Soil trends in the Atlantic Forest remnant at the Argentinian – Brazil Iguazú National Park buffer zone

FASANO, MC; CASTRILLO, ML; ROTHATCH, P; ONETTO, AL; AMERIO, NS; BARENGO, MP; CORTESE, IJ; PEDROZO, TT; SADAÑOSKI, MA; VELAZQUEZ, JE; BICH, GA; ZAPATA, PD

Hohenau

Congreso; VIII Congreso Sudamericano de Yerba Mate; IV Simposio Internacional de Yerba Mate y Salud; II Feria de Tecnología en la Industria Yerbatera; 2023

The remaining forest that constitutes the Iguazú National Park -INP- is a natural UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization - Atlantic Forest fragments shared by Argentina and Brazil Republics. The agronomic management in the Park limits based on physicochemical analysis, compromising its natural balance and function as a buffer zone for this forest fragment. The aluminum content may compromise the natural fertility and this phenomenon may be associated with chemical characteristics of the characteristic regional soils. The present research aimed to determine the aluminum content as the main acidification factor on oxisols, quantifying its amount by two techniques, starting in this way the mapping and analyzing of this soil in the three different agronomic management sampling points with yerba mate plantation in the INP buffer zone. The soil samples showed a low pH, with no detectable concentrations of Al 3+ up to 0.15 m depth. This result signifies that the chemical barrier effects that harm the growth of plant roots in this case, are not transcendental for yerba mate crops or natural vegetation. The soil was classified as clayey in texture, very permeable to vertical and lateral movement of water, in addition to greater water retention in the subsurface with natural coverage. To expand the information and create a database for future studies, it is proposed to monitor the sampled parcels in further chemical and physical trends, to understand the dynamics of nutrients in this Atlantic Forest remanent and the micro soil biodiversity that sustain this dynamic.