Agroforestry Systems as a Sustainable Strategy for Improving the Quality of Sandy Soils in Tropical Environments

In this context, agroforestry systems stand out as promising strategies by promoting greater organic matter input through litter deposition, favoring soil biodiversity. This study evaluated chemical, physical, and biological soil attributes, including edaphic macrofauna, microbial activity, fungal and bacterial communities, as well as relative soil quality indices in an agroforestry system (AFS) and a regenerating forest (FOR), located in Seropédica, RJ, Brazil.

The AFS exhibited higher soil fertility, including higher pH, available phosphorus, base saturation, and total carbon, as well as greater macrofauna abundance and fungal and bacterial alpha diversity. In contrast, AMF spore abundance was higher in the FOR, while several physical attributes, carbon fractions, enzyme activities, EE-GRSP, and microbial beta diversity did not differ significantly between sites. The relative chemical and biological soil quality indices were higher in the AFS, whereas the physical and overall indices did not differ between sites.