Soil physical properties in a oxisol under a syntropic agroforestry system: row versus inter-row

Abstract

Synthropic agroforestry systems are agricultural systems designed to reconcile agricultural production with environmental conservation. However, the benefits related to soil physical properties of these systems have only been documented for the planting rows. Thus, the physical behavior of the soil in the inter-rows remains unknown. The objective of this paper was to characterize the physical properties of the soil in the rows and inter-rows of a syntropical agroforestry system - SAS. For this, infiltration capacity (mini-disk infiltrometer) and soil resistance to penetration (STOLF Penetrometer) were measured in five ramdomly located blocks involving the rows and inter-rows. The results showed that there were no significant differences between row and inter-rows for both variables. The high species diversity, continuous addition of organic matter to the soil via pruning, the absence of heavy machinery use, and the vigorous growth of exotic grasses in the inter-row are the likely factors that explain the absence of differences reported here. We conclude that the rows and inter-rows of a SAS behave similarly in relation to the attributes evaluated. This demonstrates that such systems are highly beneficial for food production as well as maintaining soil physical properties.