Spatial Variability of Soil Attributes in an Agroforestry System in the Cerrado: A New Focus on Sampling Biodiverse Systems

Abstract

Agroforestry systems present themselves as an alternative for sustainable food production.
However, spatial variability in the soil fertility of these systems is not well understood, which
may induce farmers to make errors in the sampling and interpretation of analysis results.
Therefore, the objective of this work was to evaluate the spatial variability of soil attributes in
a four-year old Agroforestry System in the Cerrado. Soil samples collected up to 30 cm depth
were assessed for the following treatments: vegetable garden bed (CR), tree crops bed (CA),
pathways between beds (CE) and CERRADO (native savannah). Differences in soil attributes
were observed both between agroforestry and native Cerrado ecosystems as well as within the
agroforestry system. Thus, in terms of sampling for fertility and organic matter farmers should
not underestimate the spatial variability concerning soil carbon and chemical attributes.