| ABSTRACT A commonly accepted concept holds that highly fertile, shallow soils are predominant in the Basaltic Hillsides of Santa Catarina State, in southern Brazil, but their agricultural use is restricted, either by excessive stoniness, low effective depth or steep slopes. Information about soil properties and distribution along the slopes in this region is, however, scarce, especially regarding genesis and clay fraction mineralogy. The objective of this study was to evaluate soil properties of 12 profiles distributed in three toposequences (T) of the Basaltic Hillsides in the State of Santa Catarina, two located in the valley of the Peixe River (Luzerna - T1 and Ipira - T2) and one in Descanso, in the far West of the state (T3). The main focus was the... |
