Soil aggregation and organic carbon of Oxisols under coffee in agroforestry systems

Abstract

Intensive land use can lead to a loss of soil physical quality with negative impacts on soil aggregates, resistance to root penetration, porosity, and bulk density. Organic and agroforestry management systems can represent sustainable, well-balanced alternatives in the agroecosystem for promoting a greater input of organic matter than the conventional system. Based on the hypothesis that an increased input of organic matter improves soil physical quality, this study aimed to evaluate the impact of coffee production systems on soil physical properties in two Red-Yellow Oxisols (Latossolos Vermelho-Amarelos) in the region of Caparaó, Espirito Santo, Brazil. On Farm 1, we evaluated the following systems: primary forest (Pf1), organic coffee (Org1) and conventional coffee (Con1). On Farm 2, we evaluated: secondary forest (Sf2), organic coffee intercropped with inga (Org/In2), organic coffee intercropped with leucaena and inga (Org/In/Le2), organic coffee intercropped with cedar (Org/Ced2) and unshaded conventional coffee (Con2). Soil samples were collected under the tree canopy from the 0-10, 10-20 and 20-40 cm soil layers. Under organic and agroforestry coffee management, soil aggregation was higher than under conventional coffee. In the agroforestry system, the degree of soil flocculation was 24 % higher, soil moisture was 80 % higher, and soil resistance to penetration was lower than in soil under conventional coffee management. The macroaggregates in the organic systems, Org/In2, Org/In/Le2, and Org/Ced2 contained, on average, 29.1, 40.1 and 34.7 g kg-1 organic carbon, respectively. These levels are higher than those found in the unshaded conventional system (Con2), with 20.2 g kg-1.

Prospek Pengembangan Agroforestri Berbasis Kopi di Indonesia

“…Guimarães et al (2014) melaporkan bahwa kadar air tanah pada sistem agroforestri berbasis kopi lebih tinggi dibandingkan kopi monokultur (tanpa naungan) maupun hutan sekunder (Tabel 2). Pada sistem agroforestri kopi multistrata kadar airnya dapat mencapai 49,10% (Maharahi et al, 2013).…”

“…Agroforestri berbasis kopi dapat mengurangi kecepatan angin rata-rata 35%, suhu Guimarães et al (2014) udara 1,2 -1,4 o C dibandingkan kopi monokultur (tanpa tanaman penaung (Pezzopane et al, 2011). Bahkan menurut Pezzopane et al (2010) penurunan suhu udara dapat mencapai 2,2 0 C pada agroforestri kopi dengan tanaman makadamia (Macadamia integrifolia Maiden and Betche).…”

Effect of pigeon pea intercropping or shading with leucaena plants on the occurrence of the coffee leaf miner and on its predation by wasps in organic coffee plantings

“…Leucaena plants (Leucaena leucocephala L.) have been used to protect crop plants against frost (VALENTINI et al, 2010) and to enrich soil organic matter (GUIMARÃES et al, 2014). Pigeon pea plants [Cajanus cajan (L.…”

Soil physico-hydraulic properties under organic conilon coffee intercropped with tree and fruit species

“…bras., Brasília, v.52, n.7, p.539-547, jul. 2017 DOI: 10.1590/S0100-204X2017000700008 structure, and soil physical quality (Pérez Marin et al, 2006;Guimarães et al, 2014;Pinard et al, 2014;Silva et al, 2015). This degradation of soil structure changes the dynamics of water in the soil and reduces the agricultural productivity (Morais et al, 2006;Pinard et al, 2014;Souza et al, 2015).…”

“…Partially shaded systems improve soil structure by enabling a greater water storage and availability (Morais et al, 2006;Guimarães et al, 2014;Padovan et al, 2015;Thomazini et al, 2015). The use of shade trees should also be considered because of their low cost, which makes it financially accessible to small farmers, in order to help them protect crops in rural areas (Lin, 2007(Lin, , 2010.…”