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| Brazilian Soil Classification System | |
|---|---|
| Name | Brazilian Soil Classification System |
| Developer | Embrapa, Ministry of Agriculture (Brazil) |
| First published | 1978 |
| Latest version | 1999 (updated guidelines) |
| Country | Brazil |
| Domain | Pedology, Soil Science |
Brazilian Soil Classification System The Brazilian Soil Classification System was established to standardize pedological mapping, research, and land use planning across Brazil and to interface with international frameworks used by FAO and USDA. Developed primarily by Embrapa and coordinated with academic institutions such as the University of São Paulo, the system synthesizes field diagnostics, laboratory analyses, and landscape context for national mapping and agronomic recommendations. It has influenced environmental policy and regional development programs administered by agencies including the Ministry of Agriculture (Brazil) and state research institutes.
The system originated from mid-20th-century pedological surveys led by researchers at the Instituto Agronômico de Campinas and later consolidated in the 1970s through projects involving Embrapa, the National Research Council (CNPq), and the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation. Early international collaboration involved exchanges with soil scientists from United States Department of Agriculture, FAO, and the International Society of Soil Science, while methodological influences trace to classifications formalized in the Soil Survey Manual (USDA) and the FAO Soil Map of the World. Key milestones include the 1978 publication of a national scheme, subsequent revisions in the 1980s and 1990s, and harmonization efforts with continental initiatives like those coordinated by the Latin American Soil Science Society (SLCS). Prominent Brazilian soil scientists associated with its development include researchers from the Federal University of Viçosa, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, and the Federal University of Minas Gerais.
The hierarchy follows a multi-level arrangement comparable to other taxonomic schemes used by USDA NRCS and WRB (World Reference Base for Soil Resources), with categories organized into orders, suborders, great groups, subgroups, families, and series. Primary categories reflect pedogenetic processes dominant in Brazilian landscapes such as weathering intensity, organic matter accumulation, and hydromorphism; they correspond to units like Oxisols-equivalents, Ultisols-equivalents, and Entisols-equivalents recognized in systems used by FAO and USDA. The framework incorporates terrain context derived from national initiatives like the Brazilian Geomorphological Survey and integrates soil-landscape models applied in projects by the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) and the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
Diagnostic criteria emphasize measurable properties: texture, structure, color (Munsell conventions adopted in teaching at the University of São Paulo), horizon development, aluminum saturation, base saturation, cation exchange capacity, and clay mineralogy determined with methods developed in laboratories at the Federal University of Pernambuco and the University of Campinas (Unicamp). Specific properties used to delimit categories include oxic horizon presence associated with deeply weathered soils in the Amazon Basin, spodosol-like features in southern highlands near Porto Alegre, and hydric indicators in floodplain systems along the Amazon River and Paraná River. Methodological standards reference analytical protocols disseminated by Embrapa and training programs at the Federal University of Santa Maria.
Comparative analyses juxtapose the Brazilian system with the USDA Soil Taxonomy, the FAO World Reference Base (WRB), and regional schemes used in Argentina and Chile. Correspondences are frequently mapped: Brazilian Oxisols correspond broadly to FAO Ferralsols and USDA Oxisols; certain Brazilian "Latossolos" map to WRB units, while differences arise in nomenclature, diagnostic thresholds (e.g., aluminum saturation cutoffs), and treatment of anthropogenic soils influenced by urbanization in metropolises like São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. International workshops hosted by Embrapa and sessions at conferences of the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) have addressed alignment, translation of category definitions, and interoperability for global soil databases curated by organizations like the Food and Agriculture Organization.
The system guides fertilizer recommendations, liming practices, and crop selection promoted by extension services at Embrapa and state secretariats such as the Secretariat of Agriculture of Minas Gerais. It underpins land capability mapping used in regional planning by IBGE and supports environmental licensing processes administered by state environmental agencies, including the Environmental Institute of São Paulo (CETESB). Conservation agriculture initiatives in the Cerrado and restoration projects in the Atlantic Forest biome rely on soil classification outputs to match species lists and erosion control measures developed by researchers at the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) Cerrados and nongovernmental programs like those run by The Nature Conservancy in Brazil.
Ongoing research at institutions such as Embrapa, the University of São Paulo, Federal University of Viçosa, and Unicamp focuses on pedotransfer functions, digital soil mapping, and spectral techniques using platforms developed by INPE and collaborations with NASA and European partners. Standardization efforts involve revision committees convened by Embrapa and consultation with international bodies including the IUSS and FAO. Recent work emphasizes integration with national geospatial infrastructures maintained by IBGE, inclusion of metadata standards consistent with the Global Soil Partnership, and updates to diagnostic keys to reflect new findings from long-term experiments at research stations like those of the Agronomic Institute of Campinas and field sites across the Amazon, Cerrado, and southern pampas.
Category:Soil classification systems