Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) shows higher mycorrhizal colonization when planted in agroforestry than in monoculture

• Published in: Agroforestry systems Vol. 95; no. 4; pp. 731 - 740
• Main Authors: da Silva Maia, Rodrigo, Vasconcelos, Steel Silva, Viana-Junior, Arleu Barbosa, Castellani, Débora Cristina, Kato, Osvaldo Ryohei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.04.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agricultural production; Agriculture; Agroforestry; Arbuscular mycorrhizas; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Colonization; Cultivation; Elaeis guineensis; Forestry; Leaves; Life Sciences; Monoculture; Plant growth; Plant species; Soil management; Species; Species diversity; Vegetable oils; Root colonization; Soil nutrients; Amazon; Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi; Agroecology; Oil palm diversification
• ISSN: 0167-4366; 1572-9680
• DOI: 10.1007/s10457-021-00627-5

The root system of oil palm ( Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) has characteristics unfavorable for nutrient absorption, which may cause it to be dependent on arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization. In agricultural production systems with a greater diversity of species, the arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization of mycorrhizal-dependent species can increase. Therefore, to determine whether oil palm mycorrhizal colonization varies according to the diversity of species in the system in which it is planted, we evaluated the arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization of oil palm planted in biodiverse agroforestry systems and monocultures in the Amazon. We determined the mycorrhizal colonization of fine roots (diameter ≤ 2 mm) in two management zones (“weeded circle” and “leaf pile”) of oil palm cultivated in six agroforestry systems with different compositions of plant species and in two monocultures. In general, mycorrhizal colonization was 3 times higher in oil palm cultivated in agroforestry systems than in monoculture. Mycorrhizal colonization was higher in the leaf pile zone than in the weeded circle zone, but the effect size was low and varied inversely with the P content of the soil in these management zones. The adoption of oil palm cultivation in agroforestry systems has the potential to increase mycorrhizal colonization of this species in the Amazon.