Soil Structure Under Four Land Use Types in the Settlement Neguev, Atlantic Zone of Costa Rica.

The work presented in this report was carried out within the context of the Atlantic Zone Programme, a multidisciplinary research programme that started in Costa Rica with a diagnostic study of the planning region Huetár Atlántica to identify amongst other things, important problems that beset agricultural development of the region so as to enable the selection of relevant development oriented research subjects. The central theme of the Programme is sustained land use. A study of the soils and their potential, and of possible effects of land use on soil qualities is therefore an important part of the research.
The soils of the Atlantic Zone of Costa Rica have developed in material of volcanic origin. Nevertheless, differences between soil types may be large. In the region strongly weathered soils are encountered. Such soils are often characterized by weak structure and pose problems when used for permanent agriculture. The present study investigates the effects of different forms of land use on the structure of strongly weathered soils in this settlement project Neguev in the cantons Guácimo and Siquirres, Limón Province. The field work was carried out in the period September-November 1987. Analysis of the soil samples, elaboration of the data and preparation of the report took place in the Netherlands. The report was presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree in Soil Science of Wageningen Agricultural University. The work was supervised (in Costa Rica) by Dr. W.G. Wielemaker of the Programme.