Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística

About the publication - No. 4 – Pedology – Practical Guide for Field Work

This third issue of the Technical Manual of Pedology addresses the advances seen in soil science in Brazil, especially in the field of Pedology, including an update of concepts, criteria, norms and innovations which are part of the Brazilian Soil Classification System - SiBCS.

The pubication brings a concise approach to changes and evolution in the area of soil genesis and classification in relation to the previous one, put out in 2007, considering the focus on historical, descriptive, conceptual ad taxonomic aspects. It also presents parameters for soil description and classification; makes a summarized characterization of the several kinds of pedological studies; finally, it describes, in a simple language, the lab methods used in soil studies in Brazil as adopted by EMBRAPA Solos, highlighting their importance, pros and cons, among other aspects.

The current edition of the Manual encompasses new topics and some useful techniques and procedures, generally little exploited in similar works, in order to expand and improve their applicability. It is enriched by a great number of pictures, some of which are extracted or adapted from acknowledged works or kindly offered by external researchers, yet most of them are produced by IBGE researchers.

The publication comes with a Practical Guide for Field Work, which is a simplified and summarized version of the current Manual and is exclusively meant to these kinds of activities, particularly those related to the general and morphological descriptions of soil profiles. The CD-ROM reproduces both print volumes and offers, additionally, a program for the description of soils through direct digital means, as well as a file with a list of soil surveys carried out in Brazil.