AMF Diversity in Coffee and Cacao Agroforestry Systems: Importance for Crop Productivity and Forest Conservation

Abstract

AbstractCoffee and cacao are among the most widespread and economically important agroforestry crops worldwide. Their traditional cultivation under a canopy of shade trees represents a model of sustainable agriculture that allows the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services of forests. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) play an important role in plant nutrition and nutrient cycling, and their presence is crucial to the maintenance of these agroecosystems. In addition, the mycorrhizal association increases plant survival under biotic and abiotic stress conditions and constitutes a determining factor in the productivity of these crops. This chapter provides an inventory of AMF species associated with coffee and cacao cultivation in South America and compiles information about the effect of agroforestry management practices on mycorrhizal fungal communities. In traditional agroforestry systems, coffee and cacao plantations are able to maintain functionally diverse AMF communities that allow the expression of the multiple benefits of mycorrhizal association. However, when the intensity of agriculture practices is increased, the AMF diversity is significantly reduced, in turn reducing their functionality. The influence of AMF diversity on the productivity of these crops is discussed highlighting the importance of conservation and maintenance of native AMF in these agroecosystems.KeywordsCoffee Cacao Agroforestry systems Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi Diversity