A career perspective on soil management in the cerrado region of Brazil

Abstract

The rise of agriculture production in the Brazilian savanna is seen as one of the greatest achievements of worldwide agricultural science in the 20th century. Yet, reaching this current situation was, and still is, not an easy task. Actually, until the 1960s, 23% of Brazil (2 million km2) was occupied by a savanna-like vegetation generally called “Cerrado,” developed in highly weathered soils, with particularly low natural fertility, used for extensive beef cattle production on unimproved pastures. This review paper intends to summarize a pioneer survey study by Dr Alfredo Lopes on “Cerrado” soils in the mid-1970s aiming to: (1) revisit the main chemical and physical properties of 518 topsoil samples under “Cerrado” vegetation in Central Brazil; (2) compare these results with some of the critical levels suggested for soil fertility interpretation; and, (3) study some relations among soil physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics in selected 44 topsoil samples with data concerning available water, phosphorus fixation, charge attributes, as well as extractable and total zinc. Besides stressing on the importance of adequate management strategies to allow the incorporation of these low natural fertility soils into successful crop production, we also highlight the historical importance of international collaborations that contribute to the development of soil fertility evaluation and agronomic–economic research programs on tropical soils in the Brazilian Cerrados. Lastly, additional comments are provided concerning the need of strategic actions and appropriate political decisions for the continuous sustainable development of this region.