Indicadores de calidad física en suelos de la Región Pampeana Norte de Argentina bajo siembra directa

SUMMARY Sustainable land use implies the conservation of soil properties associated both to fertility and tillage. Soil alterations induced by management may affect crop production since management practices influence organic matter distribution and nutrient dynamics, and also soil aggregation and porosity. The Argentinean Northern Pampa is one of the region of the world where soils have been subjected to an intensive agricultural use during the last decades, and where direct drilling has been increasingly adopted. The aim of the present work was to evaluate soil physical quality parameters from agricultural systems under no tillage, in soils representative of the Northern Pampa Region, and to compare them with the same soil type but under pristine condition. A soil physical characterization of plots under cropping was carried out on eleven fields included in the Nutrition Network of CREA Southern Santa Fe, with trials located in Santa Fe, Cordoba and Buenos Aires Provinces. Also, a sampling in an adjacent undisturbed sector with the same soil type was carried out. Soil composite samples were collected at two depths (0-0.08 m and 0.08 m to the lower limit of the Ap horizon). Water and ethanol stable aggregate percentage (Ea and Ee, respectively), total organic carbon (COT), bulk density (DA) and maximum soil density were determined (DMAX). Mechanical resistance (RM) was measured at 0.05 m increments