CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / Na cultura da cana-de-aÃÃcar, por razÃes econÃmicas e ambientais, a queima da palhada, feita para facilitar a colheita e o transporte, vem sendo substituÃda pela colheita mecanizada. Sabe-se que a manutenÃÃo da palhada sobre o solo influencia a dinÃmica da Ãgua, nutrientes e matÃria orgÃnica, mas seus efeitos ainda nÃo sÃo suficientemente conhecidos. Nesse contexto, o objetivo do presente estudo foi avaliar o efeito do manejo do solo cultivado com cana-de-aÃÃcar sem a queima prÃvia do canavial para a colheita, comparado com a mata nativa, sobre a matÃria orgÃnica do solo e, por consequÃncia, os efeitos desta sobre o fÃsforo do solo. Para tanto, foram determinados, nas profundidades de 0 â 2,5, 2,5 â 5, 5 â 10 , 10 â 20 e 20 â 30 cm, os teores de carbono orgÃnico total (COT) e particulado (COP) e seus respectivos estoques (EstCOT e EstCOP), a matÃria orgÃnica leve (MOL), fracionada pelo mÃtodo da flotaÃÃo em Ãgua, as concentraÃÃes de fÃsforo orgÃnico e inorgÃnico obtidas atravÃs da extraÃÃo sequencial proposta por Hedley et al.(1982) com modificaÃÃes e a capacidade mÃxima de adsorÃÃo de fÃsforo do solo (CMAP). As amostras de solo para as anÃlises foram coletadas de uma Ãrea sob cultivo de cana-de-aÃÃcar e de uma Ãrea contÃgua sob vegetaÃÃo nativa, ambas localizadas no municÃpio de Paraipaba â CE. Os resultados obtidos foram submetidos à anÃlise de variÃncia e comparados entre si pelo Teste de Tukey (p< 0,05) utilizando-se para tanto, o programa estatÃstico Assistat. Os maiores teores de COT e COP foram encontrados na primeira camada da Ãrea de mata. Em profundidade, os teores de COP na Ãrea de cana foram superiores. O EstCOT foi superior na Ãrea de mata, no entanto, o EstCOP foi superior na Ãrea sob cultivo de cana. As maiores concentraÃÃes de MOL foram encontradas nas primeiras camadas da Ãrea cultivada, nÃo diferindo da Ãrea de mata em profundidade. A concentraÃÃo de fÃsforo orgÃnico foi superior a concentraÃÃo de fÃsforo inorgÃnico nas duas Ãreas. Entre as fraÃÃes orgÃnicas obtidas pelo fracionamento de Hedley, a fraÃÃo orgÃnica bicarbonato (Po bic) foi a que obteve maior proporÃÃo em relaÃÃo ao fÃsforo total do solo. Dentre as fraÃÃes inorgÃnicas, a fraÃÃo inorgÃnica hidrÃxido 0,1 (Pi hid 0,1) apresentou-se em maiores concentraÃÃes que as demais. O maior valor de CMAP foi obtido na ultima camada da Ãrea de mata e o menor valor encontrado na primeira camada da Ãrea cultivada. Observou-se correlaÃÃo negativa entre os valores de COP e MOL com os valores de CMAP na Ãrea sob cultivo. Os maiores valores de CMAP foram encontrados nas camadas com menores concentraÃÃes de COP e MOL. Essa tendÃncia nÃo foi observada na Ãrea de mata. No geral, na ultima camada avaliada (20 â 30 cm), nÃo se observou diferenÃas significativas para as caracterÃsticas avaliadas entre as duas Ãreas. Nessa profundidade, a influÃncia do sistema de manejo à mÃnima. / Considering the sugar cane crop, for economic and environmental reasons, the burning of straw, used to facilitate the crop harvest and transportation, has been replaced by mechanical harvesting. It is known that the maintenance of straw on the soil influences the dynamics of water, nutrients and organic matter, but its effects are not yet sufficiently known. In this context, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of soil management cultivated with sugar cane without burning the plants prior to harvest, compared with the soil under native forest, on soil organic matter and, consequently, the effect on the phosphorus in the soil profile. To do so, it was determined, at depths from 0 - 2.5, 2.5 - 5, 5-10, 10-20 and 20 - 30 cm, the concentrations of the total organic carbon (TOC) and the particulate organic carbon (POC), as well as their accumulated amounts (EstCOT and EstCOP), light organic matter (LOM), which was fractionated by the method of flotation in water, concentrations of organic and inorganic phosphorus, obtained by sequential extraction proposed by Hedley et al. (1982) with modifications, and soil P maximum adsorption capacity (PMAC). Soil samples for analysis were collected from an area under cultivation of sugar cane and from a contiguous soil area under native vegetation, both located in the municipality of Paraipaba - CE. The results were subjected to analysis of variance and compared by Tukey test (p <0.05), using, for this purpose, the statistical program Assistat. The highest TOC and POC were found in the first soil layer of the forest area. At depth, the concentrations of COP in the area of sugar cane crop were higher. The EstCOT was higher in the forest, however, it was also higher in EstCOP in the area under sugar cane cultivation. The highest concentrations of MOL were found in the first soil layers of the sugar cane cultivated area, but not differing from the soil forest area in depth. The concentration of organic phosphorus was higher than the concentration of inorganic phosphorus in the two areas. Among the organic fractions, obtained by fractionation of Hedley method, the organic bicarbonate fraction P (bic Po) was proportionally the highest one present in the total soil phosphorus. Among the inorganic, the 0.1 hydroxide inorganic P fraction (Pi hid 0.1) appeared in higher concentrations than the others. The highest value of PMAC was obtained in the deepest soil layer of the forest area and the lowest PMAC value was found in the first soil layer of the sugar cane cultivated area. There was negative correlation between the values of both COP and MOL with CMAP values in the area under cane cultivation. The highest values of CMAP were found in layers with lower concentrations of COP and MOL. This trend was not observed in the forested area. Considering the deepest soil layer evaluated (20-30 cm) for the two soil areas, it was found no significant differences for the evaluated characteristics between the two areas. At this soil layer, the influence of the management system was almost null.