Silvopastoral systems enhance soil health in the Amazon Region
| Autor: | Adriana M. Silva-Olaya, Andres Olaya-Montes, Karen L. Polanía-Hincapié, Maurício Roberto Cherubin, Ervin H. Duran-Bautista, Fausto A. Ortiz-Morea |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2022 |
| Předmět: |
Environmental effects of industries and plants
Renewable Energy Sustainability and the Environment pastures cattle ranching soil quality soil degradation integrated production systems USO DO SOLO Geography Planning and Development TJ807-830 Management Monitoring Policy and Law TD194-195 Renewable energy sources Environmental sciences GE1-350 |
| Zdroj: | Repositório Institucional da USP (Biblioteca Digital da Produção Intelectual) Universidade de São Paulo (USP) instacron:USP Sustainability, Vol 14, Iss 320, p 320 (2022) Sustainability; Volume 14; Issue 1; Pages: 320 |
| Popis: | Silvopastoral systems (SPS), an integrated farming system in which tropical grasses are combined with trees and shrubs, have been implemented in the last years in the Amazon region in order to mitigate the impacts generated by the traditional cattle ranching system. However, despite the multiple SPS’s benefits to soil and ecosystem, there is a paucity of comprehensive studies revealing the potential soil health (SH) restoration through SPS. Here, by developing an overall SH index using local native vegetation (Amazon rainforest) as a reference, we aimed to assess SH changes induced by the land transition from the traditional livestock production system to the SPS in the Colombian Amazon region. A chronosequence conformed by three areas: (i) native vegetation, (ii) traditional pasture and (iii) silvopastoral system was established in two study sites located in the Colombian Amazon, specifically in Caquetá State, the second hotspot of deforestation in the Amazon Basin. The results indicated high soil compaction and loss of macrofauna diversity and richness due to pasture management, causing a loss of 9% of soil capacity to function. In contrast, by integrating 31 soil indicators, our SH assessment revealed that SPS was an effective strategy for the recovery of SH, impacting positively multiple soil functions related to nutrient dynamics, water retention and supply, and biological activity. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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