Leaf litter production and potential nutrient return in agroforestry systems with cacao and tropical fine woods

Eliana Báez-Daza, Yajaira Romero-Barrera, Genaro Andres Agudelo-Castañeda, Jairo Rojas Molina, Diego Alejandro Zarate, Gladys Alejandra Romero Guerrero

Abstract


Background: Leaf litter production in agroforestry systems represents a potential return of nutrients to the soil through decomposition and mineralization processes. Objective: To evaluate the nutritional contribution of leaf litter produced in an agroforestry system (AFS) of cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) variety TCS 19 with tropical fine woods. Methodology: An evaluation was carried out in two locations in eastern Colombia (Muzo, Boyacá and Rionegro, Santander); the associated timber species were abarco (Cariniana pyriformis Miers) and teak (Tectona grandis L. f.) in two planting models (barriers in single rows and double rows). The leaf litter production of individual timber species and their combinations with cacao, as well as the contribution of nutrients (macro- and micronutrients), were evaluated under a randomised complete block design with eight combinations (four species combinations in two planting systems). Results: A correlation was found between climatic variables, such as rainfall, and litterfall production, with litterfall production being higher during periods of lower rainfall at both sites. The highest leaf litter production was in treatment TCS 19 cacao with double rows of abarco shading, at 4,248.6 kg ha-1 year-1 in Muzo, and the least litter production was in single rows of teak, at 343 kg ha-1 year-1 in Rionegro. For macronutrient supply, the best treatment in Muzo, with the highest contribution, was the TCS 19 cacao with abarco double-rows treatment, which provided nutrients N (56 kg ha-1) and Ca (51 kg ha-1). In Rionegro, the highest contribution was made by the abarco double-rows treatment for the nutrients N (30 kg ha-1) and treatment TCS 19 cacao with double-rows abarco in Ca (34 kg ha-1). Implications: The tropical hardwood agroforestry system, featuring cacao, whether planted in single or double rows, provides significant nutritional value due to the litter produced during its physiological and productive development. Conclusions: The associated timber species make a differential contribution to litter and the nutrient contents by location. The abarco is the forest species that generates the most significant nutritional contribution through the decomposition of leaf litter in the soil.

Keywords


Agroforestry systems; leaf litter; nutrient cycling.

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References


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URN: http://www.revista.ccba.uady.mx/urn:ISSN:1870-0462-tsaes.v28i3.47977

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.56369/tsaes.4797

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Copyright (c) 2025 Jairo Rojas Molina, Eliana Báez-Daza, Yajaira Romero-Barrera, Genaro Andres Agudelo-Castañeda, Diego Alejandro Zarate, Gladys Alejandra Romero Guerrero

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