Studies recently developed by Gama-Rodrigues et al. (2014) and Sales et al. (2015) showed hypothetical models of the P cycle in tropical soils using the method of structural equation modeling (SEM) to describe the transformations of P in the soil. Structural models including latent variables with multiple indicators were consistent with the theoretical concept that the indicators of soil P pools are P fractions determined by the sequential extraction method. The models tested corroborated the hypothesis of the dependence of the available P pool to organic pool in unfertilized soils of differing pedogenesis. Thus, SEM proved to be a suitable tool for understanding the various possible cycles of soil P, indicating the degree to which the alterations in the P level of a pool can affect the other P pools.

For more details please contact

Antonio C. Gama-Rodrigues <tonygama@uenf.br>

Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense – Rio de Janeiro, Brasil