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Influence of agroforestry systems on phosphorus export from small tropical watersheds

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Abstract

Describing the hydrological pathways and quantifying the water balance are essential to understand the dynamics of phosphorus in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems of small watersheds. This study aimed to describe seasonal variations and to estimate the annual balance of dissolved inorganic phosphorus (PO43−), dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP), and particulate organic phosphorus (POP) in two tropical small watersheds with contrasted land-uses in the south of Bahia/Brazil (secondary forest—PF and cocoa agroforestry system—cocoa AFS). Twenty-four weekly sample collections were conducted from January to March and July to October 2019. The water samples were collected from different hydrological pathways (precipitation, throughfall, surface runoff, and surface water) allowing to calculate the concentration, flow, and consequent mass balance of the phosphorus forms. The behavior of both areas showed that concentrations were higher during the dry season. In the AFS, the enrichment of throughfall and surface runoff were most responsible for the higher P concentrations in the stream, when compared to the PF, as a consequence of the steady decomposition of organic material. The AFS presented a negative balance for P–PO43− and DOP (−0.013 and −0.001 kg ha−1 yr−1) and a positive balance for POP (0.003 kg ha−1 yr−1). In the secondary forest positive balances were found for P–PO43− and DOP (0.004 and 0.010 kg ha−1 yr−1) and a negative balance for POP (−0.001 kg ha−1 yr−1). Despite the negative balances found in the AFS and the increase of phosphorus in throughfall and surface runoff, we did not evidence any differences between the two watersheds for the P flows in the streams. These results indicate that the cocoa AFS is efficient in the maintenance of phosphorus cycling in aquatic ecosystems.

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Fig. 1
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Source: PROCLIMA

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Source: figure adapted from Costa et al. (2016)

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Source: Figure adapted from Costa et al. (2016)

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Mr. Hermann Rehem and to Serra do Conduru State Park administration (License 2017-013654/TEC/PESQ-0014) for granting us permission to collect data on his farm and in the park, respectively. We also appreciate the financial support UESC (PROPP 0220.1100.1771) and CAPES for scholarship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós Graduação em Desenvolvimento Regional e Meio Ambiente, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilheus, BA, Brazil

    Bianca Souza Cana Verde, Haialla Carolina Rialli S. Brandão & Jéssica Carneiro de Souza

  2. Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, BA, Brazil

    Daniela Mariano Lopes da Silva

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  1. Bianca Souza Cana Verde
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Correspondence to Daniela Mariano Lopes da Silva.

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Cana Verde, B.S., Brandão, H.C.R.S., Souza, J.C. et al. Influence of agroforestry systems on phosphorus export from small tropical watersheds. Agroforest Syst 97, 785–798 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-023-00825-3

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