Temporal Stability of Total Organic Carbon of Soils Under Different Uses in the Caatinga Biome

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate the temporal stability of total organic carbon (TOC) of soils under different uses in areas with Caatinga vegetation. The experiment was conducted in an experimental farm that encompasses a watershed in the Curu River Valley, in Pentecoste, state of Ceara, Brazil. Soil samples were collected in two areas with Caatinga vegetation under different uses-one with a 35-year preserved area (CP35) and one with a 30-year pasture area (CR30)-and the sampling points were distributed using a 30×30 m uniform grid. Soil samples of the 0-0.2 m layer were collected between February 2016 and April 2017 to determine TOC; and nonparametric Spearman's correlation, mean relative difference (MRD), and temporal stability index (TSI) tests were applied to evaluate TOC stability. The Spearman's test showed a higher correlation between collection dates for CR30 than for CP35. The DRM showed more points with relative differences approaching zero for CP35, and more points with lower standard deviation for CR30. The TSI indicated a greater number of points to be used for CR30 because they have better temporal stability. Therefore, the TOC of the CR30 has better temporal stability than that of the CP35, presenting TSI of approximately 1.5-fold that of the CP35. The thinning of the vegetation in CR30 homogenized the soil TOC, whereas the fallow area, which were preserved, had greater heterogeneity.