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Nutrient stocks in litterfall and litter in cocoa agroforests in Brazil

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Abstract

Aim

To compare the internal balances of nutrients and the rates of nutrient cycling across nine cocoa agroforestry systems consisting of various combination of soil types (Latosols and Cambisols), production systems (cabruca and Erythrina glauca-shade) and fertilization regimes in southern Bahia, Brazil.

Methods

We measured nutrient stocks in litter fall production, in the accumulated litter and fruits. The internal nutrient balance for various simulations was obtained by the following expressions: (1) Balance 1 = litter – fruit (seeds and husks) and (2) Balance 2 = (litter + husks) – seeds. Annual litter decomposition coefficients (k) and subsequent potential of nutrient release were also investigated. The data were analyzed by principal components analysis and by Pearson correlations.

Results

There was a high degree of dissimilarity among the cocoa agrosystems in relation to the nutrient cycling and the internal nutrient balance. The mean annual litterfall production ranged from 4.6 to 8.5 Mg/ha, and the amount of accumulated litter ranged from 7.7 to 16.8 Mg/ha. The results showed significant differences in quality among litter from cocoa agroforests; the decomposition coefficient of litter and the subsequent nutrient release were regulated by the litter quality. In general, the cocoa-erythrina system presented a higher capacity to recycle nutrients compared to the cocoa-cabruca system, with the cocoa-erythrina system having the largest transfer rate of nutrients through litterfall, high values for the decomposition coefficient of litter and the lowest values for the Mean Residence Time of nutrients. Cocoa tree leaves functioned as a sink of nutrients, while shade tree leaves functioned predominantly as a source. The nutritional reserves of litter + cocoa fruit husks, with respect only to the nutrients exported in the seeds, the balance was positive for all nutrients (N, P, K, Ca and Mg) in all agroforests, which emphasizes the potential productive capacity of these agroforests to sustain the estimated production in different harvest cycles.

Conclusions

The internal balance of nutrients reflects an agroforests’s productive capacity, which accumulated litter and cocoa fruit husks may be important nutrient sources that could enable the development of fertilizer recommendation systems aimed at increasing the efficiency of fertilizer use and at maintaining soil fertility in cocoa agroforests. Therefore, further research is needed to develop nutritional balance systems integrating litter + fruits stock and other nutrient pathways (e.g., soil quality, biological N fixation, leaching), which were not measured, for making recommendations regarding liming and fertilizers that are suitable for highly complex biological agrosystems, such as cocoa agroforests that have low levels of elements exported during seed production.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Federal Institute for Education, Science and Technology of Espírito Santo State, CEP 29709-910, Colatina, ES, Brazil

    A. G. Fontes

  2. Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro - UENF, Av. Alberto Lamego 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ, CEP 28013-602, Brazil

    A. C. Gama-Rodrigues, E. F. Gama-Rodrigues, M. V. S. Sales & M. G. Costa

  3. MARS - Center of Cocoa Science, CEP 45630-000, Itajuípe, BA, Brazil

    R. C. R. Machado

Authors
  1. A. G. Fontes
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  2. A. C. Gama-Rodrigues
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  3. E. F. Gama-Rodrigues
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  4. M. V. S. Sales
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  5. M. G. Costa
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  6. R. C. R. Machado
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Correspondence to A. C. Gama-Rodrigues.

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Fontes, A.G., Gama-Rodrigues, A.C., Gama-Rodrigues, E.F. et al. Nutrient stocks in litterfall and litter in cocoa agroforests in Brazil. Plant Soil 383, 313–335 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-014-2175-9

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