“…Areas with a less dense vegetation cover have a greater loss of soil, nutrients and organic matter (Lobato, Andrade, Meireles, Santos, & Lopes, 2009), all of which are essential to plant growth and development (Meurer, 2007). We emphasize that organic matter is a primary factor in the maintenance of the productive capacity of the soil (Silva & Mendonça, 2007) since it provides nutrients (Costa, Beltrão, Silva, Melo Filho, & Silva, 2010), retains cations (Ciotta, Bayer, Fontoura, Ernani, & Albuquerque, 2003), complex toxic elements and micronutrients (Pavinato & Rosolem, 2008;Pegoraro et al, 2006), stabilizes aggregates (Salton et al, 2008) and enhances aeration (Souza & Alves, 2003), infiltration, water retention (Sato, Figueiredo, Leão, Ramos, & Kato, 2012) and microbial activity (Capuani, Rigon, Beltrão, & Brito Neto, 2012).…”