Agroforest Syst (2023) 97:865–881
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-023-00832-4
Soil fertility in oil palm agroforestry systems in the Eastern
Amazon, Brazil
Lucélia Rosa de Jesus Costa · Gilson Sergio Bastos de Matos ·
Mila Façanha Gomes · Osvaldo Ryohei Kato · Debora Cristina Castellani ·
Rafael Silva Guedes · Steel Silva Vasconcelos
Received: 7 July 2022 / Accepted: 16 February 2023 / Published online: 16 March 2023
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2023
Abstract Oil palm agroforestry systems associated
with conservation management practices have been
proposed as a more sustainable alternative to mono-
culture. We examined whether oil palm agroforestry
systems (less and more diversified) under conserva-
tion management contribute to improving soil fertility
(an indicator of soil sustainability), using a second-
ary forest fragment as a reference. We analyzed the
effects of the agroforestry systems and the secondary
forest on the following variables in the arable layer
(0–20 cm) and in the layers along the soil profile (0–5,
5–10, 10–20, and 20–30 cm): active acidity (pH), cal-
cium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), potassium (K), phos-
phorus (P), aluminum (Al), organic matter, potential
acidity (H + Al), potential cation-exchange capacity
(CEC), effective cation-exchange capacity (ECEC),
Al saturation (AS), and base saturation (BS). Over-
all, soil acidity was lower in the agroforestry systems
L. R. de Jesus Costa · G. S. B. de Matos · M. F. Gomes
Federal Rural University of the Amazon (UFRA), Belém,
Brazil
O. R. Kato · S. S. Vasconcelos (*)
Embrapa Eastern Amazon (CPATU), Belém, Brazil
e-mail: steel.vasconcelos@embrapa.br
D. C. Castellani
Natura Innovation Center, Cajamar, Brazil
R. S. Guedes
Federal University of South and Southeast of Pará
(UNIFESSPA), Marabá, Brazil
than in the forest, in all layers. In the arable layer, the
pH, Ca, Mg, K, P, and BS values were higher in the
agroforestry systems than in the forest. Liming, inor-
ganic and organic fertilization, and the maintenance
of organic matter on the soil may have contributed to
improving soil fertility in the oil palm agroforestry
systems. Our results suggest that, in the eastern Ama-
zon, oil palm growing in agroforestry systems associ-
ated with conservation practices can contribute to the
maintenance of soil fertility at adequate levels for the
species cultivated in these systems.
Keywords Conservation management · Oil palm
diversification · Organic fertilization · Soil organic
matter
Introduction
Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.), an oilseed spe-
cies cultivated in tropical regions, is the most impor-
tant crop worldwide in terms of production and
trade (Rahman et al. 2021). Palm oil is widely used
in the food, cosmetics, steel, and biofuel industries
(Hansen et al. 2015; Rahman et al. 2021). In Brazil,
oil palm plantation areas have grown significantly,
and the state of Pará, which belongs to the Brazilian
Amazon, is responsible for 90% of the total national
oil production (Benami et al. 2018). This crop has
expanded rapidly in recent decades due to high mar-
ket demands, mainly from developing countries
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(Kurnia et al. 2016). There is great market interest for
palm oil production to be certified by the Roundtable
on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), an organization that
sets standards for sustainable oil production (Tayleur
et al. 2018). One of the main criteria for certification
is improving soil sustainability (Roundtable on Sus-
tainable Palm Oil 2013), which includes guidelines
related to soil fertility (Luke et al. 2019). Therefore,
improvements in soil fertility—an important indi-
cator of soil quality and sustainability (Ahamadou
and Huang 2013; Carron et al. 2015), are one of the
important factors to achieve the certification of sus-
tainable production for oil palm plantations.
In the Amazon, oil palm is planted as monocul-
ture usually in abandoned areas previously used for
agriculture and pasture (Benami et al. 2018; Almeida
et al. 2020). Oil palm cultivation usually involves
agricultural practices such as slash-and-burn or
mechanized vegetation removal for land prepara-
tion (Viégas et al. 2019), soil tillage, and application
of high levels of inorganic fertilizers and herbicides
(Ramalho-Filho et al. 2010; Silva et al. 2018). Such
practices can cause chemical, physical, and biologi-
cal degradation of the soil (Iwata et al. 2012), which
decreases soil quality (Ahamadou and Huang 2013).
Alternatively, oil palm can be grown in agroforestry
systems, which are potentially more sustainable than
oil palm monoculture.
Agroforestry systems are recognized as the soil
exploitation model ecologically closest to a natural
forest (Nair 1993). In these systems, trees are grown
in association with agricultural crops and/or pas-
tures and animal species (Somarriba 1992; Young
1997). Agroforestry cultivation has great potential
to achieve agricultural sustainability and reduce the
negative effects of agriculture such as soil degrada-
tion (Albrecht and Kandji 2003; Boafo et al. 2020).
Finally, agroforestry systems have been indicated
for the implementation of oil palm plantations in the
Amazon and other regions of the world (Bhagwat and
Wills 2008; Freitas et al. 2010).
The advantages of crop cultivation in an agro-
forestry system over the conventional monoculture
include greater above- and below-ground carbon
stock (Niether et al. 2019), nutrient cycling, protec-
tion against erosion (Froufe et al. 2020; Paes et al.
2020), and soil chemical quality (Fonte et al. 2010;
Suárez et al. 2021). Agroforestry systems gener-
ally have a high capacity to restore stocks of organic
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Agroforest Syst (2023) 97:865–881
matter, the main source of nutrients for plants in
uncultivated Amazonian soils; soil organic matter
also increases the negative charge on soil colloid sur-
faces and, consequently soil cation exchange capac-
ity (García-Gómez et al. 2005). Therefore, to increase
agricultural production in the Amazon, where soils
have low natural fertility (Junqueira et al. 2016), pro-
ducers must adopt management practices that provide
larger amounts of organic material to the soil. In oil
palm plantations, empty fruit bunches, agro-industrial
wastewater, and pruned leaves of oil palm are applied
as organic fertilizers to compensate for nutrient losses
and help reduce the cost of applying inorganic ferti-
lizers (Sulaiman et al. 2011; Moradi et al. 2014; Car-
ron et al. 2015; Aholoukpè et al. 2016; Rahman et al.
2018; Formaglio et al. 2021).
There are few reports of research on oil palm
growing in diversified systems, e.g. agroforestry.
Studies available in the literature on soil in diversified
systems with oil palm were developed in Brazil, Indo-
nesia, and Malaysia. These studies evaluated soil car-
bon stock (Carvalho et al. 2014; Ramos et al. 2018;
Besar et al. 2020), soil mycorrhizal fungal coloniza-
tion (Maia et al. 2021), and biodiversity enrichment
(fauna and flora) (Teuscher et al. 2016). However,
there exists little information on soil fertility in these
oil palm cultivation types in general and in the Bra-
zilian Amazon. Therefore, the main objective of this
study was to examine whether oil palm agroforestry
systems under conservation management maintain
soil fertility at adequate levels for the crop.
Materials and methods
Study site
We conducted the study on a farm located in the
municipality of Tomé-Açu, northeast mesoregion
of Pará, Brazil (02°20′54″ S, 48°15′44″ W) (Fig. 1).
According to the Köppen classification, the local
climate is a hot-humid tropical type (Ami) (Alva-
res et al. 2013), with average annual precipitation of
2300 mm, average annual temperature of 26 °C, and
relative humidity around 85%. Precipitation ranges
between 54 (August) and 440 mm (March) (Pacheco
and Bastos 2008). The soil in the experimental area is
classified as a yellow Oxisol (‘Latossolo’) (Rodrigues
Agroforest Syst (2023) 97:865–881 867

Fig. 1  Location of the experimental area a Containing two Amazon, Brazil. In (c, ­AFSlow) and (d, ­AFShigh), the acronyms
agroforestry systems with oil palm: less diversified AFS represent the management zones where the soil was sampled:
­(AFSlow), more diversified AFS ­ (AFShigh), and b Second- weeded circle (WC), harvest path (HP), leaf pile (LP), and
ary forest (FOR), in the municipality of Tomé-Açu, Eastern diversified strip (DS)

et al. 2001) with high acidity and low natural fertility

(EMBRAPA 2016) and medium texture (Table 1).
Table 1  Soil particle composition in the study areas (agrofor-
Experimental conditions estry systems [AFS] and secondary forest) in Tomé-Açu, east-
ern Amazon, Brazil
Before the implementation of the experiment, the Study area Sand Silt Clay
study area consisted of an approximately 11-year- g ­kg−1
old forest under regeneration after repeated cycles
0–5 cm layer
of slash-and-burn for subsistence agriculture (Oryza
Less diversified AFS 693 187 120
sativa, Manihot esculenta, Zea mays, and Vigna
More diversified AFS 724 136 140
unguiculata). In 2007, we mechanically cut and
Forest 779 102 120
chopped a fragment of approximately 4 ha of this for-
5–10 cm layer
est (Carvalho et al. 2014) and deposited the chopped
Less diversified AFS 704 97 200
material on the ground, forming a mulch. In 2008, we
More diversified AFS 673 127 200
applied 1.3 t ­ha−1 of dolomitic limestone for soil acid-
Forest 719 122 160
ity correction. In the same year, we implemented two
10–20 cm layer
types of oil palm cultivation system: a less diversified
Less diversified AFS 623 137 240
agroforestry system ­(AFSlow) and a more diversified
More diversified AFS 573 148 280
agroforestry system ­(AFShigh), each of which had an
Forest 579 181 240
area of 2 ha.
20–30 cm layer
We planted the oil palm intraspecific hybrid Ten-
Less diversified AFS 535 145 320
era with (1) green-manure species, in A ­ FSlow; and
More diversified AFS 518 103 380
(2) diverse species for fruit, timber, and non-timber
Forest 461 159 380
production, as well as green manure, in A ­ FShigh. In

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both systems, we planted the oil palm seedlings in
double rows (7.5 m between rows × 9.0 m between
plants), which were interspersed with planting 15 m
wide strips of the other species (here called diversi-
fied strip). Table 2 describes the species that consti-
tuted each system in 2018 and the nutrient input from
litterfall.
In the oil palm planting holes, we applied 0.3 kg
­plant−1 of Arad reactive rock phosphate (33% ­P2O5,
37% Ca) and 10 kg ­plant−1 of ground charcoal (3.36%
­P2O5, 0.51% N, 4.85% K ­ 2O, and 2.7% Mg). Table 3
describes the annual maintenance fertilization. For oil
palm, we performed maintenance fertilization in the
weeded circle (radius of 1.5 m from the base of the
plant). We divided the annual potassium fertilization
into two applications (January/February and May/
June). There was no fertilizer treatment for the spe-
cies planted in the diversified strip, except for E. oler-
acea and T. cacao in A ­ FShigh (Table 3). In December
2017, dolomitic limestone was (a) applied throughout
the oil palm double row with an implement for the
distribution of soil corrective agents coupled to the
tractor, and (b) manually broadcasted in the diversi-
fied strip, in both systems (Table 3).
We removed weeds around the oil palm three to
five times per year and pruned older leaves once to
two times per year. We stacked the pruned leaves
between the oil palm double rows and the diversified

Table 2  Litterfall nutrient System Species Ca Mg K P

input of the species
planted in agroforestry kg ­ha−1yr−1
systems (AFS) with
Less diversified AFS Gliricidia sepium 41.21 7.90 5.16 3.61
oil palm in Tomé-Açu,
Eastern Amazon, Brazil. Elaeis guineensis Jacq 0.70 0.10 0.10 0.10
Source Saldanha 2018 Inga edulis 27.36 3.33 2.40 1.40
(unpublished data) Pueraria phaseoloides 1.84 0.30 0.20 0.20
Euterpe oleracea Mart 0.44 0.10 0.10 0.10
Tithonia diversifolia 0.18 0.04 0.02 0.02
Other species 0.46 0.15 0.14 0.08
Reproductive material 0.62 0.10 0.08 0.07
Petiole 8.76 1.14 1.80 0.72
Miscellaneous 5.40 0.84 0.52 0.48
More diversified AFS Theobroma cacao Linn 29.25 12.17 9.20 1.68
Tachigali myrmecophila Ducke 10.45 2.25 3.40 2.25
Handroanthus albus 20.06 4.37 3.84 1.43
Euterpe oleracea Mart 7.56 1.27 1.29 1.26
Elaeis guineensis Jacq 1.39 0.35 0.26 0.09
Carapa guianensis Aubl 15.16 3.71 3.40 0.85
Caesalpinia echinata 2.14 0.16 0.13 0.06
Inga edulis 0.36 0,07 0.04 0.02
Spondias mombin 15.80 1.58 1.89 0.95
Acacia mangium 0.46 6.30 0.39 0.32
Swietenia macrophylla King 2.14 0.44 0.82 0.14
Jacaranda copaia (Aubl.) D.Don 0.32 1.79 0.64 0.13
Hymenaea courbaril 0.13 0.02 0.04 0.03
*Calophyllum brasiliense Cambess – – – –
*Mangifera indica L – – – –
*Theobroma grandiflorum (Wild. Ex Spreng) – – – –
Other species 2.27 0.47 0.58 0.22
*There was not enough Reproductive material 6.69 2.71 2.82 0.57
material to quantify the Petiole 13.98 3.42 4.37 1.06
nutrient input in the Miscellaneous 1.18 5.18 1.49 0.46
litterfall of these species

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 Table 3  History of fertilizer and limestone application in oil palm-based agroforestry systems in Tomé-Açu, Eastern Amazon, Brazil. Source Alessa Mendanha
Lime/fertilizer Unit Oil palm Diversified strip

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2008 2017 2018

d −1 b
Limestone kg ­ha 1716 1300 1716
ARAD reactive rock ­phosphatee kg ­plant−1 0.3 1 1.5 0.7 2.5 0.3a 0.6a/0.7c 0.6a/0.9c
f −1 b
Chaff ­charcoal kg ­plant 10 10
Chicken ­manureg kg ­plant−1 10b
Bone ­mealh kg ­plant−1 1 0.5 0.5
i
Castor ­cake kg ­plant−1 2 2 4
Agroforest Syst (2023) 97:865–881

Oil palm ­cakej kg ­plant−1 30 30 40 1.0a/2.5c

k −1
FTE ­BR12 kg ­plant 0.3 0.2
Empty fruit bunches of oil ­palml kg ­plant−1 100 221 150 200 240 240
Boraxm kg ­plant−1 10 0.1
Organic ­compostn kg ­plant−1 40 40b
Yoorino kg ­plant−1 1.5
Produbor ­10p kg ­plant−1 0.1 0.15 0.1c 0.10a
Potassium ­polysulfateq kg ­plant−1 2.6 4.50 0.175a/0.70c
r −1
Potassium ­sulfate kg ­plant 40 0.8 0.8 0.4 1.8 1.00 0.1a/0.3c 0.15a/0.5c
a
Theobroma cacao
b
Fertilizer applied over the entire strip
c
Euterpe oleracea
d
Mg: 12%; Ca: 38%
e
P: 10%; Ca: 37%
f
K: 5,9%; Mg: 2,8%; Ca: 15,40%
g
N: 2,58%; P: 2,27%; K: 2,31%; Mg: 0,44%; Ca: 30%
h
N: 2%; P: 20%; K: 0,12%; Mg: 0,24%; Ca: 30%
i
N: 5,44%; P: 1,91%; K: 1,54%; Mg: 0,5%; Ca: 1,8%
j
N: 2,4%; P: 0,56%; K: 0,61%; Mg: 0,01%; Ca: 4%; S: 0,4%; Zn: 0,01%; B: 0,05%
k
B: 1,8%; Cu: 0,85%; Mn: 2,0%; Zn: 9,0%; S: 3,9%
l
N: 0,33%; P: 0,04%; K: 0,55%; Mg: 0,09%; Ca:0,28%; S: 0,04%
m
B: 20,8%; B
­ 2O3: 67%
n
N: 0,80%; P: 0,40%; K: 0,30%; Mg: 0,10%; Ca: 0,23%; S: 0,03%
o
P: 16%; Mg: 7%; Ca: 18%; S: 6%; Zn: 0,55%; B: 0,1%
p
B: 10%
q
K: 14,0%; Mg: 3,5%; Ca: 12%; S: 19%

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r
K: 50%; S: 18%
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Table 4  F Statistics and associated significance levels for the acidity (H + Al), effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC),
effects of systems (agroforestry systems and secondary forest) potential cation exchange capacity (CEC) organic matter
on soil variables: pH, phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (OM), aluminum saturation (AS) and base saturation (BS), for
(Ca), magnesium (Mg), exchangeable aluminum (Al), potential different soil layers, in Eastern Amazon, Brazil
Soil variables 0–5 cm 5–10 cm 10–20 cm 20–30 cm 0–20 cm
F-value Pr (> F) F-value Pr (> F) F-value Pr (> F) F-value Pr (> F) F-value Pr (> F)

pH ­(H2O) 89.06 < 0.001 48.61 < 0.001 15.51 0.001 12.69 0.002 35.321 < 0.001
P (mg ­dm− 3) 95.44 < 0.001 16.08 0.001 16.54 0.001 1.81 0.22 34.63 < 0.001
K (mg ­dm− 3) 15.23 0.001 25.37 0.0002 18.45 0.0006 26.65 0.0001 60.12 < 0.001
Ca ­(cmlc ­dm− 3) 56.61 < 0.001 44.74 < 0.001 13.69 0.002 11.4 0.003 34.3 < 0.001
Mg ­(cmlc ­dm− 3) 38.91 < 0.001 29.18 0.0001 6.14 0.02 4.74 0.04 25.06 0.0002
Al ­(cmlc ­dm− 3) 55.33 < 0.001 23.31 0.0002 37.79 < 0.001 32.1 < 0.001 52.69 < 0.001
H + Al ­(cmlc ­dm− 3) 74.45 < 0.001 29.86 0.0001 43.37 < 0.001 20.44 0.0004 51.6 < 0.001
ECEC ­(cmlc ­dm− 3) 57.36 < 0.001 35.86 < 0.001 7.81 0.01 4.74 0.04 27.87 0.0001
CEC ­(cmlc ­dm− 3) 13.97 0.001 7.23 0.01 3.83 0.06 6.89 0.01 6.56 0.01
OM (g ­kg− 1) 0.13 0.87 2.26 0.16 0.69 0.52 5.72 0.02 1.95 0.20
AS (%) 73.79 < 0.001 64.56 < 0.001 31.38 < 0.001 23.31 0.0002 55.59 < 0.001
BS (%) 147.98 < 0.001 124.43 < 0.001 26.72 0.0001 17.51 0.0007 66.89 < 0.001

strips (Fig. 1) and left the pruned material from cocoa
and legume species on the soil of the diversified strip.
The tractor used for harvesting and for limestone
application traveled between the oil palm rows, where
the only management operation applied was the mow-
ing of spontaneous vegetation. We used conservation
practices such as no tillage, maintenance of ground
cover, green manuring, and organic fertilization.
We also evaluated an approximately 20-year-old
secondary forest fragment (FOR) with 2 ha adjacent
to the AFSs. We used the forest as a reference area.
Soil sample collection, processing, and analysis
In July 2018, we collected one composite sam-
ple from each management zone in each plot. We
mixed 8 individual soil samples to form each com-
posite sample. We used an auger to collect the
individual soil samples in the layers of 0–5, 5–10,
10–20, and 20–30 cm. Accordingly, in the oil palm
AFSs, we collected 64 composite soil samples (four
plots × four collection sites per plot × four layers per
management zone) and, in FOR, 16 composite sam-
ples (four plots × four layers per plot).
We air-dried, crushed, and sieved the soil sam-
ples to 2 mm particles to determine soil chemical
attributes, as described next:

In 2018, for each agroforestry system, we randomly
established four plots measuring 30 × 30 m (to
include two diversified strips and one oil palm double
row); and four plots measuring 10 × 10 m in FOR. In
the AFSs, we collected soil samples at four locations
(management zones) per plot: (1) weeded circle—fer-
tilized zone where spontaneous vegetation had been
removed, located ~ 1.5 m from the base of the oil
palm stem; (2) harvest path—machinery traffic zone;
(3) leaf pile—zone where leaves of oil palm (and
other species, mainly cocoa) were deposited, charac-
teristic of oil palm plantations (Nelson et al. 2015);
and (4) diversified strip (Fig. 1). In FOR, we defined a
random point per plot for sampling.
– Soil pH in water: measured using 10 g of soil at
a soil:water ratio of 1:2.5;
– Available phosphorus (P) content: determined
in ammonium molybdate by spectrophotometry
(660 nm) after extraction with Mehlich-1 solu-
tion (0.05 mol L ­ −1 HCl and 0.0125 mol ­ L−1
­H2SO4) from 10 g of soil;
– Exchangeable calcium ­ (Ca2+), magnesium
2+ 3+
­(Mg ), and aluminum (­ Al ) contents: extracted
with 1 mol ­L−1 KCl, using 10 g of soil; ­Ca2+
and ­Mg2+ contents were determined by atomic
absorption spectrometry; ­Al3+ content was deter-
mined by titration in a 0.1 mol L ­ −1 NaOH solu-
tion;

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– Exchangeable potassium (K) content: deter-
mined by flame photometry after extraction with
Mehlich-1 solution;
– Potential acidity (H + Al): quantified by titration
with a standardized solution of NaOH (0.025 mol
­L−1) after extraction with calcium acetate (0.5 mol
­L−1) buffered at pH 7.0; and
– Soil organic matter (OM): determined by incinera-
tion in a muffle furnace.
Based on the results of soil chemical analysis,
we calculated the following soil fertility parameters:
potential CEC (CEC), effective CEC (ECEC), Al
saturation, and base saturation. All analytical proce-
dures and derived calculations followed Teixeira et al.
(2017).
Data and statistical analysis
We analyzed the vertical variation of chemical attrib-
utes of the soil in two ways, considering: (1) the ara-
ble layer (0–20 cm); and (2) layer stratification (0–5,
5–10, 10–20, and 20–30 cm). The arable layer is the
one traditionally evaluated in soil fertility sampling
(Blum et al. 2013; Weber et al. 2021); thus our data
for this layer allowed us to better compare our data
with the literature. In the majority of cases, stud-
ies focus on the arable layer because the effects of
management are generally more evident in the more
superficial layers. In addition, this layer concentrates
the largest volume of roots in most cultivated plants
(Brasil et al. 2020a). We also considered greater soil
stratification for a better understanding of the vertical
variation of soil chemical attributes.
To calculate the average value of each soil attrib-
ute per plot in the agroforestry systems, we consid-
ered the area (%) occupied by each management
zone, namely, less diversified AFS (weeded circle:
25.74%; harvest path: 24.69%; leaf pile: 11.22%; and
diversified strip: 38.35%) and more diversified AFS
(weeded circle: 21.79%; harvest path: 18.92%; leaf
pile: 12.54%; diversified strip: 46.75%), similar to
the procedure adopted in other studies with oil palm
(Rahman et al. 2018; Ramos et al. 2018; Gomes et al.
2021). We multiplied each chemical attribute by the
area occupied (%) by each zone in a plot, added these
results, and divided the final result by 100 to deter-
mine the average value at the plot level.
871
We used one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA)
to evaluate the effects of oil palm cropping systems
­(AFShigh and ­AFSlow) and FOR (reference forest) on
the chemical attributes in the arable layer (0–20 cm)
and in the layers along the soil profile (0–5, 5–10,
10–20, and 20–30 cm). We evaluated residual nor-
mality using the Shapiro–Wilk test and homoscedas-
ticity using the Bartlett test. When the assumptions
of parametric analysis were not met, we transformed
the data. We applied Tukey’s test at 5% probability to
compare the means. We performed all statistical anal-
yses using R software v.4.0.5 (R Core Team 2021), by
executing the dic function of the ExpDes.pt package.
Results
Soil chemical attributes in the arable layer
In the arable layer (0–20 cm), the attributes of soil
acidity (pH, Al, H + Al) and aluminum saturation
(AS) were lower in the soils of the agroforestry sys-
tems (AFSs) than in the forest (FOR) soil (Fig. 2a–d,
Table 4). The Ca, Mg, K, and P contents (Fig. 2e–h)
and base saturation (BS) (Fig. 2l) varied as follows:
more diversified AFS ­ (AFShigh) = less diversified
AFS ­(AFSlow) > FOR. The potential CEC of ­AFShigh
was equal to that of A ­ FSlow and greater than that of
FOR, but A ­ FSlow did not differ from FOR (Fig. 2i)
­(AFShigh ≥ ­AFSlow ≥ FOR). Effective CEC was higher
in the AFS than in FOR (Fig. 2j). The soil OM con-
tent did not differ between the studied systems
(Fig. 2k).
The soil pH value was around 20% higher in the
agroforestry systems than in FOR. The exchangeable
aluminum (Al) content and AS were approximately
90% lower in the agroforestry areas compared with
FOR, and H + Al was 54 and 32% lower in ­AFSlow
and ­AFShigh, respectively, than in FOR (Fig. 3a).
The soil Ca, Mg, and K contents in the agrofor-
estry systems were approximately 290, 280, and 80%
higher, respectively, than in FOR. The P content was
630 and 830% higher in the ­ AFSlow and A ­ FShigh,
respectively, than in FOR (Fig. 3b).
Potential CEC was 8 and 28% higher in ­AFSlow
and ­AFShigh, respectively, than in FOR (Fig. 3a).
Effective CEC was approximately 150% higher in the
agroforestry systems relative to FOR (Fig. 3b). Base
saturation was approximately 230 and 180% higher
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◂Fig. 2  Mean a Soil pH, b Exchangeable aluminum (Al), c
Potential acidity (H + Al), d Al saturation (AS), e Calcium
(Ca), f Magnesium (Mg), g Potassium, h Phosphorus (P), i
Potential cation-exchange capacity (CEC), j Effective cation-
exchange capacity (ECEC), k organic matter (OM), and l base
saturation (BS) in the 0–20 cm layer of soil under agroforestry
systems with oil palm: less diversified AFS ­(AFSlow), more
diversified AFS ­(AFShigh), and forest (FOR), in Tomé-Açu,
Eastern Amazon, Brazil. Bars correspond to the mean ± stand-
ard deviation (n = 4). Lowercase letters indicate significant dif-
ferences between systems (Tukey, p < 0.05). Dashed lines rep-
resent the range of classification of active soil acidity and soil
nutrient availability according to the guide for interpreting soil
analysis results
in ­AFSlow and ­AFShigh, respectively, compared with
FOR in the 0–20 cm layer (Fig. 3b).
Vertical variation of soil chemical attributes
The pattern of variation of soil acidity attribute was:
­AFSlow = ­AFShigh > FOR (Fig. 4a, Table 4) and Al and
AS: ­AFSlow = ­AFShigh < FOR (Fig. 4b, d). Overall, the
H + Al variation pattern was FOR > ­AFShigh > ­AFSlow
(Fig. 4c).
Ca, Mg, and K contents varied as follows:
­AFSlow = ­AFShigh > FOR, except for the K content
in the 5–10 cm layer ­ (AFShigh > ­AFSlow > FOR)
(Fig. 4e–h). The P content did not show a
defined variation pattern between the systems:
­AFShigh > ­AFSlow > FOR in the 0–5 cm layer,
­AFSlow = ­AFShigh > FOR in the 5–10 cm layer,
­AFSlow > ­AFShigh = FOR in the 10–20 cm layer,
and ­AFSlow = ­AFShigh = FOR in the 20–30 cm layer
(Fig. 4h).
Potential CEC did not follow a pattern of vari-
ation between the layers: A ­ FSlow = ­AFShigh > FOR
in the 0–5 cm layer; A ­ FShigh ≥ ­AFSlow = FOR in
the 5–10 cm layer; A ­ FShigh = ­AFSlow = FOR in the
10–20 cm layer; and A ­ FShigh ≥ FOR = ­AFSlow in the
20–30 cm layer (Fig. 4i). Effective CEC followed the
pattern of ­AFSlow = ­AFShigh > FOR in the layers of
0–5, 5–10, and 10–20 cm, whereas in the 20–30 cm
layer there was no significant difference between
the systems (Fig. 4j). Base saturation was signifi-
cantly affected in all soil layers (Fig. 4l) and followed
the same pattern found for pH, Ca, Mg, and K, i.e.
­AFSlow = ­AFShigh > FOR. The OM content did not dif-
fer between the studied systems in any of the layers
(Fig. 4k).
873
Discussion
The lower soil acidity and aluminum saturation (AS)
values found in the oil palm agroforestry systems
(AFSs), as observed in other studies in the Amazon
(Chaves et al. 2020; Suárez et al. 2021), are consistent
with the recognized effect of liming on soil chemistry
(Quaggio 2000; Raij 2011). Liming is of paramount
importance for correcting the acidity of Amazonian
soils, which are characterized by high levels of ­Al+3
and ­H+, high AS, and low base saturation (BS) result-
ing from soil weathering and base cation (Ca, K e
Mg) leaching (Fageria and Baligar 2008; Moreira and
Fageria 2009; Quesada et al. 2011).
Liming decreases the concentration of protons
through displacement of ­H+ and ­Al+3 from the ion
exchange sites of the soil colloidal fraction, which
causes neutralization of ­H+ and precipitation of ­Al+3
(Filipek 2011). Although oil palm is cultivated in nat-
urally acidic soils, liming has advantages for the crop.
Liming increases the availability of nutrients in the
soil, which may favor the performance of oil palm,
as it is a highly nutrient-demanding crop (Cristan-
cho et al. 2011; Corley and Tinker 2016; Brasil et al.
2020b). In addition, liming is a source of Ca, which is
the third most extracted element in oil palm harvest-
ing (Matos et al. 2016).
In addition to liming, organic fertilization and the
deposition of residues from the pruning of oil palm,
cocoa, and other species may have contributed to
the reduction of Al and H + Al contents. During the
decomposition of organic matter (OM), ­H+ binds to
organic compounds and forms Al hydroxides, induc-
ing the release of hydroxyl and, consequently, the
elevation of soil pH (Mokolobate and Haynes 2002;
Pavinato and Rosolem 2008; Butterly et al. 2013).
Therefore, we can infer that the continuous deposition
of OM on the soil in the studied AFSs may also have
contributed to balancing the soil pH.
In our study, the pH values in the oil palm AFSs
were within the medium acidity range (5.1–6.0)
(Ribeiro et al. 1999), and thus within the appropri-
ate range (5.0–6.0) for this crop (Corley and Tinker
2016). The soil pH in the forest (FOR), however,
was within the high acidity range (4.5–5.0) (Ribeiro
et al. 1999), which is consistent with this soil type
(Raij 2011). Additionally, we believe that higher acid-
ity of the forest soil may be related to (1) effect of
root acid exudates on pH reduction (Weston 2003),
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 874
Fig. 3  Percentage variation
of chemical attributes of
agroforestry systems with
oil palm relative to the for-
est. The red line represents
the value found in the forest
soil and corresponds to
100%
(2) base cation leaching caused by rainfall, and (3)
root nutrient absorption (Fageria and Nascente 2014;
Ramos et al. 2022); such causes of higher acidity are
not mitigated as in the agroforestry areas because the
forest area is not managed for nutrient replacement.
Soil pH is an important parameter to be evaluated
before the implementation and fertilization of an oil
palm crop. Failure to correct soil acidity can reduce
the efficiency of fertilizers; in order for the nutri-
ents to occupy the negative soil charges, the ­H+ in
the soil solution must be neutralized and the H ­ + and
+3
­Al displaced from soil colloids. Therefore, with-
out soil acidity correction, the supplied nutrients can
be leached and consequently not used by the plants,
which can result in reduced fruit production (Nelson
et al. 2011). Accordingly, the management carried out
in the AFSs promoted a favorable soil acidity status
for oil palm.
The Al content was classified as low in the oil
palm AFSs and medium in FOR (Brasil et al. 2020b),
whereas AS was classified as very low in the oil palm
AFSs and medium in FOR (Ribeiro et al. 1999).
Although the studied AFSs and FOR were established
in the same soil type, which has a predominance of
1:1 minerals (Fe and Al oxides), because of the par-
ent material and high weathering of the Amazon
region (Moreira and Fageria 2009; Souza et al. 2018),
management practices (e.g. liming) carried out may
have contributed to the low Al and AS contents in the
AFSs.
The higher levels of exchangeable bases (Ca, Mg,
and K) and P in the oil palm AFSs can be attributed
to fertilization, both inorganic and organic, in addi-
tion to the liming performed in the AFS areas. For Ca
and Mg, we believe that the increase in their levels
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Agroforest Syst (2023) 97:865–881
was due to three factors: (1) inorganic fertilization
with Arad natural phosphate (Ca: 37%) and potas-
sium chloride (Ca: 12% and Mg: 3.5%); (2) fertiliza-
tion with palm kernel cake (Ca: 4% and Mg: 0.01%);
and (3) the complementary beneficial effect of liming
of adding Ca and Mg. Increases in Ca and Mg con-
tents have been reported for agroforestry systems with
T. cacao treated with liming associated with organic
fertilization in the Colombian Amazon (Suárez et al.
2021). For the higher levels of K and P in the soils of
the AFSs, we suggest the effect of two sources: (1)
inorganic fertilization with potassium chloride (14%
­K2O), potassium sulfate (50% of K ­ 2O), and Arad nat-
ural phosphate (10% of P ­ 2O5); and (2) organic ferti-
lization with palm kernel cake (P: 0.56%; K: 0.61%).
The stacking of pruned oil palm leaves can be an extra
source of nutrients, as the leaves release significant
amounts of K (12.71 g ­kg−1) and Ca (5.11 g ­kg−1)
through decomposition (Moradi et al. 2014). Thus,
in addition to liming and fertilization, the pruning
of the oil palm leaves may also have contributed to
the increase in soil nutrient levels through the miner-
alization process (Kee and Chew 1997; Fairhurst and
Hardter 2003; Furlan Junior 2006) in both AFSs.
Like the pruned and stacked oil palm leaves, we
kept litterfall and pruned material from the other spe-
cies on the soil in the diversified strip; so it is possible
that these organic sources contributed to the cycling
and supply of nutrients to the soil. In the more diver-
sified agroforestry system ­(AFShigh), the litter of T.
cacao, Tachigali myrmecophila Ducke, Handroan-
thus albus, Carapa guianensis Aubl, and Spondias
mombin were those which provided the highest input
of nutrients (Ca, Mg, K, and P) per year among the
species in the system (Table 2). In the less diversified
Agroforest Syst (2023) 97:865–881
agroforestry system ­(AFSlow), the species that most
contributed to nutrient input were G. sepium and I.
edulis.
According to the classes of soil Mg and K avail-
ability described in the liming and fertilization guide
for the state of Pará, the contents of these nutrients are
classified as medium (Mg) and high (K) in the AFSs
and low in the FOR soil (Brasil et al. 2020b). The Ca
content was classified as good in the AFSs and low
in FOR (Ribeiro et al. 1999). Therefore, based on the
soil characteristics of the study area, we suggest that
the management of AFSs leads to favorable levels of
cations in the soil for the cultivation of planted crops,
particularly those whose purpose is fruit production,
e.g. E. guineensis, E. oleracea, T. cacao, and T. gran-
diflorum, since K is a macronutrient of great impor-
tance in fruit formation (Shen et al. 2017).
On the other hand, the average soil P content was
below the availability range expected for soils in the
state of Pará, according to the soil texture of our
experimental areas (Brasil et al. 2020b). This sug-
gests that phosphate fertilization can be improved to
achieve at least medium soil P levels (9–15 mg ­dm−3)
in the AFSs, as recommended by Brasil et al. (2020b)
. Problems related to P availability are frequent in
tropical soils, which have high P fixation due to the
presence of high levels of Al and iron (Fe) oxides,
reducing P availability to plants (Gama-Rodrigues
et al. 2014; Viana et al. 2018). The difference in
P content in the first soil layer between A ­ FSlow and
­AFShigh is possibly due to the greater amount of
phosphate fertilizer applied in A ­ FShigh, since, in this
system, T. cacao and E. oleracea were fertilized
with Arad natural phosphate. Additionally, P mobil-
ity between soil layers is greatly limited because of
the strong interaction between phosphate ions and Fe
oxides (Fageria and Baligar 2008). Phosphate ferti-
lization associated with maintenance of superficial
organic matter cover increases de P availability over
longer periods because of reduction of adsorption
rates and partial blockage of adsorption sites (Guedes
et al. 2016).
The soil nutrient contents in FOR are in agreement
with those reported for forest soils in the Amazon
(Chaves et al. 2020), which are characterized by low
natural fertility (Souza et al. 2018). On the other hand,
deposition of litterfall, pruned plant parts and crop
residues (mainly of cocoa and palm oil) is a source of
nutrient input in our agroforestry areas (Carron et al.
875
2015; Lehmann and Kleber 2015; Corley and Tinker
2016; Paes et al. 2020; Manorama et al. 2021). In an
oil palm and cocoa intercrop in India, fertilization
with oil palm residues (pruned leaves, male inflores-
cences, and unproductive fruit bunches) increased the
soil OM content and improved its fertility, so it was
indicated as an alternative for the cultivation palm oil
(Manorama et al. 2021). Therefore, we suggest that
the soil fertility levels of our AFS sites are strongly
related to the management carried out in these areas.
The soil OM content in the AFSs was the same as
that found in FOR, thus agreeing with results found
by Menezes et al. (2008) in different soils in agro-
forestry systems in the Brazilian Amazon. In our
study, the use of conservation management prac-
tices such as lack of soil tillage (Paes et al. 2020),
fire-free soil preparation (Iwata et al. 2012), organic
fertilization (Boafo et al. 2020), as well as the con-
stant deposition of plant residues on the soil (Bai
et al. 2018; Rahman et al. 2021) very likely contrib-
uted to the maintenance of OM (Paes et al. 2020).
The continuous deposition of litter and pruned
leaves of T. cacao in ­AFShigh and of G. sepium in
­AFSlow may have contributed to the maintenance of
OM in the soil, which is a primordial condition to
prevent a decrease in fertility in the agroecosystems
(Zhang et al. 2020). In our study, the T. cacao leaf
litterfall (2 Mg ­ha−1 ­yr−1) accounted for 34% of the
fine litterfall in A
­ FShigh, whereas the G. sepium leaf
litterfall (1.80 Mg ­ha−1 ­yr−1) contributed 54% of
the fine litterfall in ­AFSlow (Saldanha 2018). There-
fore, our results suggest that the management we
applied in the oil palm agroforestry areas resulted
in soil OM levels similar to those found in the FOR
site, which is expected to show high soil OM lev-
els because of less human intereference and, conse-
quently, less oxidation and loss of OM (Kotowska
et al. 2015).
Soil CEC is a good proxy of soil nutrient retention
and buffering capacity and influences soil fertility and
plant productivity (Moral and Rebollo 2017). Poten-
tial CEC expresses the total amount of exchangeable
cations at pH 7.0 and effective CEC indicates the
soil’s ability to retain cations close to its natural pH
value. All evaluated systems showed potential CEC
values (4.31–8.6 ­cmolc ­dm−3) classified as medium
(Ribeiro et al. 1999). Effective CEC was classified as
medium in the AFSs (2.3–4.60 ­cmolc ­dm−3) and low
in FOR (0.81–2.30 c­ molc ­dm−3) (Ribeiro et al. 1999).
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 Agroforest Syst (2023) 97:865–881
◂Fig. 4  Mean a Soil pH, b Exchangeable aluminum (Al), c
Potential acidity (H + Al), d Al saturation (AS), e Calcium
(Ca), f Magnesium (Mg), g Potassium, h Phosphorus (P), i
Potential cation-exchange capacity (CEC), j Effective cation
exchange capacity (ECEC), k Organic matter (OM), and l base
saturation (BS) in different soil layers under agroforestry sys-
tems with oil palm: less diversified AFS ­(AFSlow), more diver-
sified AFS (­AFShigh), and forest (FOR) in Tomé-Açu, Eastern
Amazon, Brazil. Symbols correspond to the mean ± standard
deviation (n = 4). Lowercase letters indicate significant differ-
ences between systems (Tukey, p < 0.05)
Both effective CEC and potencial CEC may be
influenced by liming and soil organic matter. In our
study, the soil of A ­ FShigh showed higher potential
CEC than the FOR soil. We believe that the soil in
­AFShigh has a higher potential CEC due to the OM
input from the periodic pruning of the species and
litterfall, which may have increased soil organic mat-
ter. Although we did not quantify significant differ-
ences in soil OM content between AFS and FOR, the
increased amount of negative charges in the carbox-
ylic and phenolic functional groups resulting from the
plant material decomposition process may have con-
tributed to the higher potential CEC of the agrofor-
estry soils (García-Gómez et al. 2005; Xu et al. 2012;
Carmo et al. 2016). In tropical soils, OM plays a key
role in increasing potential CEC by creating negative
charges in the soil (Ronquim 2010).
Application of dolomitic liming and potassium fer-
tilizer probably led to highest effective CEC values in
the agroforestry areas compared to the lowest values
in the secondary forest that did not receive such agri-
cultural inputs. In general, we may infer that liming
and organic matter application positively infuenced
soil exchange capacity of the agroforestry areas.
Increased effective and potencial CEC in response to
liming may be attributed to pH increase and depro-
tonation of O ­ H- at the exchange sites (negatively
charged clay particles and organic matter), which
facilitates cation exchange (Buni 2014; Fageria and
Nascente 2014).
Base saturation (BS) is an important soil chemi-
cal property that indicates the percentage of the soil
exchange complex occupied by exchangeable base
cations and is used as criteria for liming recom-
mendation (Fageria and Baligar 2008). If most of
the CEC is occupied by base cations such as C ­ a2+,
2+ +
­Mg , and K ­ , such soil can sustain adequate plant
nutrition. On the other hand, if a large part of the
877
CEC is occupied by potentially toxic cations such
as ­H+ and A ­ l3+, this will be a low fertility soil
(Makolobate and Haynes 2002). In general, the
soil BS values of the studied AFSs were within the
recommended range (50–60%) for the main crops
planted in these systems (E. guineensis, E. olera-
cea Mart., T. cacao Linn) (Brasil et al. 2020b). The
soils in the AFSs showed higher BS than the FOR
soil as possibly influenced by the results of pH, Al,
and base cations caused by the action of liming and
fertilization (organic and inorganic) in the cultiva-
tion areas. Our results are consistent with a study
that reported an increase in BS in response to lim-
ing and fertilization management in an AFS in the
Eastern Amazon (Chaves et al. 2020). Thus, we can
infer that the fertility management carried out in the
soils of the AFSs is efficient in increasing BS.
Oil palm is considered a highly nutrient demand-
ing crop (Behera et al. 2018; Corley and Tinker
2016), especially of K, an essential element for the
production of fresh fruit bunches of oil palm (Vié-
gas et al. 2022). In the AFSs, the yield of oil palm
fresh fruit bunches was similar to that of monocul-
tures in the region (~ 15 Mg ­ha−1), whereas the yield
of cocoa bean (400 kg ­ha−1) exceeded the average
yield of the local cocoa monocultures (unpublished
data). These results suggest that the diversification
of oil palm into agroecological and organic man-
agement systems has great potential to maintain
adequate soil fertility levels and, therefore, to meet
RSPO certification criteria.
Conclusions
The lower soil acidity and higher nutrient levels found
in the oil palm agroforestry systems suggest that the
management practices adopted contributed to increas-
ing the fertility of these soils relative to the forest,
whose soils are naturally acidic and poor in nutrients,
as typically found in the Amazon region. The soils of
the agroforestry systems retained adequate levels of
nutrients for the cultivation of oil palm in this region,
except P. Overall, our results suggest that when asso-
ciated with the adoption of conservation practices, oil
palm growing in agroforestry systems can contrib-
ute to the maintenance of soil fertility in the eastern
Amazon.
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Funding Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico
e Tecnológico, 311398/2018-9, Steel Silva Vasconcelos.
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