This study is a comparison of the litterfall, litter decomposition and soil microfungi species diversity in cocoa and mixed food crop agroforest farmlands. The study was carried out in the Atewa and Fanteakwa districts of the Eastern region of Ghana. A total of thirty six sampled plots size of five 25 m x 25 m were randomly demarcated in cocoa agroforest, mixed food crop agrorest and the natural forest reserve. Data collected on litterfall mass and leaf litter decomposition at monthly intervals for a period five months. Soil microfungi species diversity was analyzed from soil samples collected at two depths 0-5cm and 0-10 cm respectively using pour plate method. The reduction in mass of cocoa leaf litter was significantly negatively correlated with the number of days of decomposition. The rate of release of NPK was positively correlated with litter mass. Litter mass production significantly declined in the cocoa agroforest and mixed food crop agroforest farmlands. Initial rate of litter decomposition was generally slow in the cocoa and mixed food crop farmlands than in the natural forest. Soil microfungi species diversity was high in natural forest and low in the cocoa and mixed food crop agroforest farmlands.
| Published in | Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (Volume 6, Issue 3) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.eeb.20210603.14 |
| Page(s) | 92-98 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
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Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Litter Fall, Leaf Litter Decomposition, Microfungi, Cocoa Agroecosystems, Tropics
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APA Style
Daniel Ako Tetteh. (2021). Litter Fall, Leaf Litter Decomposition, Soil Microfungi and Nutrient Content in Cocoa and Food Crop Agroforest Farmlands in Southeastern Ghana. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 6(3), 92-98. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.eeb.20210603.14
ACS Style
Daniel Ako Tetteh. Litter Fall, Leaf Litter Decomposition, Soil Microfungi and Nutrient Content in Cocoa and Food Crop Agroforest Farmlands in Southeastern Ghana. Ecol. Evol. Biol. 2021, 6(3), 92-98. doi: 10.11648/j.eeb.20210603.14
AMA Style
Daniel Ako Tetteh. Litter Fall, Leaf Litter Decomposition, Soil Microfungi and Nutrient Content in Cocoa and Food Crop Agroforest Farmlands in Southeastern Ghana. Ecol Evol Biol. 2021;6(3):92-98. doi: 10.11648/j.eeb.20210603.14
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Download@article{10.11648/j.eeb.20210603.14,
author = {Daniel Ako Tetteh},
title = {Litter Fall, Leaf Litter Decomposition, Soil Microfungi and Nutrient Content in Cocoa and Food Crop Agroforest Farmlands in Southeastern Ghana},
journal = {Ecology and Evolutionary Biology},
volume = {6},
number = {3},
pages = {92-98},
doi = {10.11648/j.eeb.20210603.14},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.eeb.20210603.14},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.eeb.20210603.14},
abstract = {This study is a comparison of the litterfall, litter decomposition and soil microfungi species diversity in cocoa and mixed food crop agroforest farmlands. The study was carried out in the Atewa and Fanteakwa districts of the Eastern region of Ghana. A total of thirty six sampled plots size of five 25 m x 25 m were randomly demarcated in cocoa agroforest, mixed food crop agrorest and the natural forest reserve. Data collected on litterfall mass and leaf litter decomposition at monthly intervals for a period five months. Soil microfungi species diversity was analyzed from soil samples collected at two depths 0-5cm and 0-10 cm respectively using pour plate method. The reduction in mass of cocoa leaf litter was significantly negatively correlated with the number of days of decomposition. The rate of release of NPK was positively correlated with litter mass. Litter mass production significantly declined in the cocoa agroforest and mixed food crop agroforest farmlands. Initial rate of litter decomposition was generally slow in the cocoa and mixed food crop farmlands than in the natural forest. Soil microfungi species diversity was high in natural forest and low in the cocoa and mixed food crop agroforest farmlands.},
year = {2021}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Litter Fall, Leaf Litter Decomposition, Soil Microfungi and Nutrient Content in Cocoa and Food Crop Agroforest Farmlands in Southeastern Ghana AU - Daniel Ako Tetteh Y1 - 2021/08/02 PY - 2021 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.eeb.20210603.14 DO - 10.11648/j.eeb.20210603.14 T2 - Ecology and Evolutionary Biology JF - Ecology and Evolutionary Biology JO - Ecology and Evolutionary Biology SP - 92 EP - 98 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2575-3762 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.eeb.20210603.14 AB - This study is a comparison of the litterfall, litter decomposition and soil microfungi species diversity in cocoa and mixed food crop agroforest farmlands. The study was carried out in the Atewa and Fanteakwa districts of the Eastern region of Ghana. A total of thirty six sampled plots size of five 25 m x 25 m were randomly demarcated in cocoa agroforest, mixed food crop agrorest and the natural forest reserve. Data collected on litterfall mass and leaf litter decomposition at monthly intervals for a period five months. Soil microfungi species diversity was analyzed from soil samples collected at two depths 0-5cm and 0-10 cm respectively using pour plate method. The reduction in mass of cocoa leaf litter was significantly negatively correlated with the number of days of decomposition. The rate of release of NPK was positively correlated with litter mass. Litter mass production significantly declined in the cocoa agroforest and mixed food crop agroforest farmlands. Initial rate of litter decomposition was generally slow in the cocoa and mixed food crop farmlands than in the natural forest. Soil microfungi species diversity was high in natural forest and low in the cocoa and mixed food crop agroforest farmlands. VL - 6 IS - 3 ER -
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