Microclimate in agroforestry systems in central Amazonia: does canopy closure matter to soil organisms? |
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Authors: | Christopher Martius Hubert Höfer Marcos VB Garcia Jörg Römbke Bernhard Förster Werner Hanagarth |
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Institution: | 1. Center for Development Research (ZEF Bonn), Walter-Flex-Str. 3, D-53113, Bonn, Germany 2. Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, Germany 3. Embrapa-Amaz?nia Ocidental, Manaus/Amazonas, Brazil 4. ECT Oekotoxikologie GmbH, Fl?rsheim, Germany
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Abstract: | Microclimate was recorded and soil organisms were collected 1997-1999 in ecosystem stands of contrasting structure in central
Amazonia (a primary forest, a 12-year secondary forest, two different agroforestry systems, a rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) plantation, and a peach palm (Bactris gasipaes) monoculture with a densely closed canopy). The aim was to look at the effects of canopy closure on microclimate and soil
organisms. Monthly maxima temperature, average air and soil temperatures, and saturation deficit were highest in September
1997, and total annual rainfall in 1997 was 12-28% lower than in the other study years. The monthly average litter temperatures
were consistently 2-4 °C higher in the plantation sites than in the rainforest and the secondary forest, and temperatures
on single days (not the monthly averages) in the plantations were up to 10 °C higher than in the primary forest. The highest
average litter and soil temperatures and the highest temperature maxima were recorded in the agroforestry plantations. Canopy
closure strongly determined the litter temperatures in the sites. Soil macrofauna biomass was also strongly correlated to
canopy closure (linear regression, P = 0.05). We conclude that a well developed canopy effectively protects the soil macrofauna
from high temperature variation and drought stress. Therefore, optimizing these agroforestry systems for canopy closure may
contribute to a better management of the beneficial soil decomposer community.
This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date. |
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Keywords: | Biodiversity Rain forest Soil fauna Vegetation structure |
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