Abstract
This study hypothesized that the deposition and decomposition of the litter from the legume tree Mimosa caesalpiniifolia Benth. could improve and accelerate nutrient cycling in a tropical pasture (Urochloa decumbens Stapf.) under a silvopastoral system. The objective of this study was to evaluate litter deposition, chemical composition, and decomposition of the legume tree M. caesalpiniifolia. Treatments included a silvopastoral system with signalgrass (U. decumbens) combined with the legume tree M. caesalpiniifolia, and monocropping systems of both species, in a randomized complete block design with three replications. It was evaluated litter deposition from legume trees over two years. A decomposition assay evaluated leaf decay of the legume and grass (0 to 512 days), incubated under different cropping systems (silvopastoral and monoculture), and at different distances away from the legume trees (0 and 2 m). Greater litterfall was recorded in the legume tree monoculture system (534 kg ha− 1) and during the dry season (541 kg ha− 1) (p < 0.05). The silvopasture system induced N release from the grass litter under decay. After 512 days, incubated grass leaves still had 30% of decaying material, while the legume had about 39%. The remaining N in the litter increased, and the C and C/N ratio decreased over the incubation period. Legume trees have the potential to diversify nutrient cycling in tropical pastures, due to high N and lignin content, and low C/N ratio compared to grass. The presence of legume trees can create zones with different nutrient return rates along the pasture.
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The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the Fundação de Amparo à Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Pernambuco (FACEPE), Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e ao Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico do Maranhão/ Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico for scholarship grants. Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) and FAPEMA for the postdoctoral scholarship 300634/2023-4.
Funding
This research was funded by the Fundação de Amparo a Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Pernambuco (FACEPE) (Code 117650414)-Recife, PE, Brazil, and partially by the National. The author Diana Valadares Pessoa received a scholarship from the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) (Code 001), Brazil. Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) (scholarship 300634/2023-4), and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e ao Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico do Maranhão (FAPEMA) (PDCTR-08834/22). Alexandre Carneiro Leão de Mello, Márcio Vieira da Cunha and Mércia Virginia Ferreira dos Santos are CNPq-scholar.
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Diana Valadares Pessoa: setting up the experiment, collecting data, laboratory analysis, tabulating and writing the text; Marcio Vieira da Cunha: project administration, fundraising, statistical data analysis, conceptualization, and supervision; Alexandre Carneiro Le?o de Mello: project administration, fundraising, conceptualization, and supervision; M?rcia Virginia Ferreira dos Santos: project administration, fundraising, conceptualization, and supervision; G?ssica Solanna Calado Soares: Experiment setup, data collection, laboratory analysis; Dayanne Camello: Experiment setup, data collection, laboratory analysis; Val?ria Xavier de Oliveira Apolin?rio: Writing correction and formal analysis; Jos? Carlos Batista Dubeux Junior: project administration, fundraising, conceptualization, and supervision; Janerson Jos? Coelho: Writing correction and formal analysis.
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Pessoa, D.V., da Cunha, M.V., de Mello, A.C.L. et al. Litter Deposition and Decomposition in a Tropical Grass-Legume Silvopastoral System. J Soil Sci Plant Nutr (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42729-024-01771-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42729-024-01771-4