Caracterização de solos ripários do açude Eloy de Souza em Cerro Corá/RN: base para recuperação e monitoramento ambiental

Abstract

Environmental degradation has reached extensive areas around the world, including even legally protected areas. In the Brazilian semi-arid region, environmental problems intensify, since the suppression of riparian forests that protect water bodies can increase the natural vulnerability of soils to erosion and contribute to the eutrophication of water bodies, which is aggravated by the water scarcity regime. common in this region. To ensure the protection of water bodies, it is important to recover degraded riparian forests. Therefore, the objective of this work is to evaluate the quality of riparian soils in the Eloy de Souza Dam, located in Cerro Corá- RN, to support recovery and environmental monitoring programs in these areas. For this, 22 soil samples were collected, 19 samples being taken from degraded areas surrounding the dam and (03) three samples from conserved areas located in Legal Reserve areas surrounding the dam. In the laboratory, the physical and chemical characterization of the samples was carried out. The covered soils, from the legal reserve, presented greater environmental buffering, higher soil density, organic matter and clay content, while the soils in degraded areas had higher available P content, less clay and more alkaline, presenting a greater risk of acting as a diffuse source. of pollution from the dam. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis highlighted the difference between degraded and conserved soils, reinforcing the need for conservation and sustainable management to protect the region's natural resources.