ABSTRACT Vast areas of the Brazilian Amazon have been deforested for the expansion of livestock and the agricultural frontier, which has resulted in soil exhaustion. It is therefore urgent to reduce deforestation and encourage sustainable land use to promote social and economic development in the region. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of different land use systems (an agroforestry system, cassava cultivation, non-degraded pasture, native forest) on the chemical properties of the soil (0-40 cm) in the mesoregion of the Juruá Valley, in the state of Acre, Brazil. Principal component analysis showed the soil in the forested area (reference) has greater values for P, Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, Na+, sum of bases, and cation exchange capacity; while hierarchical cluster analysis suggested little dissimilarity to the soil in the agroforestry system, and high dissimilarity to the soil in the areas of cassava cultivation and pasture. The results therefore support agroforestry as the most sustainable land use system, compared to cassava cultivation or pasture.

ABSTRACT Based on previous reports, our study aimed to obtain the first estimate on the contribution of termite mounds to CH4 emissions in Brazilian Cerrado pastures. We estimated that termite mounds occupy an area larger than 200,000 ha in degraded pastures, an important loss of grazing area considering the current scenario of land-use change of pastures to other crops in Brazil. Moreover, mound-building termites in degraded pastures may be responsible for CH4 emissions greater than 11 Mt CO2 eq. yr−1, which would notably affect the greenhouse gases (GHG) balance of grass-fed cattle production in Brazil. In this sense, it is urgent to conduct field-scale studies about the CH4 emissions by mound-building termites in pastures and its contribution to the C footprint of Brazilian beef.

ABSTRACT. In Amazonia, the main causes of deforestation are systems based on slash-and-burn agriculture. The objective of this work was to evaluate temporal changes in the soil chemical attributes after the vegetation has been slashed and burned in an area of native forest in the Western Amazon. For this study, four hectares of forest in Cruzeiro do Sul, State of Acre, Brazil, was slashed and burned. The soil in the study area was classified as Ultisol (Argissolo Amarelo Distrófico típico). Soil samples were collected over the course of one year, the first one being collected 16 hours after the burn and the others at 30, 60, 90, 150, 210, 270, and 360 days after the burn. The soil surface layers were more sensitive to fire action. Ashes from vegetation burn increased pH values, basic cations, and C values only in the first months, resulting in higher basal saturation values (V%). The practice of slash-and-burn after 12 months resulted in lower values of pH, Ca, Mg, K, and P and higher values of Al and H, as well as saturation by aluminum in the soil, indicating this practice contributes to the reduction of soil fertility.