Soil Quality Indexing Strategies for Evaluating Sugarcane Expansion in Brazil

Increasing demand for biofuel has intensified land-use change (LUC) for sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) expansion in Brazil. Assessments of soil quality (SQ) response to this LUC are essential for quantifying and monitoring sustainability of sugarcane production over time. Since there is not a uni...

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Veröffentlicht in:	PloS one Jg. 11; H. 3; S. e0150860
Hauptverfasser:	Cherubin, Maurício R., Karlen, Douglas L., Cerri, Carlos E. P., Franco, André L. C., Tormena, Cássio A., Davies, Christian A., Cerri, Carlos C.
Format:	Journal Article
Sprache:	Englisch
Veröffentlicht:	United States Public Library of Science 03.03.2016 Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Schlagworte:	Acidic soils Acidity Agricultural land Agricultural production Agriculture Agriculture - methods Algorithms Analysis Biofuels Biological activity Biological effects Biological indicators Biology and Life Sciences Biomass Biomass energy Brazil Climate change Conversion Cost-Benefit Analysis cropland data collection Datasets Earth Sciences Ecology and Environmental Sciences Ecosystem Ecosystems Environmental degradation Environmental Monitoring Ethanol expert opinion fauna Food processing industry Fuels Fuzzy sets Geography Hydrogen-Ion Concentration Indicators indigenous species Laboratories Land use land use change Macrofauna Microbial activity Microorganisms Models, Statistical Nonlinear Dynamics Organic carbon Organic soils Pasture pastures People and places pH effects Physical Sciences Principal Component Analysis Principal components analysis protocols Quality Quality assessment Research and Analysis Methods Saccharum - growth & development Saccharum officinarum Social Sciences Soil - chemistry Soil acidity Soil carbon Soil compaction Soil degradation soil organic carbon soil pH Soil properties Soil quality Soil sciences Soil structure Sugarcane Sustainability Vegetation Brazil
ISSN:	1932-6203, 1932-6203
Online-Zugang:	Volltext
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Zusammenfassung:	Increasing demand for biofuel has intensified land-use change (LUC) for sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) expansion in Brazil. Assessments of soil quality (SQ) response to this LUC are essential for quantifying and monitoring sustainability of sugarcane production over time. Since there is not a universal methodology for assessing SQ, we conducted a field-study at three sites within the largest sugarcane-producing region of Brazil to develop a SQ index (SQI). The most common LUC scenario (i.e., native vegetation to pasture to sugarcane) was evaluated using six SQI strategies with varying complexities. Thirty eight soil indicators were included in the total dataset. Two minimum datasets were selected: one using principal component analysis (7 indicators) and the other based on expert opinion (5 indicators). Non-linear scoring curves were used to interpret the indicator values. Weighted and non-weighted additive methods were used to combine individual indicator scores into an overall SQI. Long-term conversion from native vegetation to extensive pasture significantly decreased overall SQ. In contrast, conversion from pasture to sugarcane had no significant impact on overall SQ at the regional scale, but site-specific responses were found. In general, sugarcane production improved chemical attributes (i.e., higher macronutrient levels and lower soil acidity); however it has negative effects on physical and biological attributes (i.e., higher soil compaction and structural degradation as well as lower soil organic carbon (SOC), abundance and diversity of macrofauna and microbial activity). Overall, we found that simple, user-friendly strategies were as effective as more complex ones for identifying SQ changes. Therefore, as a protocol for SQ assessments in Brazilian sugarcane areas, we recommend using a small number of indicators (e.g., pH, P, K, Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure -VESS scores and SOC concentration) and proportional weighting to reflect chemical, physical and biological processes within the soil. Our SQ evaluations also suggest that current approaches for expanding Brazilian sugarcane production by converting degraded pasture land to cropland can be a sustainable strategy for meeting increasing biofuel demand. However, management practices that alleviate negative impacts on soil physical and biological indicators must be prioritized within sugarcane producing areas to prevent unintentional SQ degradation over time.
Bibliographie:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 14 content type line 23 Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. Although CAD is an employee of Shell Technology Center Houston, this does not alter the authors' adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials. Conceived and designed the experiments: MRC CEPC ALCF CCC. Performed the experiments: MRC ALCF. Analyzed the data: MRC. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: MRC CEPC CCC. Wrote the paper: MRC DLK CEPC ALCF CAT CAD CCC.
ISSN:	1932-6203 1932-6203
DOI:	10.1371/journal.pone.0150860