Abstract

RONCALLO F., Belisario; MURILLO S., José; BONILLA B., Ruth  and  BARROS H., Justo. Evolution of soil properties in agroforestry arrangement based on red Ceiba (Pachira quinata (Jacq.) W.S. Alverson). Corpoica cienc. tecnol. agropecu. [online]. 2012, vol.13, n.2, pp.167-178. ISSN 0122-8706.

Soil deterioration in the Valle del Cesar has generated a gradual reduction of livestock in their productive response to pastures. That effect has been more intense in areas managed under a grass monoculture. As an alternative, an integration of agricultural, forest, and livestock production systems is proposed as an strategy for improving both environment preservation and production. The purpose of this study was to monitor the changes in the chemical, physical, and biological properties of soils under a agroforestry system comprised of Pachira quinata, Leucaena leucocephala, Panicum maximum cv. Tanzania, and Manihot sculenta; as a control a monoculture of Bothriochloa pertusa was used. The physic variables of texture, apparent density, porosity, and infiltration were evaluated. The chemical characteristics were determined using the methods described in Handbook No 47 by ICA. The microbial count was estimated using serial dilutions. To study the macrofauna, the TSBC methodology was used. There were no significant differences in the variables of apparent density, porosity, and infiltration in the intermediate phase as an effect of the cassava crop on the soil. In contrast, we observed differences in the topsoil after pastoring in all treatments. The chemical analysis revealed a positive effect on nutrient balance, and a greater dynamic in the 0 - 20 cm soil profile in the agroforestry system compared with the monoculture. In the agroforestry system, the establishment of fungi was favored and the macrofauna increased (154%) in comparison to the control (36.4%)

Keywords : forest trees; cropping systems; soil reclamation; monoculture.

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