02304naa a2200229 a 450000100080000000500110000800800410001910000170006024501430007726000090022052015800022965000190180965000140182865300170184265300490185970000150190870000160192370000240193970000190196370000170198277300750199914884852018-05-30       2002    bl uuuu     u00u1 u    #d1 aOLIVEIRA, C.  aDecomposition of Arachis pintoi litter intercropped with forage grass in "Cerrado" soil in the dry and wet seasons.h[electronic resource]  c2002  aIn tropical pastures which are generally under utilized, nutrients are returned to the soil mainly via litter decomposition. However little is known about the decomposition of tropical forage species in pastures. In this work the dynamics of Arachis pintoi litter decomposition was studied, in the "Cerrado" soil in Sete Lagoas region, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Decomposition of this species was analyzed as a pure stand or intercropped with the grass Cynodon nlenfluensis in dry and wet seasons. Litter bags containing the legume, grass or a mixture of both species were incubated to estimate the decomposition rate and microorganism colonization. Decomposition constants (K) and litter half-lives (T1/2) were estimated by an exponential model whereas number of microorganisms in specific media was determined by plate dilution. Bacterial population increased when Arachis was added to Cynodon. The K of the grass was increased when A. pintoi litter was added, especially in monoculture grass plots. When A. pintoi was intercropped with the grass in the dry season 50% of N and P were released in approximately 130 days, and in the wet season, the equivalent release occurred in 20 days. The correlation between P released by litter decomposition and mass loss was always high and significant in both seasons in mixed and A. pintoi litters. This combination of litters was the most favorable for colonization by P-solubilizing microorganisms. In support of previous work, these results suggest that the use of A. pintoi contributes to the recovery of degraded pastures.  aArachis pintoi  anutrients  aCerrado soil  aGrass and legume forage litter decomposition1 aSCOTTI, M.1 aPURCINO, H.1 aVASCONCELLOS, C. A.1 aMARRIEL, I. E.1 aSA, N. M. H.  tBiology and Fertility of Soils, Berlingv. 36, n. 6, p. 405-410, 2002.