The cohesive soils of Brazilian coastal plain have subsurface horizon with a peculiar characteristic - when wet the consistency is friablet, but of hard, very hard or extremely hard consistency when dry. The objective of this study was to evaluate the mechanical characteristics of cohesive and non-cohesive horizons of a Yellow Latosol of coastal tableland based on shear parameters related with soil physical and chemical properties and moisture. The results showed that soil cohesion and shear strength increased substantially with the reduction of the water content in the cohesive horizon. The cohesive horizon presented the highest values of bulk density, microporosity and Fe, Si and Al oxides, resulting in higher values of soil cohesion and shear strength as compared to the non-cohesive horizons. The highest values of soil cohesion resulted in greater resistance to penetration in the cohesive horizon in comparison to the non-cohesive horizons. The shear parameters (soil cohesion, internal friction angle and shear strength) proved sensitive for the identification of cohesive horizons in soils of coastal plains.
cohesive horizon; penetration resistance; Barreiras formation
