Abstract
Population growth and an increasing demand for food cause the intensification of agriculture leading to soil degradation and a decrease in the soil organic carbon (SOC) stock. Agroforestry systems such as alley cropping are gaining more and more attention as a practice to maintain and/or increase SOC in agroecosystems. The aim of this study was to add to the knowledge on SOC in alley cropping systems and to evaluate the contribution of introducing trees into agricultural landscapes by conducting a meta-analysis of the available data. The soil carbon (C) input will increase with time. Our findings suggest that a beneficial effect on SOC occurs after approximately a decade of alley cropping practice adoption. Furthermore, the effect of alley cropping is more beneficial in regions with lower initial SOC concentration compared to that in regions rich in SOC. Higher relative SOC is observed in the tropical region compared to that in the temperate climate zone. The establishment of alley cropping systems on agricultural land needs to consider several parameters such as alley width and tree species when designing such systems to achieve the highest possible tree and crop productivity while increasing SOC.
Highlights
Population growth, changes in consumption patterns, and intensive industrialization have led to the increase of carbon dioxide (CO2 ) emissions into the atmosphere
The correlation analysis shows the correlation of relative soil organic carbon (RSOC) with alley width and tree age (Table 3)
Such correlation indicates that older tree stands had higher RSOC values, suggesting accumulation of soil organic carbon (SOC) with time
Summary
Population growth, changes in consumption patterns, and intensive industrialization have led to the increase of carbon dioxide (CO2 ) emissions into the atmosphere. Deforestation and intensification of agriculture, as well as urbanization and land-use change, resulted in soil degradation and reduction of plant cover, which had a positive role in sequestering atmospheric CO2 and increasing its turnover time [1]. The soil has a vital role in C cycling and mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through SOC sequestration [2]. Forest ecosystems account for approximately 73% of the SOC pool [3], and, deforestation and intensive agriculture can slow down the C flow between the atmosphere and pedosphere. There is a need for increasing afforestation and establishing agricultural systems that store more
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