<b>Soil nutrient content and plant phytosociology in agroforestry systems of the Rio de Janeiro State highlands, Brazil

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate soil fertility and the horizontal structure of three demonstration units of Agroforestry Systems (ASs), Sapucaia, RJ, Brazil. Twenty-four plots (25 m 2) were delineated in each AS. Soil fertility was evaluated through pH, organic carbon, total nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The estimated phytosociological parameters were frequency, density, dominance, importance value and the diversity index of Shannon. Magnesium was more pronounced in ASas with more management intensity due to the incorporation of banana biomass (AS 1 and 2). The AS 1 highlights were for banana and coffee (about 45% IV), AS 2 banana and physic nuts (about 50% IV) and AS 3 cassava and 'fumo-bravo' (VI=52.2%). This study suggests that diversity contributes to the maintenance of ecosystem services on a local scale, mainly for the conservation and maintenance of soil fertility, as well as to increase food security in the property. The use of physic nuts has not shown to be a favorable option as a source of energy for the farm studied. However, it can contribute to the increase of local value added. These responses support the importance of ASs for the establishment of more sustainable production models.

Influence of Duration of Agroforestry on Physico-Chemical Soil Quality Parameters in Machakos County, Kenya

“…The concentration of Mn increased with age and duration of adoption of agroforestry. These studies concur with those of those of who showed a significant increase in Mn in soil is associated with agroforestry (Bhatt et al, 2016;da Cunha Salim et al, 2018;de Freitas et al, 2018;Mulyono et al, 2019). The major pool of manganese in soils originates from crustal sources, with other sources including direct atmospheric deposition, wash-off from plant and other surfaces, leaching from plant tissues, and the shedding or excretion of material such as leaves, dead plant and animal material, and animal excrement (Parjono et al, 2019).…”

“…These studies concur with those of those of who showed a significant increase in zinc in soil is associated with agroforestry (Bhatt et al, 2016;da Cunha Salim et al, 2018;de Freitas et al, 2018;Mulyono et al, 2019;Parveen et al, 2019). Zinc can be increased in the soil by application of fertilizers containing zinc, of which the most common are zinc chelates, zinc Sulfate and zinc oxide which common in most fertilizers formulation (Meena et al, 2019).…”

“…The concentration of Mg in the soil was higher among the adopters as compared to the non adopters and increased with increasing duration of agroforestry adoption. These studies concur with those of those of who showed a significant increase in Mg in soil is associated with agroforestry (Bhatt et al, 2016;da Cunha Salim et al, 2018;de Freitas et al, 2018;Mulyono et al, 2019). Magnesium is absorbed as the Mg 2+ ion and is mobile in plants, moving from the older to the younger leaves (Tongkaemkaew et al, 2018) and therefore likely to increased in areas adopting agroforestry trees.…”

Ecological restoration of degraded lands with alternate land use systems improves soil functionality in semiarid tropical India

“…Cations, especially K + , have been observed to be affected by nutrient pumping on soil nutrient profiles (Jobbágy & Jackson, 2004). Litter deposition and decomposition, influenced by soil temperature, fauna and management options, are important for preserving NSC, especially in low naturally fertile soils used for ALUS (de Freitas et al, 2018; Ghosh et al, 2020). As witnessed here, superior biological activities in LL‐, HB‐ and AN‐based ALUSs have contributed for rapid decomposition of litters and consequently improved the nutrient supplying capacity of soil (Table 4; Figures 1 and 2).…”

Indicative Value of the Dominant Plant Species for a Rapid Evaluation of the Nutritional Value of Soils

“…Although several authors have worked on edaphic nutrients [35][36][37][38], there are only a few studies in which the phytosociological method for studying plant associations connected with the use of artificial intelligence: so, this study is really new. Consequently, knowledge of the ecology, structure, function, and floristic composition allows us to know the composition of the soil with high detection.…”