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Plant species richness in agroforestry systems correlates to soil fertility in the humid tropic of Mexico

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Abstract

Given the importance of agroforestry systems (AFS) in mitigating the impact of agriculture on the ecosystems and environment, it is critical to understand the effect of plant species richness in diverse tropical AFS on their soil properties. The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of different AFS in the conservation of plant species richness, and their effect on soil physical and chemical properties. We compared plant species richness and soil properties among six AFS by sampling 63 plots in the humid tropics. Sampled AFS include: (1) home garden (HG), (2) shade trees in plantation (ShTP), (3) live fences (LF), (4) scattered trees in paddocks (ScTP), (5) grazing under plantation (GP), and (6) slash and burn agriculture (SBA). The vegetation community in each plot was recorded by scientific name and species richness was calculated. Soil samples were collected from 0 to 10 and 10 to 20 cm depth and analyzed for pH, organic matter (OM), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), electrical conductivity (EC), cation exchange capacity (CEC), and texture. The highest plant species richness was found in HG (125), ShTP (121), and ScTP (89), followed by GP (56), LF (35), and SBA (4). This richness of plant species influenced the soil N (r = 0.514, P = 0.028), P (r = 0.480, P = 0.514), and OM contents (r = 0.439, P = 0.067), as well as CEC (r = 0.402, P = 0.097), EC (r = 0.153, P = 0.543), and pH (r = 0.363, P = 0.115). The highest values of pH (6.6) and P (8.14 mg kg−1) were observed in the species richest AFS, and the highest OM (10.8%), N (0.49%), and EC (0.26 µs/cm) were found in the SBA system that has been converted recently from forests. In the SBA, the high values of pH, OM, N, EC, and CEC were result of cutting and burning of plant biomass during the land-clearing process. It is concluded that AFS harbor a great diversity of plant species and can improve soil fertility, which is essential for developing sustainable agroecosystems. Further research is required to understand the effect of variation in AFS age on the overall soil health indicators.

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The datasets generated in this research will be made available by the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Consejo Nacional de Humanidades, Ciencias y Tecnología for financially supporting the research project and thank El Colegio de la Frontera Sur for the support with infrastructure to carry out this research.

Funding

This study was supported by the Projects No. TAB-2006-C08-43867 of the National Council of Humanities Sciences and Technologies “Ecophysiological and productivity evaluation of the historical agroforestry systems of Tabasco”, and  PRODECTI-2022-01/21 “Evaluación de sistemas silvopastoriles para transitar hacia una ganadería sostenible y climáticamente inteligente en la Cuenca del Usumacinta, Tabasco” financed by the Science and Technology Council of the State of Tabasco.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cultivo Land PBC, 5020 Franklin Drive, Suite 100, Pleasanton, CA, 94588, USA

    A. Alcudia-Aguilar

  2. Grupo Académico en Ganadería Sustentable y Cambio Climático, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Villahermosa, Tabasco, México

    G. Villanueva-López & C. A. De la Cruz-López

  3. Grupo Académico en Ganadería Sustentable y Cambio Climático, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Lerma, Campeche, Campeche, México

    J. A. Alayón-Gamboa

  4. Grupo académico en Ganadería Sustentable y Cambio Climático, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, México

    J. Nahed-Toral & G. Jiménez-Ferrer

  5. CONAHCYT-UNACH, Facultad de Ciencias Agronómicas, Villaflores, Chiapas, México

    D. R. Aryal

  6. Agricultural Science Center, New Mexico State University, Clovis, NM, USA

    D. R. Aryal

  7. Cuerpo Académico en Agroecosistemas y Biodiversidad (ITLZM-CA-1), Tecnológico Nacional de México Campus I. T. de la Zona Maya., Chetumal, Quintana Roo, México

    F. Casanova-Lugo

  8. Grupo Académico en Agroecología, El Colegio de La Frontera Sur, Villahermosa, Tabasco, México

    D. Ayala-Montejo & P. Martínez-Zurimendi

  9. CONAHCYT-El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Grupo Académico en Agroecología, Villahermosa, Tabasco, México

    D. Ayala-Montejo

  10. CONAHCYT-Centro del Cambio Global y La Sustentabilidad, A.C, Villahermosa, Tabasco, México

    O. R. Medrano-Pérez

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  1. A. Alcudia-Aguilar
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  2. G. Villanueva-López
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Contributions

GVL designed the study, collected and analysed data and prepared the draft of the manuscript, AAA collected and analysed all the data, FCL analysed the data, ORMP made map, All authors read the draft and approved the fnal manuscript.

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Alcudia-Aguilar, A., Villanueva-López, G., Alayón-Gamboa, J.A. et al. Plant species richness in agroforestry systems correlates to soil fertility in the humid tropic of Mexico. Agroforest Syst 98, 891–909 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-024-00961-4

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