CARBON CAPTURE AND EMISSION IN SOILS OF COFFE PLANTATION UNDER DIFFERENT TYPES OF SHADE IN VENEZUELA

Abstract

The present study aimed to estimate the capture and emission of carbon in the soil of coffee plantations under different types of shade that are being implemented in the state of Falcón, Venezuela. The following were evaluated: a) a coffee plantation under the shade of legumes; b) coffee under the shade of musaceae; c) coffee alternated with citrus as shade, and d) natural wooded vegetation. At each site, a 2,500 m2 plot was delimited, and within each of these, 6 soil samples were taken at two depths, 0-15 and 15-30 cm. The following analyzes were carried out: organic carbon, pH, and changeable acidity, basal respiration, carbon of the microbial biomass and apparent density of the soil. The results found showed that the coffee plantation soils under the shade of legumes are carbon sinks, storing 83 t ha-1 of C at 30 cm depth, thus having an efficiency of 100% with respect to the forest soils used as a reference. The change in the use of traditional shade, from legumes to musaceae and citrus, produced a decrease in the efficiency of carbon sequestration in the soil, of 60% and 48%, respectively. The coffee-citrus soils had the highest CO2 emission with values of 82.4 mg C-CO2 kg-1.day-1, followed by coffee-musaceae with 63.7 mg C-CO2 kg-1 day-1, and coffee-legumes with 50.8 mg C-CO2 kg-1 day-1, the coffee-citrus system being classified as the least efficient in terms of carbon capture.