Research Themes

Studies in the Graduate Program in Soils and Plant Nutrition (PPGSNP-UFV) are organized in three main research topics (Crop Nutrition Management; Soil and Environment Management; and Geochemistry and Pedogenetic Processes), which are distributed in the following research themes:

1 – GEOCHEMISTRY, SOIL MINERALOGY, AND ASSESSMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL RECLAMATION
Physical-chemical phenomena and soil properties. Waste treatment and recycling. Heavy metals in the soil-plant system. Acid drainage. Recovery of degraded areas. Genesis, structure, and identification of minerals. Redox mechanisms. Adsorption and ion exchange in variable charge soils.

2 – PEDOGENETIC PROCESSES AND SOIL-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS
Genesis of Brazilian soil classes and its chemical, physical, mineralogical and micromorphological attributes. Pedogeomorphological evolution, soil survey and agricultural potential, with emphasis on GIS techniques.

3 – CHANGES OF SOIL PROPERTIES IN DIFFERENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
Soil erosion losses. Watersheds as soil management units. Water and solutes dynamics in the plant-soil system. Compression, compaction and crusting of soils. Water retention on substrates for plants.

4 – NUTRITIONAL MANAGEMENT OF AGROECOSYSTEMS
Nutrients absorption and utilization efficiency. Nutrients speciation. Ionic equilibria in plants. Compartmentalization and nutrients transportation. Plants nutritional status. Lime and fertilizer recommendation.

5 – ORGANIC MATTER AND SUSTAINABILITY OF AGROECOSYSTEMS
Dynamics of soil organic matter. Characteristics of humic substances. Green manure and cover crops. Soil biology. Modeling of soil organic matter dynamics.

6 – FOREST SOILS
Carbon and nutrient cycling in forests. Mineral nutrition of forest trees. Lime and fertilizer recommendation for forest trees. Forest Site Assessment. Forest management practices and productivity.