Total carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus stocks in agroecosystems of the Chiloé island,

Chile

Silvia Cano1; Mauricio Galleguillos2; Bruce Osborne3; Jorge F. Perez-Quezada2

Programa de Magíster en Manejo de Suelos y Aguas, Universidad de Chile, Casilla 1004, Santiago,
Chile1; Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales y Recursos Naturales, Facultad de Ciencias
Agronómicas, Universidad de Chile, Casilla 1004, Santiago, Chile2; School of Biology and
Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Irlanda3

In recent years the island of Chiloé, located in southern Chile, has undergone several processes of
transformation in the use of soil, moving from native forests to peatlands and other anthropogenic
uses. Therefore, soils with natural vegetation have been transformed into intervened and modified
soils, in which agricultural practices have been intensified in order to increase the yields of species
of agricultural interest. It is presumed that these changes alter the carbon (C) stocks and the
balance of greenhouse gases, so it is necessary to quantify this change, since the soil is the
component of the biosphere that that stores more C. The main objective of the study was to
quantify the total stocks of C, nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in the agroecosystems of the island
of Chiloé, comparing the effect of different types of land use in agroecosystems. The
agroecosystems to study are grasslands, shrubalands invaded by espinillo (Ulex europaeus) and
retamo (Cytisus striatus), natural shrubland and potato croplands. The sampling will be carried out
in three plots, defined in each type of agroecosystem, with which a composite sample will be
formed. In each plot, soil samples will be collected in three depth intervals (0-10, 10-30, >30 cm);
In the same way in each plot the biomass will be harvested and the total C, N and P stocks will be
estimated, both for the aboveground and belowground components. The results obtained are
compared with previous studies conducted in the same area, where the total stock of C was
determined in a native forest and a peatland. Finally, the effect of land use change on the C, N and
P stocks in the soil is analyzed.

Keywords: Agricultural systems; Land use change; Nutrient pools.

Financial Support: Fondecyt Regular 2017, Project Number 1171239

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