Integrating forest-pasture: Spatial analysis and delineation of zones of litter production and nutrient return

Abstract

This study aimed to quantify, describe, and identify plant litter production and nutrient accumulation zones in different forest-pasture integration (FPI) systems and forest strata of the Cerrado-Amazon transition on typical orthic Quartzarenic Neosol using spatial analysis, principal component analysis, and non-hierarchical fuzzy k-mean clustering logic techniques. The evaluations were performed at two FPI systems comprising a combination of Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu and thinned native vegetation with 50 and 75% (FPI-I and FPI-II, respectively) shade in an original thinned forest (NFI) and in an original intact forest (NF-II) with 80 and 95% shade, respectively. An area of 4,000 m² (40 x 100 m) that contained 32 sampling points arranged in a 4 x 25 m grid was demarcated for each treatment. Plant litter was collected using 32 collectors installed at equidistant points. Twelve nylon bags were placed on the soil surface at each point to evaluate the plant litter decomposition, totaling 384 bags per treatment. It was possible to quantify, describe, and define plant litter production and nutrient accumulation zones in different FPI systems and forest strata of the Cerrado-Amazon transition on orthic Quartzarenic Neosol using geostatistical analysis, principal components, and non-hierarchical fuzzy k-mean clustering logic procedures.