Environmental services of three silvopastoral systems introduced in the province of Cotopaxi, Ecuador

Abstract

The introduction of silvopastoral systems, due to the environmental services they provide, constitute a viable and adaptable alternative in countries of tropical and subtropical regions of Latin America. The main of the research was to evaluate the influence of silvopastoral systems in the generation of ecosystem and productive services in the experimental and production center of Salache, Latacunga Canton, Cotopaxi province. Three silvopastoral systems with tree and forage species were selected and introduced. The edaphic indicators related to soil fertility, the dry matter content of the grass within the inclusion and the generation of other environmental services of the trees were determined. Descriptive statistical analyzes were applied such as the comparison of silvopastoral systems through ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis. It was concluded that the introduction of the tree component in silvopastoral systems influences the content of calcium, organic matter and soluble phosphorus. The species that contributes the most to the increase in nutrients in the soil is the Inga edulis Mart. followed by Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn. Silvopastoral systems proved to be an effective agroecological practice for the accumulation of dry matter, at higher levels than herbaceous species, especially when the Silvopastoral systems was introduced with Acacia dealbata Link and Inga edulis Mart. These two tree species are the ones that contribute the most to biomass and carbon in the edaphoclimatic conditions of the study area.