Temporal Dynamics of Soil Carbon Stocks and Mineralization Rates in Coffea arabica Agroforestry Systems

Phonlawat Soilueang, Yupa Chromkaew, Nipon Mawan, Suwimon Wicharuck, Sasiprapa Kullachonphuri, Sureerat Buachun, Yu-Ting Wu, Yaoliang Chen, Kesinee Iamsaard and Nuttapon Khongdee ()
Additional contact information
Phonlawat Soilueang: Department of Highland Agriculture and Natural Resources, Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Yupa Chromkaew: Department of Plant and Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Nipon Mawan: Department of Highland Agriculture and Natural Resources, Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Suwimon Wicharuck: Energy Technology for Environment Research Center, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Sasiprapa Kullachonphuri: Department of Highland Agriculture and Natural Resources, Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Sureerat Buachun: Faculty of Sciences and Agricultural Technology, Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna Phitsanulok Campus, Phitsanulok 65000, Thailand
Yu-Ting Wu: Department of Forestry, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung 91201, Taiwan
Yaoliang Chen: School of Geographical Sciences, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350117, China
Kesinee Iamsaard: Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Faculty of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment, Naresuan University, Phitsanulok 65000, Thailand
Nuttapon Khongdee: Department of Highland Agriculture and Natural Resources, Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand

Agriculture, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-21

Abstract: The increasing demand for agricultural land is driving deforestation, which contributes to rising greenhouse gas emissions—a primary driver of climate change. Agroforestry systems present a valuable alternative approach for mitigating these emissions. This study investigates the influence of various agroforestry systems on key parameters for assessing soil carbon dynamics, including soil carbon stock, microbial biomass carbon (MBC), and microbial respiration (MR) in northern Thailand. The study compared different agroforestry systems, such as coffee monoculture (CA), coffee intercropped with forest trees (CF), coffee intercropped with persimmon trees (CP), and natural forest (NF), as reference areas. Soil samples were collected from three depths (0–20, 20–40, and 40–60 cm) across three seasons (rainy, cold, and summer). Results showed that soil carbon from land use changes from NF to coffee agroforestry systems led to a 12.10% increase in CF and an 11.89% decrease in CP. The CA system showed a non-significant 9.06% decrease compared to the natural forest. MBC levels were higher in the agroforestry coffee areas (CF and CP), comparable to those in NF. However, CA exhibited significantly lower MBC ( p < 0.05) compared to other treatments. While MBC and MR showed a positive correlation, higher MBC did not necessarily indicate increased microbial activity or significant dissolved organic carbon (DOC) accumulation. Environmental factors, particularly seasonal variations, significantly influenced the results across all three investigations. This study demonstrates that both agroforestry coffee systems (CF and CP) more effectively mitigate deforestation impacts and enhance soil fertility compared to coffee monoculture. For carbon stock enhancement specifically, CF emerged as the optimal choice.

Keywords: agroforestry; coffee system; soil carbon stock; mineralization rates; SDGs15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/1/14/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/1/14/ (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:jagris:v:15:y:2024:i:1:p:14-:d:1551976

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

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