Babassu palm (Attalea speciosa Mart.) super-dominance shapes its surroundings via multiple biotic, soil chemical, and physical interactions and accumulates soil carbon: a case study in eastern Amazonia

Abstract

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Soil Chemical Quality in Integrated Production Systems with the Presence of Native and Exotic Tree Components in the Brazilian Eastern Amazon

“…The integrated system containing babassu palm (CLFI-II) demonstrated great ability to produce biomass, although it was not uniformly distributed over the soil surface. Babassu palm has a strategic competitive advantage because of its litter production with a high C:N ratio that accumulates around the plants, resulting in an increase in surface SOC stocks [39]. This suggests that a considerable part of the biomass produced in the CLFI-II system originated from babassu plants and remained concentrated under the trees' canopies.…”

“…This may have contributed to higher pH in this system compared to the others. Moreover, studies suggest that the babassu palm tree can modify the surrounding soil environment through the deposition of litter by changing SOM and nutrient concentrations, thereby creating conditions that favor the tree's dominance [39]. Thus, it is possible that the modulation of pH by babassu palm gives this species the ability to establish itself as having competitive advantages in an anthropically degraded environment [47].…”

Belowground competition and niche partitioning between the Babassu palm and Urochloa grass in eastern Amazonian pastures

“…The reserves of labile carbohydrates stored in coarse roots are decisive for woody species resprouting ability (Poorter et al, 2010; Shibata et al, 2016). The abundant Babassu coarse roots are the basis for the high resilience of this ruderal palm after repeated slash‐and‐burn losses, causing their superdominance in frequently burned, shifting cultivation areas (Gehring et al, 2020).…”

“…Babassu and Urochloa have in common an accumulation of soil organic matter (SOM) in their surroundings, reported for Babassu by Gehring et al (2020), and in Urochloa pastures by and Silva Neto et al (2012). The pathways for such SOM buildup, however, likely differ between the two, with high root exudation from the C4 grass Urochloa (Louw-Gaume et al, 2017), as opposed to high Babassu litter inputs with high C:N ratios (Gehring et al, 2020) and slow litter decomposition (Luz et al, 2020).…”

“…Competitively successful “invasive” species are known to be able to monopolize resource exploitation via positive plant:soil feedbacks (Crawford et al, 2019; Sardans et al, 2017). Gehring et al (2020) show the Babassu palm to simplify vegetation:litter:topsoil interactions in eastern Amazonian secondary regrowth by building stronger interactions via changes in litter layer composition and chemistry and in SOM fractions in its surroundings, suggesting positive plant:soil feedback as a further pathway for the dominance increase of this palm. By contrast, there are (so far) no similar reports on possible Urochloa plant:soil feedbacks.…”