A Comparative Study of the Effects of Cordia africana, Ficus sur and Manihot esculenta on Soil Chemical Properties in an Agroforestry System

Abstract in Krakow, Poland The incorporation of woody components ensures the sustainability of land productivity through complementary resource acquisition and nutrient cycling. Hover, the integrated species, however, play a major role in determining the environmental impact of agroforestry practices. In order to compare the effects of woody plants on various soil chemical properties, three agroforestry species: Cordia africana, Ficus sur, and Manihot esculenta were selected from three different elevation ranges; and the soil samples were collected from the canopy zone and outside the tree canopy influence. As a result, all of the agroforestry species in the current study have demonstrated a significantly favorable impact on the soil chemical properties inside the canopy. Focusing solely on the effects of individual species on the soil, Cordia Africana and Ficus sur did not significantly differ in the bulk of the measured soil chemical property measures. Manihot esculenata, on the other hand, had much lower impact in comparison to the first two, showing that it is the least important species for enhancing soil quality. The influence of agroforestry species on soil chemical properties is similar across all elevation ranges for the majority of the parameters, indicating that the impact of agroforestry species on soil property is stronger than the impact of elevation. Therefore, in an agroforestry system, woody plants, Cordia Africana and Ficus sur perform a significantly larger role of improving the soil than the tuber crop Manihot esculenata, which in turn has a strong negative impact on the soil's available potassium and cation exchange capacity.