Linkages among Soil Properties and Litter Quality in Agroforestry Systems of Southeastern Brazil

Priscila S. Matos, Steven J. Fonte, Sandra S. Lima, Marcos G. Pereira, Courtland Kelly, Júnior M. Damian, Marcelo A. Fontes, Guilherme M. Chaer, Felipe C. Brasil and Everaldo Zonta
Additional contact information
Priscila S. Matos: Department of Soil Science, Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, BR 465, Km 07, Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro 23897-000, Brazil
Steven J. Fonte: Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
Sandra S. Lima: Department of Soil Science, Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, BR 465, Km 07, Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro 23897-000, Brazil
Marcos G. Pereira: Department of Soil Science, Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, BR 465, Km 07, Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro 23897-000, Brazil
Courtland Kelly: Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
Júnior M. Damian: Department of Soil Science, University of São Paulo, Av. Pádua Dias 11, Piracicaba, SP 13418-260, Brazil
Marcelo A. Fontes: National Agrobiology Research Center, BR-465, Km 7, Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro 23890-000, Brazil
Guilherme M. Chaer: National Agrobiology Research Center, BR-465, Km 7, Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro 23890-000, Brazil
Felipe C. Brasil: Ambiente Brasil, Av. Carlos Chagas Filho, 791, Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro 21941-904, Brazil
Everaldo Zonta: Department of Soil Science, Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, BR 465, Km 07, Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro 23897-000, Brazil

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 22, 1-22

Abstract: Agroforestry systems have been promoted as a solution to address trade-offs between environmental conservation efforts and the need for increased agricultural productivity on smallholder farms in Brazil. However, the impact of land use change from degraded pasture to agroforestry on soil properties remains unclear. The objectives of this research were to: (1) assess soil chemical, physical and biological properties across distinct land uses (degraded pasture, agroforestry and secondary forest); and (2) understand relationships between litter quality, soil organic matter (SOM) and key soil quality parameters in the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest. Soils, macroinvertebrates and litter were collected in April and September of 2018 under five land uses, including: three types of agroforestry systems, a degraded pasture and a secondary forest in Sapucaia, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Our results showed that soil properties clearly separated the three agroforestry systems plots (AS1, AS2, AS3) from the forest and pasture plots. Moreover, litter quality and SOM likely influence multiple biological and physiochemical soil properties under agroforestry systems and secondary forest. Our findings suggest that agroforestry systems can help support soil biological, chemical and physical properties and that the litter quality may be an important driver of their effects and potential contributions to soil restoration in the region.

Keywords: C:N ratio; enzymes; macroinvertebrates; pasture; restoration; secondary forest; soil degradation; soil organic matter; soil quality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/22/9752/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/22/9752/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:22:p:9752-:d:449443

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().