BIOMASSA MICROBIANA E SUA CORRELA O COM A FERTILIDADE DE SOLOS EM DIFERENTES SISTEMAS DE CULTIVO

The role of microorganisms in the soil is to mediate processes related to management the ecological balance. Thus, they can be sensitive indicators of changes in soil quality. Microorganisms have the ability to quickly respond to changes in soil quality, a characteristic that is not observed in the chemical or physical indicators. In some cases, changes in population and microbial activity may precede changes in the chemical and physical properties, reflecting a clear signal on the improvement or degradation of the soil. The work involving the analysis of soil microbial biomass can provide extremely useful information about the dynamics of a labile pool of soil organic matter. This may have important consequences for ecosystem functioning and the "quality" of the soil, reflecting the long-term productivity. The objective of this study was to quantify the microbial biomass in fifteen areas with different agricultural crops but also to correlate with the biomass indices of soil fertility. The samples were analyzed in the laboratory with the valuation of attributes of chemical and biological fertility of soils. Was used the irradiation-extraction method for determination of microbial biomass in soil. Soils under pasture management with continuous presence of cattle showed the highest values of microbial biomass in soil. Only the parameters of organic matter in soil correlate positively with microbial biomass in soil.