Practices of soil use and management are based on the physical and hydric soil behavior. Our objective was to evaluate the inter-relationships between physical properties and coefficients of soil water retention curves in an Oxisol under different soil use systems. In 2004, three contiguous areas were selected, covered for over 20 years by forest (native), Brachiaria decumbens (fallow) and annual crops (cultivation). Twenty-five undisturbed soil samples were collected at a depth of 0-0.15 m to determine the soil water retention curves. The curves were fitted by the van Genuchten equation and qs, qr q and n coefficients were estimated. The soil bulk density, soil organic carbon and clay content were also measured. A canonical correlation analysis was performed with the variables soil organic carbon content, clay content and soil bulk density (group I) and the coefficients of the soil water retention curves (group II). It was verified that an intensified soil use (forest, fallow and tillage) resulted in higher soil bulk density and lower soil organic carbon and clay contents. The first pair of canonical variables indicated dependence of qs from soil bulk density, while the second pair distinguished the soil use systems verified by the relation of qr with the clay and organic carbon content. The modifications in the soil organic carbon content and soil bulk density indicate that there occurred physic and hydric degradation of the soil.
soil bulk density; soil organic carbon; canonical correlations; soil management; soil quality
