Plant Components of Agroforestry System Have Different Contributions to Soil Fertility

Abstract

The objective was to evaluate soil fertility in agrosilvopastoral system in an area influenced by plant components. The study was carried out in the semi-arid region, in the municipality of Sobral (Ceará State, Brazil). The studied treatments were three plant components: shrub (Leucaena leucocephala), tree (Poincianera pyramidalis), crop (Zea mays) and an area of natural regeneration, all at four soil depths. The main chemical attributes were evaluated in the soil samples. The plant components contribute differently to the chemical attributes, especially the tree component, promoting improvements even without the addition of inputs.

Soil Chemical Attributes in Response to Tree Distance and Sun-Exposed Faces After the Implantation of an Integrated Crop-Livestock-Forestry System

“…The main effects of trees on soil nutrient dynamics are related to their role as a source and drain (Foli et al, 2014). As a source of nutrients, the action of trees occurs by their deeper roots, which seek nutrients in layers where annual crops cannot reach, with their subsequent availability on the surface by deposition and litter decomposition (Lana et al, 2016;Nascimento et al, 2018). The role of trees as a drain of nutrients is related to their higher growth, with the potential competition with other crops, in addition to the possibility of shading harming the development of crops in the area under the influence of their canopies (Resende et al, 2017).…”

Sistema silvipastoril: respostas agronômicas e adaptação do modelo APSIM para capim-marandu sob lotação contínua

“…São relatados diversos benefícios dos sistemas de produção que integram árvores com a pecuária, podendo destacar: incremento no valor nutritivo da forragem e melhorias nos índices produtivos, principalmente o desempenho individual dos animais em pastejo (DE OLIVEIRA et al, 2014); aumento da biodiversidade vegetal (LIMA et al,2017); melhorias dos aspectos físicos e químicos dos solos NASCIMENTO et al, 2018); redução de processos de erosão e compactação dos solos ; aumento no sequestro de carbono (HOOSBEEK et. al, 2018) e; geração de produtos secundários, como a produção de lenha, remédios e frutos para comercialização (VANDERMEULEN et al, 2018).…”