Monitoring the infl uence of livestock systems' on soil quality (SQ) in the Colombian Amazon region is important to ensure the sustainability of those agroecosystems. Here we used the Soil Management Assessment Framework (SMAF) to assess the SQ responses to land-use change associated with the adoption of silvopastoral systems (SPS) at two study sites in the Colombian Amazon region. A chronosequence formed by three land-use systems, refl ecting the typical land transition performed in the region, was established at each study site: i) native vegetation (NV), ii) pasture (PAST), and iii) SPS. Soil samples were collected at 10 cm deep increments until reaching 30 cm deep. Then soil pH, potassium, available phosphorus, microbial carbon, soil organic carbon, and bulk density were measured. In addition, data from Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure (VESS) were correlated. Data were interpretated using SMAF algorithms, and a Soil Quality Index (SQI) was calculated. Our data showed an SQ degradation due to land-use change from NV to PAST, with soils reducing their capacity of soils function from 0.72 to 0.62. The establishment of SPS over extensive PAST restored soil quality (SQI = 0.69) compared to PAST (both sites), even reaching similar SQI values to those observed in NV at site 1. The SMAF showed to be a potential tool to monitor the SQ in low-fertility soils from the Colombian Amazon region. The VESS scores were also correlated with SMAF -scores, proving to be a simple and complementary tool for farmers to monitor SQ in the Amazon region.
Sugarcane planting area in Brazil has considerably increased during recent years by occupying areas used for pasture and grain crops production. Land use change (LUC) processes related to sugarcane expansion can affect the soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and the quality of the soil organic matter. Preliminary studies have shown that the land-use transition into sugarcane lead a decrease in the SOC, however no studies have accessed the impact of LUC on the SOC distribution within soil particle-size classes. We investigated the modifications on total SOC, particulate organic carbon (POM) and mineral-associated C (MOM) in response to conversion from native vegetation (NV), pastures and annual cropland (AC) to sugarcane crop (SCN). Soil samples were collected at 34 field-sites to 0.2 m depth and POM fraction separated through 53-mm sieve after soil dispersion. Our results indicated that LUC affects both the labile as well as the more stable SOM fraction, with a mean C content decreasing of 40% and 30% in POM and MOM respectively, following the transition from NV to SCN. The replacement of pastures caused C depletion by 33% at POM and 30% at MOM; meanwhile C accumulation at MOM (5%) was detected for the conversion from AC to SCN. The impact of LUC on POM for AC-SCN transition could not be totally clarified, however the result could be an indication that the POM response to LUC varies as function of previous management in AC.
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