Studies on Spodosols in tropical coastal tablelands are still scarce. This paper studied such soils on coastal tablelands and a marine sandbank, in the States of Paraiba and Pernambuco, in Northeastern Brazil. Physical, chemical and mineralogical analyses were performed in 14 soil profiles on mostly plain surfaces under sugarcane cultivation. With regard to drainage, most of the profiles were defined as moderate to poorly drained and groundwater was detected at a depth of 182, 85 and 74 cm in three of them. The texture was predominantly sandy, with variations among sand, loamy sand and sandy loam, with clay contents always below 130 g kg-1. Regarding the chemical properties, high acidity, low base saturation, low CEC and high Al3+ saturation were recorded. Some horizons with the colors and hues 10YR and 7.5YR, with values between 5-7 and chromas 2-8 classified as Bs had organic matter levels higher than some horizons classified as Bhs, demonstrating the inadequacy of the color criterion for identification of these cemented horizons. The soil mineralogy showed a predominance of kaolinite and quartz in the clay fraction, with minor amounts of illite, gibbsite, feldspar and anatase. In the tablelands, aside from these minerals goethite was also identified. In the sand fraction, quartz was predominant in all profiles, with traces of feldspar.
physical properties; mineralogy; coastal tablelands
