Coberturas vegetais e propriedades de um podzólico vermelho-amarelo na região cacaueira da Bahia

The cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.), which is the main agricultural product of the Bahia State, Brazil, is usually considered to be a “conservationist crop”. However, there is now a irreversible trend to the farming diversification, associated with economical, social, political and environmental transformations in Southeast Bahia. With the adoption of alternatives crops the cocoa tree, there will certainly bc impacts to the soil system. This study was carried out in order to evaluate the effects of the four land uses (natural forest, cocoa tree, rubber tree and pasture) on chemical, physical and biological properties of the profile (O-lO, 10-20 and 20-40 cm) of an Eutrophic Red Yellow Podzolic (Alfisol), at the Cocoa Research Center (CEPEC). In the experimental conditions, the results showed that: the land uses studied have not caused significant changes in the Alfisol properties; the very intensive activities on the cocoa tree area and the subutilization on the pasture area, showed that this areas don't represent the regional management pattern; similar research will have to be carried on with others regional agricultural potentiality, including cocoa plantation in “cabruca” system, palm- tree, fruit-tree, spices, forestry and annual crop; to indicate future research, was annotate the hypothesis concerning the influences of the rubber tree roots exsudates helping the soil aggregation, during the growth of the root system; to the region was suggested agricultural activities with multicropping systems, like agroforestry systems.