[1] Changes in land-use and climate are likely to alter moisture and substrate availability in tropical forest soils, but quantitative assessment of the role of resource constraints as regulators of soil trace gas fluxes is rather limited. The primary objective of this study was to quantify the effects of moisture and substrate availability on soil trace gas fluxes in an Amazonian regrowth forest. We measured the efflux of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), nitric oxide (NO), nitrous oxide (N 2 O), and methane (CH 4 ) from soil in response to two experimental manipulations. In the first, we increased soil moisture availability during the dry season by irrigation; in the second, we decreased substrate availability by continuous removal of aboveground litter. In the absence of irrigation, soil CO 2 efflux decreased during the dry season while irrigation maintained soil CO 2 efflux levels similar to the wet season. Large variations in soil CO 2 efflux consistent with a significant moisture constraint on respiration were observed in response to soil wet-up and dry-down events. Annual soil C efflux for irrigated plots was 27 and 13% higher than for control plots in 2001 and 2002, respectively. Litter removal significantly reduced soil CO 2 efflux; annual soil C efflux in 2002 was 28% lower for litter removal plots compared to control plots. The annual soil C efflux:litterfall C ratio for the control treatment (4.0-5.2) was consistent with previously reported values for regrowth forests that indicate a relatively large belowground C allocation. In general, fluxes of N 2 O and CH 4 were higher during the wet season and both fluxes increased during dry-season irrigation. There was no seasonal effect on NO fluxes. Litter removal had no significant impact on N oxide or CH 4 emissions. Net soil nitrification did not respond to dry-season irrigation, but was somewhat reduced by litter removal. Overall, these results demonstrate significant soil moisture and substrate constraints on soil trace gas emissions, particularly for CO 2 , and suggest that climate and land-use changes that alter moisture and substrate availability are therefore likely to have an impact on atmosphere chemistry.

A maioria dos estudos de sucessão em florestas secundárias na Amazônia avalia sítios de diferentes idades, que representam uma cronoseqüência sucessional, em vez de monitorar um único sítio por vários anos pelo inventário contínuo. Este estudo comparou a composição e estrutura florísticas de espécies arbóreas com diâmetro a 1,3 m de altura (DAP) ≥ 1 cm, em sítios com 4 e 12 anos na Amazônia Oriental, e avaliou a mortalidade e o recrutamento em ambos os sítios baseados em dados de inventário contínuo durante 4 anos de estudo. As áreas de estudo foram abandonadas após múltiplos ciclos de uso agrícola de 7 a 10 anos, desde ~1940. Ambos os sítios são dominados pelas espécies arbóreas Lacistema pubescens e Vismia guianensis, com densidade de indivíduos, diâmetro, altura, área basal e riqueza de espécies significativamente maiores no sítio de 12 anos. A densidade de indivíduos, ao longo do tempo, foi crescente no sítio de 4 anos e decrescente no de 12 anos; o diâmetro, a altura e a área basal aumentaram nos dois sítios. No sítio de 4 anos, foi constatada uma taxa de recrutamento líquido crescente entre 2000-2001 e 2001-2002, que diminuiu entre 2002-2003, indicando redução gradual na colonização. No sítio de 12 anos, foi observada alta mortalidade líquida (13 e 11%), sobretudo nas duas primeiras avaliações, indicando o processo de autodesbaste. A combinação dos métodos de cronoseqüência e inventário contínuo aumenta substancialmente o entendimento do desenvolvimento sucessional.

ResumoOs indicadores convencionais de fertilidade de solo, mais comumente utilizados, enfatizam o balanço ácido-base e o conteúdo de elementos químicos, mas não consideram adequadamente as propriedades biológicas do solo, responsáveis por grande parte do seu funcionamento. Os indicadores biológicos, ainda pouco difundidos, levam em consideração a atividade microbiana do solo que é mais sensível à dinâmica do solo. Em Marapanim-PA, e utilizando um desenho experimental inteiramente casualizado, com quatro repetições, avaliou-se o comportamento dos indicadores do solo carbono e nitrogênio da biomassa microbiana, fosfatase ácida, matéria orgânica, carbono orgânico e fósforo disponível, em um solo com cultivo sequencial de mandioca e milho, preparo com corte-e-trituração da capoeira original. Os fatores corte-e-trituração, fosfato natural e adubação verde foram arranjados nos seguintes tratamentos: capoeira; testemunha; fosfato natural ( Evaluation of soil quality indicators under soil reclamation alternatives in Northeastern Pará State abstRactThe more commonly used traditional soil fertility indicators emphasize the acid-basic balance and the content of chemical elements, but do not consider adequately the biologic soil properties, largely responsible for soil functioning. The biologic indicators, not yet sufficiently used, take into consideration the microbial activity that is more sensible to soil dynamics. This study was carried out in Marapanim-PA and using a completely randomized plot design, with four replications, to evaluate the behavior of some indicators such as microbial biomass, acid phosphatase, soil organic matter, organic carbon and available phosphorus -in a soil cultivated with cassava and corn, and in which the secondary vegetation was prepared by slash-and-trituration practice. The slash-and-trituration, rock phosphate and green manure factors were arranged in the following treatments: secondary vegetation; control; rock phosphate (RP); wonderbean Canavalia ensiformis (L.) DC (W); RP + W; RP + pigeonpea Cajanus cajan (L.) Millspaugh (P); RP + tithonia Tithonia diversifolia (Hemsley) A. Gray (T); W + P; W + T. In four season of sampling, soil samples were taken from the 0 -10 cm layer of each parcel to measure the indicator values. The indicators studied were influenced by the time of soil sampling. The acid phosphatase, microbial biomass nitrogen and microbial biomass carbon soil indicators were capable of detecting the effects of a higher number of soil reclamation treatments, while soil organic matter was the least capable. With the passing of time, the response of the indicators varied according to the factors studied.

Alternative hypotheses were tested to explain a previously reported anomaly in the response of leaf photosynthetic capacity at light saturation (A(max)) in Miconia ciliata to dry-season irrigation. The anomaly is characterized by an abrupt increase in leaf A(max) for nonirrigated plants at the onset of the rainy season to values that significantly exceeded corresponding measurements for plants that were irrigated during the previous dry season. Hypothesis 1 posits that a pulse in leaf nitrogen increases CO(2) assimilation in nonirrigated plants at the onset of the wet season and is dampened for irrigated plants; this hypothesis was rejected because, although a wet-season nitrogen pulse did occur, it was identical for both irrigated and nonirrigated plants and was preceded by the increase in assimilation by nonirrigated plants. Hypothesis 2 posits that a reproduction-related, compensatory photosynthetic response occurs in nonirrigated plants following the onset of the wet season and is dampened in irrigated plants; consistent with hypothesis 2, high maximum assimilation rates for control plants in the wet season were significantly correlated with fruiting and flowering, whereas irrigation caused flowering and fruiting in the dry season, spreading M. ciliata reproductive activity in irrigated plants across the entire year.

No abstract

Summary Cassava flour is the main source of carbohydrates for family farmers in the Amazon region of Brazil. Cassava is mainly grown under shifting cultivation, in recurrent cultivation periods initiated through slash-and-burn. Its sustainability is, however, questioned due to the associated deforestation and often rapidly decreasing crop productivity. There is an urgent need to make these cassava systems more sustainable and more profitable, but we currently lack a deep understanding of the key factors governing their productivity. We conducted an on-farm study on 37 cassava fields of smallholder farmers at three locations that spanned a range of crop-fallow frequencies, some of which were initiated through slash-and-burn while others through fire-free land clearance. First, we analysed how cassava plant density at harvest was related with pedoclimatic and management factors in slash-and-burn systems. Second, we assessed the relationship between plant density and cassava root yield at harvest and conducted a yield gap analysis to better understand which factors govern cassava productivity beyond plant density in slash-and-burn systems. Finally, we compared cassava productivity between slash-and-burn and the fire-free land clearing techniques that some farmers started to adopt in the study region. Cassava yields averaged 7.2 ± 5.4 Mg ha–1 (50% of the average yield of 14.2 Mg ha–1 in the Pará State), and ranged from 0 (in case of root rot diseases) to 24 Mg ha–1. Cassava yield was associated with plant density at harvest (ranging from 0 to 10 000 plants ha–1), suggesting that managing plant density is a key determinant of the attainable yield levels. In addition, differences in cassava root yields could be largely explained by differences in labour inputs for weeding and fallow clearing, the effect of the latter depending on soil texture. Therefore, our results suggest that labour is a key production factor for cassava in the shifting cultivation systems of the Eastern Amazon in which the use of external inputs, such as chemical fertilizers and herbicides, is limited. Further, root yields were influenced by the method of field preparation, whereby yields were about 50% lower (and more variable) when fields were prepared by slash-and-burn than by mechanical ploughing or herbicide application. Despite the significantly higher yields, these alternatives to burning the vegetation are, however, still hardly adopted in Paragominas. Hence, there is a need for supporting more sustainable production systems through local and national public policies. These new systems should not only focus on soil fertility management but also on weed control and, more generally, on labour productivity.

O estudo teve como objetivo avaliar os aspectos socioeconômicos e a demanda por biocombustíveis dos agricultores familiares do município de Igarapé-Açu. Foram levantados dados sociais, econômicos e ambientais relacionados às atividades do uso e aquisição de lenha pelas unidades de produção familiar. A pesquisa foi realizada no decorrer dos anos de 2017 a 2019. Desenvolve-se pesquisa de campo, com entrevistas semiestruturada, observação direta e coleta de dados. A análise dos dados evidenciou que os agricultores são dotados de conhecimentos e experiência sobre o uso da terra, já com a adoção de práticas e princípios agroecológicos nos seus sistemas produtivos, entre eles o preparo de área sem queima e implantação de sistemas agroflorestais. Entretanto, nessa localidade, os familiares dos agricultores são compostos por poucos membros, de baixa renda familiar, com pequenas áreas produtivas e têm a produção de farinha de mandioca como a principal atividade produtiva. Consequentemente a lenha tem seu papel fundamental, havendo uma demanda de 0,50t ou 2,68st de lenha para cada 1t de farinha produzida no município por esses agricultores, de modo que já há agricultores que relatam dificuldades em adquirir lenha em sua propriedade, procedente predominantemente de capoeira média e do preparo de área.