Soil Microbial Activity and Biomass in Semiarid Agroforestry Systems Integrating Forage Cactus and Tree Legumes

Dayanne Camelo; José Carlos Batista Dubeux; Mércia Virginia Ferreira dos Santos; Mario Andrade Lira; Giselle Gomes Monteiro Fracetto; Felipe José Cury Fracetto; Márcio Vieira da Cunha; Erinaldo Viana de Freitas

doi:10.3390/agronomy11081558

Agronomy (Aug 2021)

Soil Microbial Activity and Biomass in Semiarid Agroforestry Systems Integrating Forage Cactus and Tree Legumes

Dayanne Camelo,
José Carlos Batista Dubeux,
Mércia Virginia Ferreira dos Santos,
Mario Andrade Lira,
Giselle Gomes Monteiro Fracetto,
Felipe José Cury Fracetto,
Márcio Vieira da Cunha,
Erinaldo Viana de Freitas

Affiliations

Dayanne Camelo: Departamento de Zootecnia, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Rua Dom Manuel de Medeiros, s/n, Dois Irmãos, Recife 52171-900, PE, Brazil
José Carlos Batista Dubeux: North Florida Research and Education Center, University of Florida, 3925 Highway 71, Marianna, FL 32443, USA
Mércia Virginia Ferreira dos Santos: Departamento de Zootecnia, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Rua Dom Manuel de Medeiros, s/n, Dois Irmãos, Recife 52171-900, PE, Brazil
Mario Andrade Lira: Departamento de Agronomia, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Rua Dom Manuel de Medeiros, s/n, Dois Irmãos, Recife 52171-900, PE, Brazil
Giselle Gomes Monteiro Fracetto: Departamento de Agronomia, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Rua Dom Manuel de Medeiros, s/n, Dois Irmãos, Recife 52171-900, PE, Brazil
Felipe José Cury Fracetto: Departamento de Agronomia, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Rua Dom Manuel de Medeiros, s/n, Dois Irmãos, Recife 52171-900, PE, Brazil
Márcio Vieira da Cunha: Departamento de Zootecnia, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Rua Dom Manuel de Medeiros, s/n, Dois Irmãos, Recife 52171-900, PE, Brazil
Erinaldo Viana de Freitas: Instituto Agronômico de Pernambuco, Av. General San Martin, 1371, Bonji, Recife 50761-000, PE, Brazil

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11081558
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 11, no. 8
p. 1558

Abstract

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Vegetation cover affects soil organic matter and activity of soil microorganisms. We investigated the intercropping effect of forage cactus with tree legumes on soil microbial biomass and organic matter in the semi-arid tropic, state of Pernambuco, Brazil. We assessed the following cropping systems: (i) Gliricidia sepium intercropped with cactus cv. IPA-Sertânia; (ii) Leucaena leucocephala intercropped with cactus cv. IPA-Sertânia; and (iii) Cactus cv. IPA-Sertânia in monoculture. Samples were collected during the dry and rainy seasons in the 0- to 0.10- and 0.10- to 0.20-m soil layers at 0, 1.5, 3.0, and 4.5 m in a perpendicular gradient from tree legume rows. The following responses were determined: δ13C and δ15N, C and N, microbial activity and biomass, and metabolic, microbial, and mineralization quotient. δ13C and δ15N varied with the distance from the trees. In the dry season and beginning of the rainy season, the cropping systems showed similar values for C, N, microbial activity, carbon, and nitrogen in the microbial biomass. The presence of tree legumes at the end of the rainy season favored soil microbiota, which showed a reduced loss of C-CO2, with no indication of metabolic stress and greater microbial biomass and microbial quotient in relation to forage cactus in monoculture.

Published in Agronomy

ISSN: 2073-4395 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Agriculture
Website: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/agronomy

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