Structure represents one of the main soil physical attributes indicators. The soil porous system (SPS) is directly linked to the soil structure. Water retention, movement, root development, gas diffusion and the conditions for all soil biota are related to the SPS. Studies about the influence of tillage systems in the soil structure are important to evaluate their impact in the soil quality. This paper deals with a detailed analysis of changes in the soil structure induced by conventional (CT) and no-tillage (NT) systems. Three different soil depths were studied (0-10, 10-20 and 20-30 cm). Data of the soil water retention curve (SWRC), micromorphologic (impregnated blocks) (2D) and microtomographic (mCT) (3D) analyses were utilized to characterize the SPS. Such analyses enabled the investigation of porous system attributes such as: porosity, pore number and shape, pore size distribution, tortuosity and connectivity. Results from this study show a tri-modal pore size distribution (PSD) at depths 0-10 and 10-20 cm for the soil under CT and a bi-modal PSD for the lower layer (20-30 cm). Regarding the soil under NT, tri-modal PSDs were found at the three depths analyzed. Results based on the micromorphologic analysis (2D) showed that the greatest contribution to areal porosity (AP) is given by pores of round (R) shape for CT (52%: 0-10 cm; 50%: 10-20 cm; 67%: 20-30 cm). Contrary to the results observed for CT, the soil under NT system gave the greatest contribution to AP, for the upper (0-10 cm) and intermediate (10-20 cm) layers, due to the large complex (C) pore types. For the mCT analysis, several types of pores were identified for each soil tillage system. Small differences in the macroporosity (MAP) were observed for the 0-10 and 20-30 cm between CT and NT. A better pore connectivity was found for the 0-10 cm layer under NT. 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A total 31 psychoactive drugs were offered to groups of naive rats for IV self-administration and an injection rate greater than that for rats offered only saline indicated reinforcement. Two protocols were used: in the first, rats were offered drug at a selected dose for 5 days, then the dose was reduced by 1 log unit (to 0.1 the original dose) for an additional 4 days; in the second, rats were offered saline for 3 days as a "prescreen' to eliminate rats with high or low operant-injection rates. Drug was offered to acceptable rats for 5 days, then the dose was reduced 0.5 log unit (to 0.32 the original dose) for 5 more days. A scoring system, based upon the injection rates during the last 3 days of each period, describes the reinforcing action. Scores were dose-related. Tests on both protocols gave similar results. Data from monkey studies have been reported for 27 of the drugs tested. Of these drugs, 18 were reinforcers and six were nonreinforcers in both species, nalorphine and ethylketazocine were reinforcers only in rats, and ethanol was a reinforcer only in monkeys.

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tion System (Sissolos) (EMBRAPA, 1984) started in the early 1980s but not completely established until now. A comprehensive digital soil profile database of Brazil was com-The usefulness of large-scale soil databases to assess piled and is being made available through the Internet. Most of the soil data were obtained from the Radambrasil project and other regional important aspects related to tropical soil science is well surveys. The database contains information from 5086 profiles distribdescribed in Moraes et al. (1995) and Batjes and Dijkuted over the whole Brazilian territory corresponding to data from shoorn (1999) by calculating the C and N stocks of the 10 034 horizons, each with 31 variables. The variables were chosen to Brazilian Amazon basin, that was based on the digitalirepresent different areas of soil science, embracing soil morphological, zation of 1162 and 618 soil profile data obtained from chemical, mineralogical, and physical attributes. The distribution uniavailable bibliographic sources. formity of the data was low with sampling densities varying from oneThis manuscript describes the creation of a quantitative profile per 10 000 km 2 to one profile per 1370 km 2 . The access to the georeferenced soil database similar to that described in database is free and its design allows its use not only by soil scientists Moraes et al. (1995), but extending it to the total Brazilian but also by those working with agricultural, environmental, and land territory and increasing comprehensiveness. use issues. DATABASE DESCRIPTION AND ORIGINS

The Arya and Paris (AP) model predicts soil water retention curves from soil particle‐size distribution (PSD) data based on the similarity between these two functions. The AP model estimates pore radius (ri) from the radius (Ri) of spherical particles by scaling pore length with a parameter α. This paper evaluates the performance of the AP model with representative Brazilian soil types using three constant α values: α = 1.38, 0.938 (literature values), and 0.977, (obtained in the present work); and a α‐variable approach, where α is determined as a function of soil water content (θ). The study was performed with 104 soil samples collected in three sites. The soil PSD curves were obtained with an automatic soil particle analyzer based on the attenuation of γ‐ray by dispersed soil particles falling in a liquid medium and the soil water retention were measured with tension table and Richard chamber methods. The best mathematical representation of the α = f(θ) relationship was obtained with a first‐order exponential decay equation [α = 0.947 + 0.427exp(−θ/0.129)] that provided values of α in the range from 1.37 (θ = 0 m3 m−3) to 0.96 (θ = 0.6 m3 m−3). The root mean square deviation values of estimated and measured θ were 0.062 m3 m−3 for α = f(θ), 0.073 m3 m−3 for α = 0.977, 0.080 m3 m−3 for α = 0.938, and 0.136 m3 m−3 for α = 1.38. Therefore, for these set of soils the α‐variable approach and the constant ones using 0.977 and 0.938 presented the best estimation for the soil water retention relationships.

Machinery traffic in sugarcane (Saccharum sp.) plantations reduces soil physical quality, and hinders both root development and crop yield. We evaluated the physical quality of an Oxisol and the development of sugarcane roots under controlled traffic. The treatments assessed were: without controlled machinery traffic (WCT), controlled traffic by adjusting the tractor and infield wagons to a 3.0 m track width with the operator guiding the machinery (CT1) and the previous treatment using real time kinematic / global positioning system (RTK / GPS) precision auto steer (CT2). Soil samples were collected from the planting rows, seedbed and inter-row center to determine the least limiting water range (LLWR) and soil porosity from scanned 2-D images. The root dry mass was sampled from monoliths, separated from the soil by washing through a 2-mm sieve and dried in an oven. A higher LLWR was observed in the planting row under CT1 and CT2 than under WCT. The planting row had a predominance of complex pores with a diameter > 500 µm in the 0.15-0.27 m depth layer under CT1 and CT2.In the planting rows under WCT, the root dry mass was only 44 % of that measured under CT2.Benefits regarding soil physical quality and growth roots were observed when the tractor-wagon track width was adjusted based on the sugarcane spacing using either precision auto steering or manual operation of the machinery.

Knowledge of soil hydraulic properties after forest restoration is essential for understanding the recovery of hydrological processes, such as water infiltration. An increase of forest cover may improve water infiltration and soil hydraulic properties, but little is known about the response and extent to which forest restoration can affect these properties. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of forest restoration on surface-saturated soil hydraulic conductivity (K s ), and to verify the K s recovery to the pre-disturbance soil conditions. We sampled field K s at the surface in Campinas municipality, São Paulo State, Brazil, at 18 plots under three land-cover types: (i) a pasture; (ii) a restored forest using a high-diversity mix of plantings (85 regional native species) of 9 years of age; and (iii) a remnant forest patch. We used the Beerkan method for soil hydraulic characterization. Bulk density (ρ b ), soil organic carbon content (OC), soil porosity and particle size data were also sampled. We found considerable differences in soil hydraulic properties between land-cover classes. The highest K s were observed in remnant forest sites and the lowest K s were associated with pasture sites. The K s recovery differs markedly between restored forests. Our results strongly suggest that soil attributes and K s recovery are influenced by the duration and intensity of land use prior to forest restoration. Attention needs to be given to management activities before, during and after forest restoration, especially where the soil is still compacted and K s is low.

Microaggregates that characterize ferralic soils have been hypothesized to have physical, geochemical and/or biological origins. Despite of many studies, the hierarchy between these processes that form microaggregates has seldom been reported. The objective of this work was to study the genesis of microaggregates in a sequence of Ferralic Nitisols developed on Quaternary red clayey sediments and diabase in Piracicaba (SP), Brazil. This issue was tackled by combining optical microscopy, image analysis, scanning electron microscopy and elemental iron quantifications by X-ray fluorescence. Micromorphological investigations showed three different types of microaggregates: (i) oval microaggregates with well sorted quartz grains in their interior; (ii) oval microaggregates without or with poorly sorted quartz grains in their interior; and (iii) dense polyedric microaggregates. These morphological evidences, together with the elemental iron determinations and scanning electron microscopy, revealed the contribution of more than one process for microaggregate formation: (i) the mechanical action of the mesofauna would form the first type of microaggregates (ii) geochemical and biological processes would form the second type and (iii) the fissuration of the soil matrix by expansion and compression processes would form the third type.