Soil fertility in agroforestry system with introduction of green manure

Abstract

Green manuring is an alternative practice of agricultural production capable of not only reestablishing but also increasing soil fertility levels in addition to allowing a better utilization of agricultural inputs. These characteristics make green manuring an interesting alternative agricultural system for regions in which soils are degraded with low water retention capacity and high nutrients leaching. The objective of this study was to evaluate chemical attributes of a soil submitted to an agroforestry exploitation system. That fertility evaluation took place during three years in which the soil was exposed to the following conditions, spontaneous vegetation, leguminous plants and cultivation upon leguminous plants residues. The introduction of leguminous plants as a green manure practice in these tropical agroforestry system favors the reduction of aluminum saturation, the increment of the CEC and the organic matter content and also the amount of P in the soil. In this system, the needs in nutrients of the plants in consortium have to be satisfied by external supply of those elements (mainly with the help of soil liming) so as to avoid the gradual impoverishment of the soil.