%0 Journal Article
%T Silvopastoral Systems Enhance Soil Quality in Grasslands of Colombia
%A Judith Mart赤nez
%A Yasm赤n S. Cajas
%A Juan D. Le車n
%A Nelson W. Osorio
%J Applied and Environmental Soil Science
%D 2014
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2014/359736
%X In the tropical drylands of Colombia, the soils subjected to traditional systems of livestock production are severely degraded and depleted of plant nutrients. Multistrata silvopastoral systems are viable alternatives to improve livestock production; however, it is unknown whether these systems can reduce the negative environmental impacts of traditional systems on soil quality. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of 13-year-old multistrata silvopastoral systems on soil quality parameters in degraded soils of the Sinu River Valley, Colombia. The results show that the trees in the silvopastoral systems increased or maintained soil pH values and nutrient availability (phosphorus, potassium, and calcium) with respect to the pastures with only grasses. The effects were significantly controlled by the types of plant species, particularly Guazuma ulmifolia and Cassia grandis. 1. Introduction Soil degradation is one of the major constraints in the tropics affecting 500 million ha [1], threatening ecosystem services and food security for people in developing countries [2]. The Caribbean region of Colombia is an unfortunately example of this situation because 80每100% of the grasslands exhibit soil erosion, soil compaction, and low soil nutrient availability for livestock systems [3每6]. The major cause is overgrazing and lack of proper management practices such as monoculture of Gramineae versus plant diversity, adequate fertilization, soil conservation practices, and reduced tillage [7每10]. Consequently, over time, these soils exhibit high level of compaction (2.2每4.2ˋMPa) and low levels of plant nutrients (e.g., phosphate: <10ˋmgˋkgˋ1 and potassium: <0.11ˋcmolcˋkgˋ1) that diminishes forage quality and availability, particularly in the long dry season [4, 6]. As a result of that, there is low animal carrying capacity (one animal per ha), low weight gain (<300ˋg dayˋ1), late age for slaughter (30每36 months), and high cost of production (US$ 0.80ˋkgˋ1) [6, 8]. As an alternatives, silvopastoral systems can be successfully implemented because they can provide several benefits: animal comfort and productivity, litter supply, nutrient cycling, water infiltration, soil bulk density, soil fauna, and biodiversity [11每16]. Unfortunately, in the tropics, there are not sufficient data to support these claims on soil quality parameters [17每19] as it occurs in the temperate zone [20每22], which limits the widespread use of this strategy [23每25]. Our hypothesis in this study was that soil quality parameters (e.g., soil pH, soil organic matter, and plant
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/aess/2014/359736/