Decomposition and nutrient mineralisation of leaf litter in smallholder cocoa agroforests: a comparison of organic and c
- PDF / 1,462,302 Bytes
- 14 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 44 Downloads / 159 Views
SOILS, SEC 3 • REMEDIATION AND MANAGEMENT OF CONTAMINATED OR DEGRADED LANDS • RESEARCH ARTICLE
Decomposition and nutrient mineralisation of leaf litter in smallholder cocoa agroforests: a comparison of organic and conventional farms in Ghana Michael Asigbaase 1
&
Evans Dawoe 2
&
Sofie Sjogersten 1 & Barry H. Lomax 1
Received: 8 May 2020 / Accepted: 24 November 2020 # The Author(s) 2020
Abstract Purpose Although litter decomposition and nutrient release patterns have been studied in cocoa agroforestry systems in general, studies focusing on organic and conventional cocoa systems are lacking which is critical as organic farms are particularly dependent on nutrient returns from decomposing litter. Materials and methods Dynamics in leaf litter decomposition and the mineralisation of macro- and micro-nutrients in organic and conventional cocoa agroforestry systems were studied using the litterbag technique for 12 months. Results The average monthly mass loss was more than two times higher on organic farms (9.2–14.4 g month−1) compared to conventional farms (4.2–7.3 g month−1) in the first five months. The annual rate of decomposition (k) was higher on organic farms (1.9) compared to conventional systems (1.4). The time required for 50% (t50) and 99% (t99) decomposition of leaf litter was both lower on organic farms (t50 = 0.4 years, t99 = 2.6 years) than conventional farms (t50 = 0.5 years, t99 = 3.5 years). The estimated k values for macro- and micro-nutrients on organic cocoa systems ranged from 2.3 for calcium to 4.5 for potassium compared to 1.6 (Ca) to 2.8 (K) on conventional farms. The k values of all nutrients (except nitrogen and phosphorus) were significantly greater on organic farms than conventional systems. The estimated k values for both litter decomposition and nutrient mineralisation correlated with soil pH and moisture content, but not initial litter chemistry. Conclusions Organic management of smallholder cocoa agroforestry systems enhanced leaf litter decomposition and nutrient mineralisation through improved soil conditions. Thus, organic management of cocoa agroforestry systems may contribute to sustainable cocoa production in smallholder systems through enhanced nutrient return from litter decomposition. Keywords Cocoa . Ghana . Litter decomposition . Litterbag technique . Nutrient mineralisation . Organic farming
1 Introduction Michael Asigbaase, Evans Dawoe, Sofie Sjogersten and Barry H. Lomax contributed equally to this work. Responsible editor: Jianming Xue * Michael Asigbaase [email protected] * Evans Dawoe [email protected] 1
Department of Agriculture and Environmental Science, School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
2
Department of Agroforestry, Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
Cocoa production is worth over 12 billion US$ and provides livelihoods for 40–50 million people worldwide (Hütz-Adams et al. 2016). As the backbone of Ghana’s economy, cocoa production serves as the
Data Loading...
