+Oil palm and Agroforestry Systems:

coupling yields with environmental

services, an experiment in the

Brazilian Amazon

Andrew MiccolisICRAF Brazil

Authors: Miccolis, A., Vasconcelos, S.,

Castellani, D., Carvalho, V.; Kato, O.;

Silva, A.Presented by: Jonathan Cornelius (ICRAF)

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+Conventional Monocrop vs. Diversified

Oil Palm + Agroforestry Systems?

Oil palm + agroforestry experiment, Year 5,

Tomé Açu, Pará, Brazil. Photo: Debora Castellani

Conventional oil palm

monocrop system

+Hypotheses

Oil palm planted with agroforestry systems

might provide significant increases in soil C

stock and nutrient cycling through

management practices, such as intensive

pruning and mulching, and thus contribute

to climate change mitigation

Diversified oil palm agroforestry systems

might provide a socially, economically and

environmentally feasible alternative to

monocrop systems in the context of

smallholders

+An experiment in Tomé-Açu, Pará State

+Dendê Project: Oil palm + AFS

Project Partners: NATURA (major Brazilian

cosmetics company, EMBRAPA (Nat’l ag. Research

agency, CAMTA (Tomé Açu Farmers’Cooperative),

FINEP

3 Demonstration plots (6 ha each) = total 18 ha

Oil palm + around 17 species in biodiverse

systems

+Oil Palm + AFS overall design:

3 x 6-hectare plots = total 18 ha

Double rows oil palm (9 x 7.5m)

+ cacao intercropped between OP

Rows of AFS (21, 18, 15 m),

depending on plot and treatment

4 main treatments per plot:

1) “biodiverse” - mechanized

preparation (TRITUCAP)

2) “biodiverse” - manual prep.

3) “fertilizing species” -

manual prep

4) fertilizing species -

mechanized preparation

Treatment definitions

Biodiverse = around 17

species/ha (+regrowth),

wider spacing for AF strips

(21 m)

Fertilizing species (6-7

species/ha), focus on

leguminous species, 15 m

AF strips

+Key species planted in AFS

açaí (Euterpe oleracea),

cacao (Theobroma cacao),

bacaba (Oenocarpus

bacaba),

ipê (Tabebuia spp.),

jatobá (Hymenaea courbaril)

and

ucúuba (Virola surinamentis),

pracaxi (Pentaclethra

macroloba)

gliricidia (Gliricidia sepium),

ingá (Inga edulis),

Bio-mass producing,

(“Fertilizing”) species

TREES

pig beans (Canavalia ensiformis),

pidgeon peas (Cajan cajanus),

mucuna (Mucuna cinereum),

mexican sunflower (Tithonia diversifolia),

puerária (Pueraria phaseoloides),

banana (Musa sp),

crotalaria (Crotalaria spectabilis),

cassava (Manihot esculenta)

Lianas

Black pepper (Piper nigrum)

Passionfruit (passiflora sp.)

+

High Biodiversity Oil

Palm AFS (T2)mecanical prep

High Biodiversity Oil

Palm AFS (T3)manual prep

Low Biodiversity Oil

Palm AFS (T1)

+

Source: Castellani (2011)

Layout of biodiverse AFS + OP

+Land use history on Demonstration

Plot: 10 yr old secondary growth used

previously through conventional slash and

burn for rice, cassava, maize, cowpeas

Above-ground biomass: 55.3 +/- 0.9 Mg

ha-1

Periodic fires

Nutrient-deficient soils

+Management techniques

Removing (weeding) vegetation from around oil palm (3-5

times/year)

Pruning/copacing of “fertilizing” species for mulching and

sunlight for secondary species: cacao, açai palm, bacaba

palm, black pepper

Cut and carrying mulch around oil palm trees and secondary

species (cocoa and others)

Organic fertilization in planting holes and compost from

CAMTA factory (mostly fruit residues) as mulch

+Study methods: soil C stocks

Calculated soil C stock in young (3-yr old)

oil palm + AFS on one 6-ha plot

Soil samples under: high biodiversity (T1 and T2)

low biodiversity (T3) and different land

preparation methods (mechanized vs. manual)

5 randomly selected plots (22.5 x 18m for AFS +

oil palm), covering 2 rows of OP and 1 row of AFS

+Study methods: soil C stocks

Soil samples taken August 2010 (yr 3):

0-5, 5-10, 10-20, 20-30, and 30-50 cm, using auger probes.

Samples from different positions in OP + AFS: (a) under oil palm canopy, (b) in-between oil palm trees, and (c) from AFS area.

Soil from Conventional AFS and Secondary Growth forest sampled without a defined spatial pattern.

Composite samples of three soil cores taken at random for each combination of treatment, sampling position, and depth.

All samples air-dried, ground, and passed through 2-mm sieve. About 120 g of each sieved sample was used for particle size and chemical analyses (Embrapa 1997).

+Reference areas compared

1) 10-15 yr old adjacent secondary growth

forest;

Average canopy height: 15m

Average density: 520 trees ha-1(>10cm

DAB)

2) 9 yr old “conventional” agroforestry

system (w/out oil palm)

Replaced black pepper monoculture

20x20m plots in these 2 reference areas

+Preliminary findings:

Soil carbon stocks

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

AF + OIL PALM

10-15 yr regrowth

conventional AFS

AF + OIL PALM 10-15 yr regrowth conventional AFS

Series 1 73.5 60 57

Soil Carbon Stocks in 3 systems

Obs: AF+ Oil Palm: 71-76 Mg C ha-1

Source: Carvalho et al 2014 (in print)

+Overview - other key findings

Oil palm yields (FFB) OP + AFS greater than monocrop OP at same age (4.5 yrs) under similar conditions

OBS: Data based on actual harvests in year 4.

Monocrop oil palm around 143 pl/ha. Avg. yields: 5 tons ha-1 yr-1 (yr 4)

Source: Castellani et al 2013

Biodiversity indicators

Greater plant species diversity in OP+AFS than in monocrop OP around same age (3yrs) (Kato et al 2011)

Greater bird species diversity and richness indices (Thom et al 2011) than in monocrop systems at same age (3yrs)

Plot 1 (81 pl/ha) Plot 2 (99 pl/ha) Plot 3 (99 pl/ha)

8 tons ha-1 yr-1 6.4 tons 8.7 tons

+Andrew Miccolis comments:

“Although we don’t have direct evidence yet, intensive slash and

mulch (coupled with organic fertilization techniques), leading to

improved soil properties and fertility is probably responsible for this

astonishingly higher productivity per plant at this age. OBS:

Monocrop oil palm around 143 pl/ha. Avg. yields: 5-6 tons ha-1 yr-1

(YR 4) according to literature from Brazil”

+ Conclusions (preliminary) Oil palm + Agroforestry systems outperformed adjacent

secondary growth and conventional agroforestry systems in

C stocks

Mexican sunflower (Tithonia) stood out among “fertilizing

species”, provided very high nutrient contents (dry mass)

under these conditions, met design criteria (pruning

frequency, biomass production)

Use of fertilizing species through pruning and mulching

reduced inputs and helped increase oil palm yields and c

stocks

Preliminary data (soil C, nutrient, yields) suggests oil

palm + AFS might be more sustainable alternative to

monocrop systems and play important role in climate

change mitigation, recovering degraded lands

Need for more research to draw direct linkages between

management practices and nutrient cycling, c stocks,

+Thank you!

Premissas na Análise Econômica

• A estimativa de produção é conservadora

• Os preços não são de produtos orgânicos

• Os produtos são aqueles comercializados pelo agricultor com a agroindústria

• Os preços refletem os resultado da pesquisa de mercado em 2012 (loca, regional e nacional)

• Os produtos florestais não madeireiros não foram contabilizados na receita

• Os custos de consideraram valor do aluguel (equipamentos e máquinas) e pagamento de mão

de obra do agricultor (diárias)

• A escala do experimento é significativa (18 ha)

• Há pagamento de serviços ambientais para o agricultor