Microclimate and soil and water loss in shaded and unshaded agroforestry coffee systems

Abstract

The agroforestry systems are a potential pathway to improve soil quality and protect against extreme temperatures that negatively impact coffee growth. However, more studies about the effects of inclusion of tree elements in coffee systems soil and water loss dynamics are needed. This study aimed to understand how the inclusion of trees influences the microclimate and soil and water loss in shaded compared with unshaded coffee systems. Two pluviometers, one in shaded and the other in unshaded area, were installed to record hourly data from August 2009 to June 2010. Soil temperature and moisture were monitored by a system of sensors: air temperature, soil temperature at 10 cm depth, and soil moisture at 10, 30 and 100 cm depths, recording data at hourly intervals from August 2009 to June 2010. The surface water runoff and soil mass lost by laminar erosion were measured using collectors. Air temperature under shaded conditions had less variation than under unshaded conditions and lower maximum temperatures. Soil and water loss of both systems were small due to the high soil cover. Our results indicate that the water loss was higher in the unshaded area (338 L ha−1) during the study period compared with the shaded system (150 L ha−1). Soil temperature was lower under shaded conditions and there was water absorption complementarity between coffee and trees in shaded area. Soil moisture of shaded area was lower than unshaded area for all depths in all monitored period. Therefore, the shaded agroforestry coffee systems improve microclimate conditions and deep water drainage compared with unshaded coffee systems.