were associated with higher bulk densities and lower values of total porosity and macroporosity (pasture and Acacia). The soil under pasture, even when compacted, preserved the largest amount of mesopores, perhaps due to the fasciculate root system of these plants. It was concluded that revegetation leads to changes in the soil surface layer so that its physical attributes become similar to those found in the forest and differ from those of pasture, with an increase in quality to support forest ecosystem functioning.