Comparative approach for assessing the soil quality in an urban conservation unit
Universitdade Federal Fluminense, Programa de Pós-graduação em Engenharia de Biossistemas, Rua Passo da Pátria 156 sala 236, 24.210-240 Niterói, Brasil
*Correspondence: eltonoliveira@id.uff.br
Abstract:
This study aimed to verify the quality of the soil according to different stages of forest regeneration. Urban conservation units can be of great importance in land management and in the sustainable development process of cities. Monitoring soil quality in these spaces can help to define strategies in the forest recovery process. A management performance evaluation method and consequent soil quality was applied, using data envelopment analysis (DEA). Soil was collected in the three stages of forest regeneration observed, land with established forests, reforested land, and open land, at three different depths. In the set of 54 analyzed observations, soils with low levels of fertility were verified. However, an area with reforested land showed the best performance in maximizing the selected variables and consequently better soil quality scores. The open lands showed the lowest performance in soil conservation. In this way, the revealed performance scores accompanied the Sum of Exchangeable Bases and Organic Matter values. This quality score can help to define soil management strategies, which may be applicable to a wider audience and wider contexts in environmental management.
Key words:
degraded area, environmental management, forest regeneration, quality scores, soil management, sustainable development