PHYSICAL-CHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION AND CLASSIFICATION OF SOILS IN SERRA DE SANTA HELENA ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AREA, SETE LAGOAS, MG
Conservation Units, Serra Santa Helena, soil mapping, Bambuí Group
The environmental protection area (EPA) of Serra de Santa Helena is in the central region of the state of Minas Gerais, in Sete Lagoas city, and stands out as an important area of environmental protection in the region. The main objective of this study was to identify and characterize the soil classes that make up the landscape of (Parque da Cascata), in the south region of the Serra de Santa Helena (EPA), which holds the largest tourist flow and, therefore, of special interest in expanding knowledge about the conservation unit. The identification of the soil types followed the Manual of Description and Collection of Soils in the Field of the Brazilian Society of Soils, and the laboratory analysis of the physical and chemical properties followed the respective technical manuals of Embrapa. Ten representative soil profiles along a representative toposequence of the Parque da Cascata were identified and described, which demonstrated the great influence of the source material (siltstones), with the predominance of the silty clay texture, with high levels of silt (up to 70 dag/Kg) and low levels of sand (less than 28 dag/Kg). The Latossolo Vermelho Amarelo was the only eutrophic class described (V% = 70.4) with the highest Ca2+ content on the surface (8.19 cmolc dm-3) and, as well as the Argissolo Vermelho Amarelo, they are the only ones that did not present Al3+ activity. The Cambissolo háplico of profile 3 showed the highest potential acidity found from Bi (> 11 cmolc dm-3). The neossolos in the region have a rejuvenated, less profound profile, with high silt values that make them more conducive to surface sealing and, therefore, with less water infiltration and greater surface runoff. Silty soils are m