Agricultural practices have been trying to increase the content of organic C in soils and at the same time to increase yields. In this context, the no-till system (NTS) has an important role to play, particularly in the Cerrado region of Brazil. However, to reach high yields, the crops demand high inputs of N fertilizers. The objective of this work was to evaluate the modifications induced in the soil after ten years (1991-2001) of NTS, influenced by different straw and N doses. The experiment was set at the Embrapa farm in Sete Lagoas-MG, on a typic Dystrofic Red Latosol under Cerrado vegetation. The treatments consisted of five straw doses (0, 3, 6, 9 e 12Mg ha-1 of dry matter) in the plot and five doses of N (0, 40, 80, 120 e 160kg ha-1) as urea in the subplot. Two samplings were accomplished, before and after liming. The soil layers sampled were 0-0.025; 0.025-0.05; 0.05-0.10; 0.10-0.20; and 0.20-0.40m. Routine soil physical and chemical variables were measured according to standard procedures. The contents of organic C and K were influenced by the different straw doses and increased as the application of straw increased. The different doses of N influenced pH, Ca, Mg, Al, base and Al saturation, up to 0.20m. The surface liming was capable of increasing pH, in some cases up to 0.20m, and the same happened for Ca. The vertical movement of the lime in the profile was probably due to the good physical properties of the soil and to the heavy rainfall (1600mm in eight months).
surface liming; nitrogen amendment; Latosol
