Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis to estimate the maximum temperature reached in burned soils from an Amazonian region.

Determining the maximum temperature reached in soil during burning is important when evaluating fire intensity. Forest conversion is an ongoing process in the Amazon ecosystem. It is of utmost importance to predict fire effects on soil properties and avoid damaging environmental systems.

Monitoring of the process of waste landfill leachate diffusion in clay and sandy soil.

The objective of this research was to evaluate the interaction of landfill leachate of urban solid waste in clayey (CL) and sandy soils (SL) in order to determine physical and chemical parameters that can be used as indicators of soil contamination when there are faults in the landfill waterproofing. In the diffusion tests, compacted soil samples were placed in contact with leachate (methanogenic phase). The temporal analysis (200 days) considered the parameters pH, electrical conductivity (EC), alkalinity, nitrogen series, chemical oxygen demand (COD), solids and color for the leachate and pH, ΔpH, EC, total nitrogen (TN), chemical elements, and cation exchange capacity (CEC) for the soils.

Fertility and acidity status of latossolos (oxisols) under pasture in the Brazilian Cerrado.

The Cerrado region, with over 50 million hectares of cultivated pasture, provides 55% of Brazilian beef production. Previous investigations have shown that about 70-80% of this pasture is affected by some kind of degradation, leading to low productivity. However, until now, few surveys have been carried out on a regional scale.