Immediate effects of prescribed burning on chemical properties of the cerrado soil

The Cerrado biome increasingly suffers from the environmental impacts of human action. Burning is known as an action used to destroy native vegetation and to clean areas mainly with the purpose of growing soybeans, corn, or raising cattle. In this study we aimed to investigate the influence of low-intensity burning on the chemical composition of a Red-Yellow Latosol in a region characterized as Cerrado sensu stricto. A total of 14 parcels of land were demarcated. In order to analyze the effects of fire on the soil chemical properties, soil samples were collected before and within 24 hours of the burning by means of the same methodology. An increase in organic matter and in the levels of Ca, Mg, K+, Mn, Zn, B+, S, as well in the ratios characterizing the soil (CECt, SB, Ca/T, Ca/Mg, V, and Ca/K), was observed. Variables that determine the acidity of the soil, such as pH and H + Al, presented changes, although not significant (p > 0.05).