Abstract

AFANADOR-BARAJAS, Laura Natali et al. Evaluation of soil quality in agroecosystems of Colombia through the selection of a minimum data set. Colomb. for. [online]. 2020, vol.23, n.1, pp.35-50. ISSN 0120-0739.  https://doi.org/10.14483/2256201x.14856.

This study aimed to evaluate the soil quality through quality indexes consisting of three minimum data sets (3, 5 and 6 indicators) in five agroecosystems with organic coffee (Coffea arabica), guatila or chayote (Sechium edule), polyculture (Anthurium andraeanum, Manihot esculenta, Musa balbisiana o Zea mays), conventional pasture (Pennisetum clandestinum y Cynodon dactylon) and Guadua (Guadua angustifolia), in the municipality of Cachipay (Cundinamarca). During the sampling, two representative areas were randomly selected for each agroecosystem and two quadrants (2.5 x 2.5 m) were delimited, from which two composite samples of soil were taken (20 subsamples, depth of 0-15 cm). It was evidenced that independent of the minimum set of data used, the lowest soil quality indexes were presented by the conventional pasture and the guatila culture. The highest values of the quality index corresponded to polyculture, forest and organic coffee cultivation. In conclusion, the use of variables such as bulk density, stability index, pH, dehydrogenase activity, heterotrophic density and solubilized phosphate bacteria are important indicators to measure the soil quality in agroecosystems.

Keywords : Agroecology; Cachipay; soil quality index. soil properties; soil degradation..

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