10.5061/DRYAD.DZ08KPRT6
Sauvadet, Marie
0000-0002-7520-8565
Institut de Recherche pour le Développement
Saj, Stéphane
Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le
Développement
Freschet, Grégoire
French National Centre for Scientific Research
Essobo, Jean-Daniel
World Agroforestry Centre
Enock, Séguy
World Agroforestry Centre
Becquer, Thierry
Institut de Recherche pour le Développement
Tixier, Philippe
Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le
Développement
Harmand, Jean-Michel
Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le
Développement
Cocoa agroforest multifunctionality and soil fertility explained by shade
tree litter traits
Dryad
dataset
2019
agroecosystem multifunctionality
shade type
soil functions
Theobroma cacao
STRADIV project
1504-003
2019-11-25T00:00:00Z
2019-11-25T00:00:00Z
en
20387 bytes
3
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Manipulating plant functional diversity to improve agroecosystem
multifunctionality is a central challenge of agricultural systems
worldwide. In cocoa agroforestry systems (cAFS), shade trees are used to
supply many services to farmers, yet their impact on soil functioning and
cocoa yields is likely to vary substantially among tree species. Here, we
compared the impact of five shade tree species (Canarium schweinfurthii
(Canarium), Dacryoides edulis (Safou), Milicia excelsa (Iroko), Ceiba
pentandra (Kapok tree), Albizia adianthifolia (Albizia)) and unshaded
conditions on the functioning of poor sandy savannah soils within eight
cocoa farms in Central Cameroon. We assessed the effects of plant
functional traits, leaf litterfall and fine root biomass on a range of
soil functions and on cocoa yield. Shade trees generally improved soil pH,
NH4+, NO3- and Olsen P content, biomass production of bioassays, and soil
total C and N content, while leaving cocoa yields unchanged. However,
these effects varied largely among species. Improvements of soil
functions were low under the two fruit trees (Canarium and Dacryodes),
medium under the legume tree Albizia, and high under the two timber trees
(Milicia and Ceiba). Low litter recalcitrance was most strongly associated
with increases in soil fertility indicators such as N and P availability,
whereas soil C and N content increased with litter Ca restitution.
Synthesis and applications. We demonstrate that cocoa agroforest
multifunctionality is substantially influenced by the functional traits of
shade tree species. Shade tree species with the most dissimilar traits to
cocoa (cocoa showing the lowest leaf litter quality) showed the largest
improvement of soil functions. Therefore, selection of shade trees based
on their functional traits appears as a promising practice to adequately
manage soil functioning. In order to fully assess the beneficial role of
shade trees in these agroecosystems, future research will need to extend
this approach to other belowground traits and other aspects of
multifunctionality such as long-term cocoa health and yield.