Young shade trees improve soil quality in intensively managed coffee systems recently converted to agroforestry in Yunna
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Young shade trees improve soil quality in intensively managed coffee systems recently converted to agroforestry in Yunnan Province, China Clément Rigal
&
Jianchu Xu & Philippe Vaast
Received: 3 October 2018 / Accepted: 20 February 2019 # Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019
Abstract Background and aims The trend of soil degradation in intensive open coffee systems is well-documented. This study highlights the impact of young shade trees on soil quality only 4 years after their intercropping with coffee. Methods 18 young shade trees belonging to three tree species (Cinnamomum camphora, Bishofia javanica and Jacaranda mimosifolia) were selected in an intensive coffee system in Southern Yunnan. Soil samples (0–20 cm) were tested for chemical composition, soil
Responsible Editor: Remi Cardinael. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-019-04004-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. C. Rigal (*) : J. Xu Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China e-mail: [email protected] C. Rigal University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China C. Rigal : J. Xu World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), East and Central Asia Regional Office, Kunming, China P. Vaast CIRAD, UMR Eco&Sols, Université Montpellier, Montpellier, France P. Vaast World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Vietnam Country Office, Southeast Asia Regional Program, Hanoi, Vietnam
communities and soil enzyme activities under their canopies and in open areas, both in coffee rows and interrows, once during the rainy and once during the dry season. Additionally, root systems were characterized using trenches. Soil water profiles and litterfall were monitored along the production cycle. Coffee yield was recorded for two consecutive years. Results We detected a positive impact of all shade tree species on soil chemical, biological and biochemical components, especially during the dry season. This positive impact included higher soil organic matter (+10%) and more abundant soil microbial communities (+64%) under shaded coffee than under open coffee. Furthermore, shaded coffee trees yielded as much as open coffee trees, except under C. camphora, probably due to high below-ground competition. Conclusions These results demonstrate that carefully selected shade trees can rapidly contribute to preserving and/or restoring soil quality in intensive coffee systems, while maintaining high coffee yield. Keywords Agroforestry . Arabica coffee . PLFA . Soil enzyme . Soil quality . China
Introduction The link between conventional agricultural practices and soil degradation in the form of soil contamination, soil erosion, nutrient depletion, water scarcity and salinity, and disruption of the biological cycles, is now well established (UNEP 2007). Soils in intensively managed
Plant Soil
open coffee (Coffea arabica L.) cultivation systems are no exception, sufferin
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