Uso e ocupação do solo por comunidades tradicionais no Médio Amazonas

Abstract

Questions related to traditional agricultural practices in the Amazon are commonly highlighted by studies that consider the form of perception that farmers have about soil quality, an aspect that can be inserted in the context of ethnoknowledge and ethnopedology studies. Considering this premise, this work describes the results of an analysis established between these forms of knowledge and the physical and chemical properties of the soils of two relief units, várzea and terra firme. The methodological proposal included classifications and identification of forms of land use and occupation based on local perception and technical knowledge. The results indicated Neossolos Flúvicos for the floodplain units, presenting a textural class between frank to silty loam. Local farmers define two environments for planting, the restinga and the riverside. For the uplands, Oxisols were classified, and the textural class ranged from clayey to very clayey. Multivariate analysis showed a positive relationship between chemical composition and soil fertility in a floodplain unit. In the floodplain, the carbon stock has the highest levels in riverside soils, with values between 50 and 61.20 mg C.g-1. On terra firme, Oxisols present contents between 113.20 and 138.10 mg C.g-1. The principles of ethnoknowledge based on the perception of local farmers researched in this work as methods, techniques and instruments, showed positive correlations between technical and traditional knowledge. Floodplain farmers are conditioned by natural fertility and the river regime that directly leads to production in this unit. In the terra firme unit, farmers are induced to shift agriculture in search of new environments that present the minimum of fertility, such as primary forests.