Map of total phosphorus content in native soils of Brazil

Abstract

Knowledge of the distribution of total phosphorus (P) content in native soils provides information on the management of ecosystem, land capability for agriculture, environmental quality, and biodiversity conservation. We mapped the spatial distribution of total P concentrations in topsoils (0-30 cm) of uncultivated (native) areas in Brazil. We obtained data on native total P of the southern, southeastern , and northeastern regions from reports of exploratory projects developed between 1960s and 1970s by EMBRAPA and by the RADAM Brazil Project. We estimated data from the central-western and northern regions from the relationship between total P and soil properties (Fe, Al, C and clay content), based on the RADAM Brazil Project. Soil total P varied widely (< 25 to > 500 mg kg-1) in all regions in Brazil. Higher concentrations (> 500 mg kg-1) were observed in southern region compared to most of the rest of the country (< 200 mg kg-1), while the Cerrado (Central), Amazon (North) and Caatinga (Northeast) biomes are very poor in total P. This first national native soil total P map provides a valuable baseline for understanding the historical patterns of agriculture expansion in Brazil. It allows quantifying the effect of agriculture expansion and future cropping systems on soil available P content and legacy P, targeting regional soil-crop specific strategies for optimization of ecosystem services, and mitigating potential environmental risk due to P transference to water bodies.

Phosphate Management for High Soybean and Maize Yields in Expansion Areas of Brazilian Cerrado

“…Therefore, to enhance the natural low available P content in Cerrado soils requires a substantial amount of fertilizer dose/source management because of the high P-fixation capacity. This is a consequence of the predominance of low-activity clay minerals (e.g., kaolinite) and Fe/Al oxides in soil composition, demanding occasionally high P addition [1,[3][4][5].…”