Litterfall seasonal dynamics and leaf-litter turnover in cocoa agroforests established on past forest lands or savannah

Saj Stéphane, Nijmeijer Annemarijn, Essobo Nieboukaho Jean-Daniel, Lauri Pierre-Eric, Harmand Jean-Michel. 2021. Litterfall seasonal dynamics and leaf-litter turnover in cocoa agroforests established on past forest lands or savannah. Agroforestry Systems, 95 (4) : 583-597.

Quartile : Q2, Sujet : AGRONOMY / Quartile : Q2, Sujet : FORESTRY

Résumé : Nutrient cycling in cocoa agroforestry systems (cAFS) is complex and poorly understood. To better understand the mass flow of carbon and nutrients into the soil sub-system under various contexts we quantified the mass flow of litterfall, its composition and seasonal variations in different agroforestry systems in Bokito (Central Cameroon). We studied litterfall dynamics and in situ leaf-litter cycling of cAFS established on past forest lands (F-cAFS) and savannah (S-cAFS). We also studied the decomposition of cocoa and associated tree leaf-litter in litterbags. Local secondary semi-deciduous forests were included as control. Annual litterfall in full-grown cAFS (> 15 years old) was high (9.4 Mg ha−1 y−1) and represented ca. 67% of litterfall in control forests. In full-grown cAFS, associated tree leaf-litter contributed to litterfall the most and ranged between 60 and 70% of the total amount recorded (6.3 Mg ha−1 y−1). The quantities and dynamics of the litter components monitored were similar in full-grown S- and F-cAFS. The microclimate was best buffered in forests and least buffered in young S-cAFS but could not be linked to leaf-litter decomposition. Forest leaf litterfall was higher and tended to cycle faster than total leaf-litter of cAFS, whose decomposition appeared limited by cocoa leaf-litter quality. Our study underlines (i) the critical contribution of associated trees to the nutrient cycle of agroecosystems established on poor soils and, (ii) the ability of farmers to channel associated tree communities towards similar functioning despite different past land-uses.

Mots-clés Agrovoc : agroforesterie, litière forestière, cycle des nutriments, systèmes agroforestiers, Theobroma cacao, litière végétale, sol de forêt, savane

Mots-clés géographiques Agrovoc : Cameroun

Mots-clés libres : Agroforestry, Litterfall, Litter decomposition, Cocoa, Microclimate

Classification Agris : F08 - Systèmes et modes de culture
F61 - Physiologie végétale - Nutrition
P34 - Biologie du sol

Champ stratégique Cirad : CTS 2 (2019-) - Transitions agroécologiques

Auteurs et affiliations

• Saj Stéphane, CIRAD-PERSYST-UMR ABSys (GUF) ORCID: 0000-0001-5856-5459 - auteur correspondant
• Nijmeijer Annemarijn, INRAE (FRA)
• Essobo Nieboukaho Jean-Daniel, IRAD (CMR)
• Lauri Pierre-Eric
• Harmand Jean-Michel, CIRAD-PERSYST-UMR Eco&Sols (CMR) ORCID: 0000-0002-8065-106X

Source : Cirad-Agritrop (https://agritrop.cirad.fr/597880/)

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