Soil Organic Matter, Mitigation of and Adaptation to Climate Change in Cocoa–Based Agroforestry Systems

Sikstus Gusli, Sri Sumeni, Riyami Sabodin, Ikram Hadi Muqfi, Mustakim Nur, Kurniatun Hairiah, Daniel Useng and Meine van Noordwijk
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Sikstus Gusli: Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Hasanuddin University, Makassar 9245, Indonesia
Sri Sumeni: Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Hasanuddin University, Makassar 9245, Indonesia
Riyami Sabodin: Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Hasanuddin University, Makassar 9245, Indonesia
Ikram Hadi Muqfi: Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Hasanuddin University, Makassar 9245, Indonesia
Mustakim Nur: Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Hasanuddin University, Makassar 9245, Indonesia
Kurniatun Hairiah: Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Brawijaya University, Malang 65415, Indonesia
Daniel Useng: Natural Resource Research and Development Center, Hasanuddin University, Makassar 9245, Indonesia
Meine van Noordwijk: World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Bogor 16001, Indonesia

Land, 2020, vol. 9, issue 9, 1-18

Abstract: Belowground roles of agroforestry in climate change mitigation (C storage) and adaptation (reduced vulnerability to drought) are less obvious than easy-to-measure aspects aboveground. Documentation on these roles is lacking. We quantified the organic C concentration (C org ) and soil physical properties in a mountainous landscape in Sulawesi (Indonesia) for five land cover types: secondary forest (SF), multistrata cocoa–based agroforestry (CAF) aged 4–5 years (CAF4), 10–12 years (CAF10), 17–34 years (CAF17), and multistrata (mixed fruit and timber) agroforest (MAF45) aged 45–68 years. With four replicate plots per cover type, we measured five pools of C-stock according to IPCC guidelines, soil bulk density (BD), macro porosity (MP), hydraulic conductivity (K s ), and available water capacity of the soil (AWC). The highest C-stock, in SF, was around 320 Mg ha −1 , the lowest, 74 Mg ha −1 , was in CAF4, with the older agroforestry systems being intermediate with 120 to 150 Mg ha −1 . Soil compaction after forest conversion led to increased BD and reduced MP, K s , and AWC. Older agroforestry partly recovered buffering: AWC per m of rooted soil profile increased by 5.7 mm per unit (g kg −1 ) increase of C org . The restored AWC can support about a week’s worth of evapotranspiration without rain, assisting in climate change adaptation.

Keywords: cocoa agroforestry; climate adaptation; soil restoration; soil organic carbon; soil macro-porosity; soil water availability; inceptisols (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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