Abstract
ABSTRACT Soil, water, and nutrient loss by water erosion are among the main factors leading to land degradation, decreasing soil productivity and the provision of ecosystem services. The Cerrado-Amazon ecotone in western Brazil has suffered rapid land-use cover changes with impacts on soil erosion and land degradation. Despite the importance of the region for Brazilian agriculture and environmental conservation, studies on soil, water, and nutrient loss are still scarce. We tested integrated crop-livestock-forestry (ICLF) as a sustainable agriculture management system for the Cerrado-Amazon ecotone region. A field experiment was established in the north of Mato Grosso state to quantify total soil, water, carbon and nitrogen loss during the rainy season in 2012-2013 in plots of integrated crop-forestry (ICF), pasture (PAST), eucalyptus plantation (EUC), no-tillage crop succession (CS) and bare soil (BS). Total soil, water, carbon and nitrogen losses in BS were, on average, 96.7% higher than in ICF, EUC, PAST, and CS. ICF had significantly lower water loss than CS, EUC and PAST. Total loss of carbon (4.3 - 428.2 kg ha-1) and nitrogen (0.3 - 29.2 kg ha-1) differed significantly among treatments. The production systems with tree components (EUC and ICF) and PAST showed reduced soil and nutrients loss compared to CS. Our results demonstrated that ICLF can avoid soil quality loss and thus improve agriculture sustainability in the Cerrado-Amazon ecotone.
Highlights
Accelerated land-use and land-cover change has dramatically impacted soil erosion, leading to severe losses of soil, water and nutrients and corresponding loss of productivity and soil health of soils (Sobral et al 2015; Dollinger and Jose 2018)
Soil loss was significantly lower in integrated crop-forestry (ICF) (0.238 Mg ha-1), eucalyptus plantation (EUC) (0.194 Mg ha-1) and PAST (0.156 Mg ha-1) compared to crop succession (CS) (0.856 Mg ha-1) (Table 2)
The Enrichment Ratio (ER) for nutrients and organic C is partly attributed to selective erosion, as sediments of small diameter or low density are most likely transported by the runoff, when compared to sediments that remain in the soil (Langdale et al 1985)
Summary
Accelerated land-use and land-cover change has dramatically impacted soil erosion, leading to severe losses of soil, water and nutrients and corresponding loss of productivity and soil health of soils (Sobral et al 2015; Dollinger and Jose 2018). There is a growing concern on how to reduce the impact of agricultural production systems on natural environments while, at the same time, assuring food security (FAO 2009; 2014). In this context, intensive but sustainable production systems such as integrated crop-livestock forestry (ICLF) can reduce environmental degradation while maintaining or increasing crop productivity (FAO 2010). The ICLF is a sustainable production strategy that integrates crops, livestock, and forestry in the same area through intercropping cultivation, cultivation in succession, and crop rotation, aiming at synergistic effects among the components of the agroecosystem (Balbino et al 2011; De Moraes et al 2014). The production strategy of ICLF seeks to improve the human social condition in rural areas, through promotion and generation of jobs and incomes, conforming production units to environmental legislation and the appreciation of environmental services offered by agroecosystems (Balbino et al 2011)
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