The coastal plains, in the North, Northeast and Southeast Brazil, soils with cohesive layer are common, and can cause physical impediment to root and water. However, the genesis of these horizons is still unknown. The main objective of this work was to evaluate the influence of amorphous materials on the cohesion processes with cohesive layers from a toposequence in Trairi - CE. Four soil profiles were described and characterized (physically and chemically). Three soils present cohesive layers (P2, P3 and P4) and one (P1) did not. To evaluate the effect of amorphous material in the cohesion, samples of Bt1 horizons were subjected to two treatments: with and without extraction of amorphous material. Samples (with and without extraction) were subjected to three cycles of wetting and drying and then the penetration resistance (PR) was determined. Based on the chemical and physical analysis, the soils were classified as Ultisols. The highest expression of the cohesive character was found in P4, located in the lowest position of the landscape, suggesting the influence of relief on the intensification of the cohesion. Despite the low clay content and the loosening of the soil, a high PR was achieved after only a few cycles of wetting and drying. After extraction of amorphous material, the cohesive horizons of profiles P2 and P4 showed a significant reduction of PR, indicating that these compounds act in the genesis of cohesive layers.
hardsetting soils; amorphous compounds; pedogenesis
