Chemical indicators of soil health in silvopastoral systems, restoration forest, and maize cultivation in a tropical dry forest
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17138/tgft(11)220-232Abstract
Annual crops and pastures in monoculture frequently have negative effects on ecosystem services due to soil and biodiversity losses. Silvopastoral systems (SSP) have been proposed as an alternative for livestock production systems; however, there are few studies that demonstrate their benefits on soil health. For that reason, this study was established to evaluate the effect of different land uses on soil health measured through chemical indicators. For this purpose, the following land uses managed for at least 19 years were evaluated: (i) intensive maize (Zea mays) production, (ii) a guinea (Megathyrsus maximus) and angleton (Dichantium aristatum) mixed pasture, (iii) SSP with grasses and shrubs of totumo (Cresentia cujete) and leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala), (iv) a multistrata SSP with the same grasses and shrubs plus tree fodder species: (Cassia grandis, Albizia saman and Guazuma ulmifolia); and (v) a secondary forest used as a reference. The evaluations were made in contrasting seasons (dry and rainy), in soils of the Middle Sinú river valley (Colombia), with a drainage gradient. In general, the soils of the SPS presented the highest values for MOS, total N, Mg, B, N-NO3 and CICE, the grass alone pasture presented the highest values in micronutrients: Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn and S and NH4, and lower values for pH, P and NO3, and the highest for Al; whereas, intermediate values for all chemical indicators were obtained in the secondary forest. In contrast, soils cultivated with corn presented the poorest chemical indicators. It is concluded that SSP improve the chemical indicators of soil health as compared to the grass alone pasture and corn monoculture.
Author Biography
Lucia E. Ocampo, Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Medellín, Colombia
Antioquia
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