Agroforestry Systems as Strategy to Recover Soil Health and Mitigate Climate Changes

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Soil".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2024 | Viewed by 3004

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Instituto Ciências Agrárias, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Universitária, 1000, Universitário, Montes Claros 39400-090, MG, Brazil
Interests: carbon and nitrogen cycling in agroecosystems; soil health; soil organic carbon; sustainable agriculture

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Guest Editor
Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, Embrapa Meio-Norte, Av. Duque de Caxias, 5650, Bairro Buenos Aires, Teresina 64008-780, Brazil
Interests: land-use change; modeling; soil health; soil organic matter

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Guest Editor
1. Soil Biology Group, Wageningen University & Research, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
2. School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Kings Road, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
Interests: agroecosystems; climate change; greenhouse gas emissions; nitrogen and carbon cycling

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

There is a need to develop sustainable agricultural and livestock systems that maintain soil biological processes and are less dependent on external inputs and mechanical cultivation to reduce negative impacts on the environment and conserved soils. Agroforestry systems which consist of growing trees, crops and sometimes animals in synergy create land-use systems structurally and functionally more complex with greater efficiency of resource capture and utilization than traditional land management. They have been adopted due to the need for recovering degraded lands and providing ecosystem services in agriculture.

However, due to the complexity of several arrangements’ components (tree, crops, and pasture), there is a lack of information to ensure the benefits for soil health in several edaphoclimatic zones in the world. In addition, the potential of agroforestry systems to increase soil carbon sequestration and mitigate climate change must be strongly investigated under different scenarios.

In this Special Issue on “Agroforestry Systems as Strategy to Recover Soil Health and Mitigate Climate Changes”, we invite papers that can help us understand topics concerning ecosystem services provided by soil–animal–plant synergies in agroforestry system models in tropical and temperate climate zones.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Soil carbon stocks after agroforestry systems introduction;
  • Soil health and ecosystem services provided by integrated systems;
  • Determining greenhouse gas emissions from animals, plants, and soil;
  • Quantification of biomass and litter production as a function of different arrangements;
  • Distribution of soil fauna functional groups and microbial community;
  • Modeling approaches to investigate agroforestry productivity and soil carbon sequestration.

Prof. Dr. Leidivan Almeida Frazão
Dr. Luiz Fernando Carvalho Leite
Dr. Arlete S. Barneze
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • agrosilvopastoral
  • carbon stocks
  • GHG emissions
  • modeling approaches
  • plants
  • soil health

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 3263 KiB  
Article
Converting Low-Productivity Pasture to Well-Managed Pasture and Silvopastoral System Cause Relevant Changes in Soil Chemical and Microbiological Characteristics
by Libério Junio da Silva, Igor Costa de Freitas, Luiz Henrique Gomes de Abreu, Dener Márcio da Silva Oliveira, Demerson Luiz de Almeida Barbosa, Cléber Cunha Figueredo, Vagner Luis Camilotti, Marcus Vinícius Teixeira and Leidivan Almeida Frazão
Forests 2024, 15(6), 1029; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15061029 - 13 Jun 2024
Viewed by 772
Abstract
This study evaluated the chemical and microbiological soil attributes in a silvopastoral system compared to well-managed pasture, degraded pasture, and Cerrado vegetation in Brazil. A randomized design with four replications was employed to collect soil samples at seven depths. These samples were analyzed [...] Read more.
This study evaluated the chemical and microbiological soil attributes in a silvopastoral system compared to well-managed pasture, degraded pasture, and Cerrado vegetation in Brazil. A randomized design with four replications was employed to collect soil samples at seven depths. These samples were analyzed for carbon (C), nitrogen (N), pH, phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and cation exchange capacity (CEC). Soil microbial attributes were also evaluated at three depths during the dry and wet seasons. Carbon stocks in the evaluated systems varied (0–100 cm), with the highest stocks found in well-managed pasture (MP) (129.5 Mg C ha−1), followed by the silvopastoral system (SPS) (106.6 Mg C ha−1), and the lowest values in native vegetation (NV) (84.8 Mg C ha−1) and degraded pasture (DP) (63.4 Mg C ha−1). Higher pH and base sum were observed in MP. Soil microbial biomass (Cmic) did not differ between treatments during the wet season but was generally higher in MP and lower in DP during the dry season. MP effectively regulated the chemical and biological quality of the soil. The SPS demonstrated that it is possible to combine the cultivation of trees and pastures in the same area, contributing to the improvement of the chemical and biological attributes of the soil in the Brazilian Cerrado. Full article
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17 pages, 2046 KiB  
Article
Biodiversity and Carbon Sequestration in Chakra-Type Agroforestry Systems and Humid Tropical Forests of the Ecuadorian Amazon
by Thony Huera-Lucero, Antonio Lopez-Piñeiro, Bolier Torres and Carlos Bravo-Medina
Forests 2024, 15(3), 557; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15030557 - 19 Mar 2024
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Abstract
Currently, there are several studies related to climate change, carbon sequestration, and floristic composition in different scenarios and land uses. In this context, the objective of this research is: (a) to characterize biodiversity based on ecological indicators and diversity indices and (b) to [...] Read more.
Currently, there are several studies related to climate change, carbon sequestration, and floristic composition in different scenarios and land uses. In this context, the objective of this research is: (a) to characterize biodiversity based on ecological indicators and diversity indices and (b) to evaluate carbon sequestration in different components of chakra-type agroforestry systems and secondary tropical humid forests of the Ecuadorian Amazon. For this, temporary sampling plots of 1600 m2 are established on the properties to be investigated. The study found that the structural characteristics and floristic composition vary according to the forest arrangement and the management system. Secondary forests are the most diverse, according to the Shannon (3.49), Simpson (0.96), and Margaleft (9.34) diversity indices, in addition to having the largest carbon stores with 233 (Mg C ha−1), followed by agroforestry systems in association with timber trees (TAFS) and fruit trees (FAFS) with 97.8 and 95.1 (Mg C ha−1) respectively, and cocoa monoculture (CMC) with 90.4 (Mg C ha−1). These results demonstrate the importance of conserving the remnants of tropical forests that still remain, due to the diversity of species, ecosystem services, and the total carbon they contain, as well as the agroforestry systems (AFS), systems analogous to forests, which are gradually becoming important management systems, especially if they are associated with potential species to sequester carbon, such as those documented in this and several other studies that seek solutions to global climate change. Full article
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