Work

Diverse production systems affect soil phosphorus forms and crop productivity in tropical soil

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Diversified agricultural systems, associated with greater species diversity (SD), can alter the dynamics of phosphorus (P) in the soil and consequently increase crop productivity. This study evaluated the P forms and yields of soybean and cotton in a sandy loam Ultisol under various levels of species diversity of land use in tropical soil. The experimental design was randomized blocks, with five levels of SD: very low (VL), low (LW), medium (AVG), long-term mean (AVL) and high (ICLS). The increase in the level of species diversity significantly (255 %) influenced the yield of cotton in the ICLS compared with that in the LV and that of soybean in the 2022/23 crop. Treatments with greater species diversity significantly increased P concentrations in the most labile soil fractions. The Melhlich-3 P fraction represented approximately 30 %, and the organic P represented approximately 9 % of the total P in the three evaluated layers, whereas the occluded P fraction represented more than 40 % of the total P in the soil. In the 10–20 cm layer, the ICLS recorded the highest proportion of labile P. Additionally, the determination of available P should be performed in the more superficial layers (0–5 and/or 5–10 cm), especially in the no-tillage system, due to the greater accumulation of P in the upper layers. ICLS increased the availability of P in the subsurface by increasing the amount of labile and moderately labile P forms.

Source: Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment

DOI: 10.1016/j.agee.2026.110304