Detailed soil survey of an experimental watershed representative of the Brazilian Coastal Plains and its practical application

Abstract

This paper presents a detailed soil survey of an experimental watershed with representative pedoclimatic characteristics of the Coastal Plains in Espírito Santo State and its practical applications. For the pedological survey, 35 observation sites and three soil profiles were sampled and described, which were morphologically characterized and subjected to physical (particle size) and chemical analyses (routine and sulfuric acid digestion). The soil map was made using the geographic information system ArcGIS 9.3. This GIS software was also used to generate the digital elevation model (DEM) for identifying the slope classes. SAGA software was used to calculate the topographic wetness index (WI) which aided in a more accurate separation of Haplic Organosol from other soils. The predominant soil class in the watershed was the dystrophic/dystrocohesive Yellow Argisol (97%), containing morphological, chemical and physical characteristics representative of the most expressive Coastal Plains soils. Geoprocessing tools and techniques aided to make the watershed soil map.