Forest–Fruticulture Conversion Alters Soil Traits and Soil Organic Matter Compartments
Bruna Firmino Enck,
Milton Cesar Costa Campos,
Marcos Gervásio Pereira,
Fernando Gomes de Souza,
Otavio Augusto Queiroz Santos,
Yan Vidal de Figueiredo Gomes Diniz,
Thalita Silva Martins,
José Mauricio Cunha,
Alan Ferreira Leite de Lima,
Tancredo Augusto Feitosa de Souza
Affiliations
Bruna Firmino Enck
Postgraduate Program in Tropical Agronomy, Institute of Education, Agriculture and Environment, Federal University of Amazonas, Manaus 69067-005, Brazil
Milton Cesar Costa Campos
Postgraduate Program in Soil Science, Center of Agrarian Sciences, Federal University of Paraiba, Cidade Universitaria 58051-900, Brazil
Marcos Gervásio Pereira
Postgraduate Program in Soil Science, Institute of Agronomy, Federal University Rural of Rio de Janeiro, Seropédica 21941-901, Brazil
Fernando Gomes de Souza
Agrotechnical School, Murupu Campus, Federal University of Roraima, Boa Vista 69300-000, Brazil
Otavio Augusto Queiroz Santos
Postgraduate Program in Soil Science, Institute of Agronomy, Federal University Rural of Rio de Janeiro, Seropédica 21941-901, Brazil
Yan Vidal de Figueiredo Gomes Diniz
Postgraduate Program in Soil Science, Institute of Agronomy, Federal University Rural of Rio de Janeiro, Seropédica 21941-901, Brazil
Thalita Silva Martins
Postgraduate Program in Soil Science, Center of Agrarian Sciences, Federal University of Paraiba, Cidade Universitaria 58051-900, Brazil
José Mauricio Cunha
Postgraduate Program in Environmental Science, Institute of Education, Agriculture and Environment, Federal University of Amazonas, Manaus 69067-005, Brazil
Alan Ferreira Leite de Lima
Postgraduate Program in Tropical Agronomy, Institute of Education, Agriculture and Environment, Federal University of Amazonas, Manaus 69067-005, Brazil
Tancredo Augusto Feitosa de Souza
Postgraduate Program in Soil Science, Center of Agrarian Sciences, Federal University of Paraiba, Cidade Universitaria 58051-900, Brazil
Fruticulture in the Amazonian Rainforest is one of the main causes of deforestation, biodiversity loss, and soil erosion. Fruticulture plays a key role in the soil traits and soil organic matter (SOM) compartments by altering the soil ecosystem. Our aim was to assess the influence of Forest–Fruticulture conversion on soil traits, and SOM fractions in Brazil’s Legal Amazon. The experiment was carried out in field conditions using four land uses as main treatments: Bixa orellana, Theobroma grandiflorum, Paullinia cupana, and the Amazon Rainforest. The soil physicochemical traits were analyzed using samples that were collected from 0–5, 5–10, and 10–20 cm soil depth by using grids (10 × 10 m) with 36 sampling points. Our results showed that the Fruticulture promoted an increase in bulk density, GMD, aggregate diameter, soil porosity, gravimetric moisture, sand, clay, carbon associated with humic acid, and, the sum of bases (K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+), while the Amazon Rainforest showed the highest values of silt, soil P content, SOC, p-SOC, m-SOC, carbon associated with fulvic acid, humine, and soil C stock. Overall, the fruticulture farming systems have negative effects on SOM compartments. The results of our study highlight the importance of considering fruticulture with endemic plant species by promoting soil fertility and soil aggregation.
