Abstract

MUNOZ INIESTRA, Daniel Jesús; FERREIRA RAMIREZ, Marisol; ESCALANTE ARRIAGA, Ingrid Berenice  and  LOPEZ GARCIA, José. Relationship between land cover and physical and biological degradation an alluvial soil in a semiarid region. Terra Latinoam [online]. 2013, vol.31, n.3, pp.201-210. ISSN 2395-8030.

Any modification that leads to a loss in soil function is considered as soil degradation. The degree of degradation can be measured by indicators and soil properties that are sensitive to functional changes in the top 20 cm. This study aimed to determine whether there where a relationship between the type of soil cover and its physical and biological degradation. The study area was a fluvial terrace of the Zapotitlán basin in the Tehuacán valley, Puebla State, Mexico. The climate is semi-dry semi-hot and the soils are calcic Fluvisols. The land is a combination of thorny scrub separated by clearings of bare soil with mats of microbial crusts, it was partly used for agriculture activities. In eight sites with different coverage, three samples were taken from surface soil, which measured 17 physical and chemical properties, with data obtained indices were calculated physical and biological degradation for each site. Physical and biological degradation of the soil was significantly related with land cover and land use; the main effects on the physical functioning of the soil were reduction in porosity, loss of aggregate stability, crusts formation of and increase in bulk density, which indicates that physical and biological degradation of this soil is a consequence of a reduction in organic matter.

Keywords : soil deterioration; indicators; land use.

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