Macroscale soil behavior depends on the mechanical properties of individual aggregates. Tensile strength (TS) of soil aggregates has been used as an indicator of management effect on soil quality as related to land use. The objective of this study was to evaluate the change of TS in relation to the variation of soil organic carbon (SOC) content in two soils (Typic Hapludox) with different textures under a long term no-tillage system. The experiment was arranged in a completely randomized 2 x 2 x 2 factorial design with 12 treatments. The analyzed factors were: (a) two soils: Oxisol with medium texture and Oxisol with clay loam texture, (b) two sampling layers: 0-5 and 5-20 cm, (c) two sampling dates (October 2007-T1, September 2008-T2). To determine TS, 1440 soil blocks were sampled. The TS and SOC contents were measured in 1920 aggregates for each sampling time. RT decreased as SOC content increased, with a greater impact on Oxisol with clay loam texture. The clay content affected the TS behavior, to which it was inversely proportional. The impact of SOC content on TS was greater in the soil surface (0-5 cm) than in the 5-20 cm layer.
tensile strength; clay; soil organic carbon
