Abstract

SANCHEZ CARDENAS, Saray; CRESPO LOPEZ, Gustavo; HERNANDEZ CHAVEZ, Marta  and  GARCIA ORTEGA, Yoansy. Accumulation and decomposition of litter in a pasture of Panicum maximum and in a silvopastoral system associated with Leucaena leucocephala. Zootecnia Trop. [online]. 2008, vol.26, n.3, pp.269-273. ISSN 0798-7269.

With the objective of determining the accumulation and decomposition of litter and the relationship of these processes with some biotic and abiotic factors present in a pasure of guinea grass, Panicum maximum cv. Likoni, and in a silvopastoral system of Panicum maximum and leucaena, Leucaena leucocephala cv. Cunningham, were carried out at the Experimental Station "Indio Hatuey", Matanzas, Cuba. The results showed that the pasture of P. maximum accumulated 2.66 t DM/ha/yr, while the silvopastoral system produced 12.49 t DM/ha/yr, where L. leucocephala contributed with 75.6% of the total litter. Each pasture showed a different decomposition pattern of the litter. Among the species present, the rate varied in the following order: leucaena higher than guinea grass in the silvopastoral system, and the later higher than pasture of guinea grass. The highest values of density and biomass of individuals, the predominance of oligochaeta, as well as the best indexes of diversity, richness, and uniformity in the silvopastoral system indicated that the presence of leucaena in the grassland allowed enhancing the biological activity of the soil and guaranteeing the stability of the system.

Keywords : Panicum maximun; Leucaena leucocephala; silvopastoral system; litter accumulation and decomposition.

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