During oil-sands mining all vegetation cover, soil, overburden and oil-sand is removed, leaving pits several kilometres wide and hundreds of metres deep. These pits are reclaimed by a variety of treatments using mineral soil or a mixed peat and mineral soil as the capping layer and planted with trees with natural colonisation from adjacent sites. A number of reclamation treatments covering different age classes were compared with a range of natural forest ecotypes to identify the age at which the treatments become similar to a natural site with respect to vegetation composition and key soil attributes relevant to nutrient cycling. Ecosystem function was estimated from plant community composition, litter decomposition, development of an organic layer and bio-available nutrients. Key response variables including moisture, pH, C:N ratios, bio-available nutrients and ground-cover were analysed by non-metric multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis to discover which reclamation treatments were moving towards or merging with natural forest ecotypes and at what age this occurs. On reclaimed sites, bio-available nutrients including nitrate generally were above the natural range of variability but ammonium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and manganese were generally very low and limiting to ecosystem development. Plant diversity was similar to natural sites from 5 years to 30 years after reclamation, but declined as reclaimed sites approached canopy closure. Grass and forb leaf litters decomposed faster than aspen or pine in the first year, but decomposition on one reclamation treatment fell below the natural range of variability. Development of an organic layer appeared to be facilitated by the presence of shrubs, while forbs correlated negatively with first-year decomposition of aspen litter. The better restoration amendments for tailings sands involved repeated fertilisation of peat: mineral mixtures in the early years of plant establishment, these became similar to a target ecotype at about 25 years. Good results were also shown by subsoil laid over non-saline overburden and fertilised once, these became similar to a target ecotype at about 15 years. Other treatments receiving a single application of fertiliser remain entrenched in the early reclamation phase for up to 25 years. / Forestry, Faculty of / Graduate

Cut-to-length logging is a mechanized method for delimbing trees and cutting them to length. It is a two-machine operation; taken care by a harvester and a forwarder. The forwarder can cause soil rutting, soil compaction and other detrimental after effects. Therefore it has become vital to protect the forest floor from destructive effects of heavy machines. This initiated the study to delve more into the interaction between the loaded forwarder wheel and the soil. Various WES based rut depth models has been compared to validate its effectiveness in predicting the rut depths. New models have been developed to estimate the rut depth produced by the multipass effect of wheels. Models that could predict the contact pressure between the tire and soil as well as the tire soil contact area has been studied. Various relations to determine the mobility parameters have also been studied. The ones that are suitable to predict mobility parameters have been identified. Roots play a major role in reinforcing the soil and protecting them. This extra reinforcement provided by roots has been taken into account in the thesis work. Lab test with pine tree roots have been carried out to determine the extra reinforcement supplied. Models that are capable of predicting the reinforcement effects due to roots have also been looked into. An initial step towards connecting WES and Bekker models have been done; available models correlating both WES and Bekker models have been analysed and finally a set of relations connecting both have been derived. The effect of slip on sinkage has been studied with the help of both WES and Bekker based models. Multibody simulation software MSC Adams has been used to simulate the forwarder model to determine its suitability for rut depth prediction. Adams has been employed to study the effect of tire inflation pressure and velocity on rut depth. / Kortvirkesmetoden är en mekaniserad för skogsavverkning. Det är en två-maskinsprocess, som utförs av en skördare och en skotare. Skotaren kan orsaka skador på marken, som exempelvis spårbildning och markpackning. Det har blivit allt viktigare att skydda skogen från de marskador orsakade av tunga maskiner. Detta är en initiell studie av samspelet mellan mark och hjul på en lastad skotare. Olika WES-baserade spårdjupsmodeller har jämförts för att värdera deras förmåga att prediktera spårdjupen. Nya modeller har också utvecklats för att uppskatta relationen mellan spårdjup och flera hjulpassager. Modeller som kan prediktera kontakttrycket mellan däcket och marken, samt däckets markkontaktarea har studerats. Olika relationer för att bestämma mobilitetsparametrarna har också studerats. Rötter spelar en viktig roll för att öka markens bärighet och att skydda den. Rötternas effekt på markens bärighet har behandlats i examensarbetet. Labbtester med tallrötter har genomförts för att bestämma deras armeringseffekt. Modeller som kan användas för att prediktera rötternas effekter har också studerats. Ett första steg för att kunna kombinera WES- och Bekker-modeller har utförts, tillgängliga modeller som korrelerar WES- och Bekker-modeller har behandlats och en uppsättning relationer som relaterar de båda modellerna har härletts. Effekten av halka i samband med nedsjunkning har studerats med hjälp av både WES- och Bekkerbaserade modeller. Dynamiksimuleringsprogramet MSC Adams har använts för att simulera skotarmodellen för att bestämma dess lämplighet för spårdjupsförutsägelse. Adams har använts för att studera vilken effekt olika däcktryck och hastighet har på spårdjupet.

O aquecimento global é considerado um dos mais sérios problemas ambientais da atualidade mundial e suas consequências afetam de maneira severa diversos biomas já ameaçados, principalmente em ecossistemas tropicais. O estado de conservação de todos os biomas brasileiros é uma questão de grande preocupação e por esta razão, a Mata Atlântica, um dos ecossistemas florestais que mais sofreu redução em seu vasto domínio, ainda é um bioma extremamente rico em biodiversidade, com altos níveis de endemismo, apesar do intenso desmatamento e fragmentação. Diante de sua importância biogeoquímica, os objetivos principais do presente estudo foram compreender de que maneira o fenômeno de elevação da temperatura global afeta as emissões naturais de gases de efeito estufa (GEE) provenientes do solo e de que modo o acréscimo da temperatura influencia na ciclagem de nutrientes como carbono e nitrogênio. Para isso, o solo foi aquecido artificialmente em 5ºC para se avaliar o comportamento das emissões sob maiores temperaturas. O estudo foi realizado no Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar, no Núcleo Santa Virgínia, onde predomina a formação de Floresta Ombrófila Densa Altimontana. As amostras foram coletadas quatro vezes ao ano em campanhas de 10 dias, durante os meses de setembro e novembro de 2009 e janeiro e agosto de 2010. O sistema de aquecimento funcionou de maneira satisfatória como esperado e o aumento da temperatura ocorreu por radiação térmica de maneira lenta e gradativa. O aumento da temperatura não resultou em diferenças significativas na umidade do solo para os diferentes tratamentos. O aquecimento resultou em um aumento expressivo das emissões de CO2 e N2O, porém não apresentou diferenças para os fluxos de CH4. O aumento do fluxo dos gases pode representar uma tendência da diminuição do estoque (substrato) de carbono disponível no solo ao longo do tempo. A variação de CO2 a curto prazo pode ter sido consequência do aumento da respiração radicular e de heterótrofos presentes na rizosfera. Para o N2O a maior temperatura pode ter intensificado o metabolismo da microbiota desnitrificadora, resultando assim em maiores emissões de N2O para a atmosfera. O consumo de CH4 não apresentou diferenças significativas durante os períodos amostrados. Estudos que manipulam a temperatura do solo permitem um maior conhecimento dos processos envolvidos na emissão de gases pela atividade microbiana, mas infelizmente não permitem uma conclusão precisa a respeito do comportamento do sistema solo-atmosfera por completo devido aos inúmeros fatores que afetam esses processos de maneiras distintas. É preciso aprofundar nossos conhecimentos da dinâmica desses processos para um melhor entendimento de como a futura interação do ciclo global do C responderá às mudanças climáticas, e como será possível antecipar os efeitos negativos dessas interações que ocorrem na natureza, principalmente entre o C e o N do solo e da atmosfera. / The global warming is considered one of the most serious environmental problem of nowadays and its severe consequences affects already threatened biomes, particularly in tropical ecosystems. The conservation status of all biomes is a matter of great concern, and for this reason, the Atlantic forest, one of the most threatened ecosystems of the Planet, is still extremely rich in biodiversity, with high endemic levels, despite the intense deforestation and fragmentation. Given its biogeochemistry importance, the main objectives of this study were to understand how the phenomenon of rising global temperatures affects natural emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) from soil, and how the warming influences the cycling of nutrients such as carbon and nitrogen. For this, the soil was artificially heated at 5ºC to evaluate the emissions response at higher temperatures. The study was conducted at Serra do Mar State Park Núcleo Sta. Virgínia, were the formation of montane Rain Forest predominates. Gas samples were collected four times a year on 10 days campaigns during the months of September and November 2009 and January and August 2010. The heating system worked satisfactorily as expected and the temperature was increased by thermal radiation in a slow and gradual way. The temperature increase resulted in no significant differences in soil moisture for the different treatments. The higher temperature resulted in a significant increase in emissions of CO2 and N2O, but no difference was noticed to the flows of CH4. The higher emissions of gases may represent a trend of decrease in the pool of readily available carbon in the soil over time. The short-term variation of CO2 may have been a consequence of increased root respiration and heterotrophic microbiota in the rhizosphere. For the N2O results, the temperature may have enhanced the metabolism of denitrifying microbiota, thus resulting in higher emissions of N2O to the atmosphere. The consumption of CH4 showed no significant differences during the studied periods. Studies that manipulate the soil temperature allow a better understanding of the involved processes in the emission of gases by microbial activity, but unfortunately do not allow a precise conclusion about the response of the soilatmosphere system altogether because there are many factors that affects these processes in distinct ways. We need to further improve our knowledge on the dynamics of these processes for a better understanding of how the future interaction between the global carbon cycle responds to climate change, and how we anticipate the negative effects of those interactions that occur in nature, mainly between C and N present in the soil and in the atmosphere

O aquecimento global é considerado um dos mais sérios problemas ambientais da atualidade mundial e suas consequências afetam de maneira severa diversos biomas já ameaçados, principalmente em ecossistemas tropicais. O estado de conservação de todos os biomas brasileiros é uma questão de grande preocupação e por esta razão, a Mata Atlântica, um dos ecossistemas florestais que mais sofreu redução em seu vasto domínio, ainda é um bioma extremamente rico em biodiversidade, com altos níveis de endemismo, apesar do intenso desmatamento e fragmentação. Diante de sua importância biogeoquímica, os objetivos principais do presente estudo foram compreender de que maneira o fenômeno de elevação da temperatura global afeta as emissões naturais de gases de efeito estufa (GEE) provenientes do solo e de que modo o acréscimo da temperatura influencia na ciclagem de nutrientes como carbono e nitrogênio. Para isso, o solo foi aquecido artificialmente em 5ºC para se avaliar o comportamento das emissões sob maiores temperaturas. O estudo foi realizado no Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar, no Núcleo Santa Virgínia, onde predomina a formação de Floresta Ombrófila Densa Altimontana. As amostras foram coletadas quatro vezes ao ano em campanhas de 10 dias, durante os meses de setembro e novembro de 2009 e janeiro e agosto de 2010. O sistema de aquecimento funcionou de maneira satisfatória como esperado e o aumento da temperatura ocorreu por radiação térmica de maneira lenta e gradativa. O aumento da temperatura não resultou em diferenças significativas na umidade do solo para os diferentes tratamentos. O aquecimento resultou em um aumento expressivo das emissões de CO2 e N2O, porém não apresentou diferenças para os fluxos de CH4. O aumento do fluxo dos gases pode representar uma tendência da diminuição do estoque (substrato) de carbono disponível no solo ao longo do tempo. A variação de CO2 a curto prazo pode ter sido consequência do aumento da respiração radicular e de heterótrofos presentes na rizosfera. Para o N2O a maior temperatura pode ter intensificado o metabolismo da microbiota desnitrificadora, resultando assim em maiores emissões de N2O para a atmosfera. O consumo de CH4 não apresentou diferenças significativas durante os períodos amostrados. Estudos que manipulam a temperatura do solo permitem um maior conhecimento dos processos envolvidos na emissão de gases pela atividade microbiana, mas infelizmente não permitem uma conclusão precisa a respeito do comportamento do sistema solo-atmosfera por completo devido aos inúmeros fatores que afetam esses processos de maneiras distintas. É preciso aprofundar nossos conhecimentos da dinâmica desses processos para um melhor entendimento de como a futura interação do ciclo global do C responderá às mudanças climáticas, e como será possível antecipar os efeitos negativos dessas interações que ocorrem na natureza, principalmente entre o C e o N do solo e da atmosfera. / The global warming is considered one of the most serious environmental problem of nowadays and its severe consequences affects already threatened biomes, particularly in tropical ecosystems. The conservation status of all biomes is a matter of great concern, and for this reason, the Atlantic forest, one of the most threatened ecosystems of the Planet, is still extremely rich in biodiversity, with high endemic levels, despite the intense deforestation and fragmentation. Given its biogeochemistry importance, the main objectives of this study were to understand how the phenomenon of rising global temperatures affects natural emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) from soil, and how the warming influences the cycling of nutrients such as carbon and nitrogen. For this, the soil was artificially heated at 5ºC to evaluate the emissions response at higher temperatures. The study was conducted at Serra do Mar State Park Núcleo Sta. Virgínia, were the formation of montane Rain Forest predominates. Gas samples were collected four times a year on 10 days campaigns during the months of September and November 2009 and January and August 2010. The heating system worked satisfactorily as expected and the temperature was increased by thermal radiation in a slow and gradual way. The temperature increase resulted in no significant differences in soil moisture for the different treatments. The higher temperature resulted in a significant increase in emissions of CO2 and N2O, but no difference was noticed to the flows of CH4. The higher emissions of gases may represent a trend of decrease in the pool of readily available carbon in the soil over time. The short-term variation of CO2 may have been a consequence of increased root respiration and heterotrophic microbiota in the rhizosphere. For the N2O results, the temperature may have enhanced the metabolism of denitrifying microbiota, thus resulting in higher emissions of N2O to the atmosphere. The consumption of CH4 showed no significant differences during the studied periods. Studies that manipulate the soil temperature allow a better understanding of the involved processes in the emission of gases by microbial activity, but unfortunately do not allow a precise conclusion about the response of the soilatmosphere system altogether because there are many factors that affects these processes in distinct ways. We need to further improve our knowledge on the dynamics of these processes for a better understanding of how the future interaction between the global carbon cycle responds to climate change, and how we anticipate the negative effects of those interactions that occur in nature, mainly between C and N present in the soil and in the atmosphere

No description available.

Digital soil mapping (DSM) provides a cost-effective approach for characterizing the spatial variation in soil properties which contributes to inconsistent productivity. This study utilized Random Forest (RF) models to facilitate DSM of apparent soil electrical conductivity (ECa), estimated cation exchange capacity (CEC), and soil organic matter (SOM) in agricultural fields across the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley. The RF models were trained and tested using in situ collected ECa, CEC, and SOM data, paired with a bare soil composite of Landsat 9 imagery. Field data and imagery were collected during the study period of 2019 through 2023. Models ranged from fair to moderate in accuracy (R2 from 0.27 to 0.68). The contrasting performance between CEC/SOM and ECa models is likely due to the dynamic nature of soil properties. Accordingly, models could have benefitted from covariates such as soil moisture, topography, and climatic factors, or higher spectral resolution imagery, such as hyperspectral.

Vast amounts of carbon are stored forest soils, a product of decaying organic matter. Increased CO2 in the atmosphere is predicted to lead to increasing global temperatures, and more extreme moisture regimes. Such increases in mean temperature could accelerate the rate of organic matter decay in soils and lead to additional release of CO2 into the atmosphere, thus exacerbating climate change. However, due to its impact on plant metabolism, high atmospheric CO2 concentrations may also lead to greater condensed tannins (CT) and reduced nitrogen (N) content in leaf litter. This reduction in litter quality has the potential to slow decay of organic matter in soil and therefore offset the accelerated decay resulting from a warmer climate. My research aimed to quantify the effects of climate and litter chemistry, specifically CT and N, on litter decay, N mineralization and associated microbes in the field. Strings of litterbags were laid on the forest floor along climate transects of mature Douglas-fir stands of coastal British Columbia rain-shadow forests. In-situ climate was monitored alongside carbon and nitrogen loss over 3.58 years of decay along three transects located at different latitudes, each transect spanning the coastal Western Hemlock and Douglas-fir biogeoclimatic zones. Microbial communities in the decaying litter and in forest soils were also analyzed using polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE). Microbial biogeography at field sites was partially influenced by climate, soil characteristics and spatial distance, but did not improve best fit decay models using climate and litter chemistry variables. Litter with greater initial CT and smaller N concentration slowed down early decay (0 - 0.58 yr) and net N mineralization. Warmer temperatures accelerated later decay (0.58 - 3.58 yr) and net N mineralization. Water-soluble CT were rapidly lost during decay, while other forms of CT were likely responsible for slower decay. The composition of fungal communities on decaying litter was affected by initial concentrations of CT and N. On a yearly basis, the slower decay of litter with high CT and reduced N content can offset accelerated rates of decay associated with warmer temperatures. Concurrent shifts in microbial communities and net N mineralization suggest potential benefits to trees. / Graduate / 2017-12-19

Termites are important ecosystem engineers in tropical and sub-tropical terrestrial regions where they influence ecosystem processes by altering the physical and chemical structure of the habitat. Termites affect nutrient availability by decomposition and comminution (shredding) of organic matter and act as agents of bioturbation as they re-work substrates during the construction of nests, tunnels and runways. At present we have a relatively good understanding of termite diversity patterns in the tropics through the extensive use of the standardised transect sampling protocol by Eggleton et al. (1995). These diversity data suggest that there is a functional difference in termite assemblage structure, and potentially in termite abundance and biomass, among comparable habitats across continents. However due to the lack of comparable abundance and biomass data from South America this has not previously been confirmed. In this thesis I, therefore, collected extensive data on termite taxonomic and functional assemblage structure in a South American site in Peru. The data were used to compare termite abundance and biomass from two comparable sites in Africa (Cameroon) and south east Asia (Malaysia) in order to gain better understanding of the role termites play in ecosystem processes. I found that there was an intercontinental difference in the abundance and biomass of termite feeding-groups mainly due to the dominance of soil-feeding termites in Cameroon and the absence of fungus-growing termites from Peru. The impact of certain lineages on the intercontinental differences suggests that the differences may be due to biogeographical evolution. Moreover, Eggleton et al. (1998) show that larger-bodied soil-feeding termites in Cameroon process more energy per unit area than predicted by their body size. Due to the need for an examination of the allometric relationships in termite assemblages outside Africa and the development of a more sophisticated feeding-group classification I explore the findings in Eggleton et al. (1998) further using population density - body mass relationships in three termite feeding-groups among the three continental sites in Cameroon, Peru and Malaysia. I found that large-bodied soil-feeding termites in Cameroon and large-bodied wood-feeding termites in Peru had higher population densities than expected by their body masses. As the population density - body mass relationship is inverse to that of the energy - body mass relationship the results suggest that the two feeding-groups also use more energy than expected by their body masses. Further, we have a relatively good understanding of the role termites play as ecosystem engineers e.g. in nutrient cycling and distribution, however, compared with our understanding of wood and litter decomposition in tropical forests quantitative data on the impact of termites in soil processes is poorly understood. In this thesis I conducted, to our knowledge, the first in situ soil macrofauna exclusion experiment using translocated soil in Peru to examine the impact of termites on soil C and N loss. I found that termites promote soil C and N loss which may be linked to the increase in microbial activity due to the passage of soil through the termite gut as well as the affect termites have on bioturbation and nutrient distribution. To conclude, in this thesis I present the first intercontinental comparison of abundance and biomass as well as the first in situ soil macrofauna exclusion experiment to date. The link between termite ecology, biogeography and evolution is discussed as well as the contribution of this thesis to the field of termite ecology.

The transport of nutrients in forest soils predominantly occurs along preferential flow pathways (PFP). This study investigated the composition of phosphorus (P) forms in PFPs and soil matrix in several temperate beech forests with contrasting soil P contents in Germany. The PFPs were visualized using dye tracer experiments. Stained and unstained soil was sampled from three profile cuts per plot and analyzed for P fractions. The results show that labile P concentrations were highest in the O-layer and had the same range of values at all sites (240–320 mg·kg−1), although total P (TP) differed considerably (530–2330 mg·kg−1). The ratio of labile P to TP was significantly lower in the P-rich soil compared to the medium and P-poor soils. By contrast, the ratio of moderately labile P to TP was highest at the P-rich site. The shifts in P fractions with soil depth were generally gradual in the P-rich soil, but more abrupt at the others. The contents of labile and moderately labile P clearly differed in PFPs compared to soil matrix, but not statistically significant. The studied soils are characterized by high stone contents with low potential for P sorption. However, indications were found that labile organically bound P accumulates in PFPs such as biopores.

O glifosato e o oxifluorfen têm sido os principais herbicidas para controle de plantas invasoras em plantações florestais. Neste contexto, constituíram em objetivos do presente estudo avaliar as taxas de degradação e de lixiviação de glifosato e oxifluorfen em Latossolo Vermelho-Amarelo Distrófico psamítico, manejados no sistema de cultivo mínimo, florestados com eucalipto. Para tal, foi conduzido um experimento em condições de campo, na Estação Experimental de Ciências Florestais de Itatinga, ESALQ/USP (Itatinga - SP), sendo as análises realizadas no Laboratório de Resíduos de Pesticidas e Análises Cromatográficas (LARP/USP). Aplicou-se o glifosato (1440g i.a. ha-1) e oxifluorfen (960g i.a. ha-1) em três repetições na dosagem recomendada (4,0 L./ha-1) para condição de campo. A dissipação dos herbicidas foi avaliada por cromatografia. Foram analisadas amostras de serapilheira, solo e solução do solo. Para a avaliação dos teores de herbicidas na serapilheira e no solo foram realizadas amostragens 3 dias antes da aplicação dos herbicidas na testemunha e, nos demais tratamentos, no dia da aplicação 0, 1, 3, 7, 15, 30, 60 e 93 dias após a aplicação dos herbicidas. Foram amostradas a serapilheira e as seguintes camadas de solo: 0-1, 1-2, 2-4, 4-6, 6-10, 10-15 e 15-30 cm. Para avaliar a lixiviação dos herbicidas, amostras de solução do solo foram coletadas em lisímetros ativado por gravidade (sem tensão) e outro por vácuo (com tensão). O lisímetro ativado por gravidade foi instalado sob a serapilheira, 15, 50 e 100 cm de profundidade e o outro lisímetro foi instalado 15, 50, 100 e 300 cm. Para avaliar a fotodegradação do oxifluorfen foram instaladas parcelas na sombra (sombrite a 80%). A meia-vida do glifosato no solo sem serapilheira foi de 10 dias e no solo sob serapilheira, de 47 dias. Sua lixiviação no solo sob serapilheira foi 36% menor do que no solo sem serapilheira. Devido a este efeito, os riscos de contaminação de solos manejados no sistema de cultivo mínimo são menores. A concentração do glifosato decresceu enquanto a do seu metabólito (AMPA) aumentou durante as duas primeiras semanas após sua aplicação. E tais resíduos foram detectados na solução do solo após 8 dias de sua aplicação, a 15 cm de profundidade. A meia-vida de oxifluorfen no solo sem serapilheira foi de 25 dias e no solo com serapilheira sua meia-vida foi reduzida para 13 dias. O oxifluorfen no solo com serapilheira lixiviou até 5cm e no solo sem serapilheira até 8cm. Em ambas as situações as concentrações foram muito baixas. O teor de oxyfluorfen sob sombra foi sempre maior do que sob pleno sol, comprovando sua fotodegradabilidade. / Glyphosate and oxyfluorfen have been the main herbicides used for the control for the weed control in forest plantations. In this context, to evaluate the degradation and the leaching of glyphosate and oxyfluorfen in red-yellow latosols (oxisol) under minimum cultivation of the soil and planted with eucalyptus were the objectives of the present study. To do so, an experiment was carried out under field conditions in the Experimental Forest Science Station at Itatinga, ESALQ/USP (Itatinga - SP). The analyses were performed under laboratory conditions at LARP/USP - a laboratory of pesticide residues and chromatographic analyses. Oxyfluorfen was applied (960g a. i. ha-1) in (three repetitions) at the recommended dosage (4.0 L./ha-1) for the field conditions. Glyphosate (1440g a. i. ha-1) and oxyfluorfen (960g a. i. ha-1) were applied in three repetitions at the recommended dosage (4.0 L./ha-1) for the filed condition. The dissipation of the herbicides was evaluated by means of chromatography. Samples of litter, soil and soil solution were analyzed. In order to evaluate the herbicide rates in litter and in soil, samplings were performed three days before the herbicides application in the control and, in the other treatments, at the day of application (0), and at 1, 3, 7, 15, 30, 60, and 93 days after the application. litter and the following soil layer were sampled: 0-1, 1-2, 2-4, 4-6, 6-10, 10-15, and 15-30 cm deep. In order to evaluate the herbicides leaching, samples of soil solution were collected in lisimeters activated by gravity (without tension) and by vacuum (with tension). The lisimeter activated by gravity was installed under the litter at 15, 50, and 100 cm deep; the other was installed at 15, 50, 100, and 300 cm deep. In order to evaluate the photodegradation of oxyfluorfen, the plots were installed under shade (shading net at 80%). The half-life of glyphosate in soil without litter was 10 days and in soil under litter was 47 days. The leaching of glyphosate in soil under litter was 36% smaller than in soil without litter. Because this effect, the risk of contamination of soils that have minimum cultivation are small. The concentration of glyphosate decrease while concentration of your principal metabolite (AMPA) increase during the first two week after application. Glyphosate was found in soil solution 8 days after application up to 15cm deep. The half-life of oxyfluorfen in soil without litter was 25 days and in soil under litter was 13 days. Oxyfluorfen was found at 5 cm deep in soil with litter and at 8 cm deep in soil without litter. In both situations the concentration was very low. Along the experiment, oxyfluorfen under shade was always higher than under sun, this proves the photo-degradation.