Carbon and nitrogen stocks in agroforestry systems of conilon coffee

Abstract

The implantation of agroforestry systems (SAFs) has the potential to sequester carbon (C) and
nitrogen (N) to the soil and serves as a source of income for family farmers. Conilon coffee
(Coffea canephora L.) is widely grown in the state of Espírito Santo. The objective of this work
was to evaluate C and N stocks at different depths and over a year in SAFs of conilon coffee
with banana (Musa spp.) and pupunha (Bactris gasipaes Kunth) in comparison to coffee monoculture
and a fragment of native forest. The largest stocks of C and N in the 0-20 cm layer are
related to the organic contribution of shoot and roots in this layer. The highest annual variation
of C and N stocks in SAFs is related to the contribution of plant residues from the pruning’s of
the consortium species, on average annual values do not differ between systems. However,
SAFs may provide greater nutrient cycling in the topsoil. This result is important for the agroecological
family farmer, whose farming systems are of low input outside the growing area.