Agroforestry systems have been promoted as a solution to address trade-offs between environmental conservation efforts and the need for increased agricultural productivity on smallholder farms in Brazil. However, the impact of land use change from degraded pasture to agroforestry on soil properties remains unclear. The objectives of this research were to: (1) assess soil chemical, physical and biological properties across distinct land uses (degraded pasture, agroforestry and secondary forest); and (2) understand relationships between litter quality, soil organic matter (SOM) and key soil quality parameters in the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest. Soils, macroinvertebrates and litter were collected in April and September of 2018 under five land uses, including: three types of agroforestry systems, a degraded pasture and a secondary forest in Sapucaia, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Our results showed that soil properties clearly separated the three agroforestry systems plots (AS1, AS2, AS3) from the forest and pasture plots. Moreover, litter quality and SOM likely influence multiple biological and physiochemical soil properties under agroforestry systems and secondary forest. Our findings suggest that agroforestry systems can help support soil biological, chemical and physical properties and that the litter quality may be an important driver of their effects and potential contributions to soil restoration in the region.

Phosphorus (P) is an essential macronutrient for plant growth, and its availability is often influenced by management systems adopted over time. Adopting management systems, such as no-tillage, combined with cover crops, can influence soil P availability through factors including soil organic matter accumulation. This study aimed to evaluate how management systems and cover crops influence different P fractions and organic matter. Furthermore, the effect of the time since the implementation of management systems on phosphorus (P) availability and soil organic matter accumulation was assessed. The study was conducted at an organic farm in Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The soil was classified as Argissolo Amarelo with a sandy texture in the surface layer, corresponding to Ultisols. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with three replications in a 2 × 6 factorial scheme, with two main plots representing the management systems (no-tillage and conventional tillage) and six subplots within each main plot: monocultures of pearl millet Pennisetum glaucum, sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea), and jack bean (Canavalia ensiformis), two cover crop mixtures (100 and 50 % seed ratios of the aforementioned species), and a control subplot with spontaneous vegetation. Soil organic matter (SOM) particle size fractionation and P fractionation were analyzed at two-time points: the beginning of the experiment, in 2019, and four years later, in 2023. Four years later, the management systems increased the soluble phosphorus fraction (114-161 % across the evaluated layers) and decreased the occluded fraction (-23 to -43 %). However, within the management systems, higher values were observed for the occluded fraction and organic phosphorus, which may be correlated with the increase in soil organic matter fractions over time. Cover crops did not affect SOM accumulation and P availability. Soil management systems and time since adoption influenced phosphorus availability and soil organic matter accumulation. However, the timeframe was too short to observe the effects of cover crops.

Forest management can lead to numerous changes of different magnitudes in the composition and diversity of soil organisms, according to the level of interference with the habitat. Within this context, this study aimed to test the influence of different types of forest management on the edaphic macrofauna community in a region of arboreal Caatinga. The study was carried out in Contendas do Sincorá National Forest, Contendas do Sincorá - Bahia. The experimental area consisted of three types of management (clear cutting, selective cutting by diameter at breast height and selective cutting by species), and a condition of unmanaged Caatinga, which was used as control. The macrofauna was sampled twice a year (March and November) using the soil monolith method. Densities, total number of individuals, total richness, average richness, and Shannon and Pielou rates were estimated. The soil macrofauna was shown to be sensitive to different forest management practices, which indicates that selective cutting is a more conservative system to manage the Caatinga. Among these, selective cutting by species proved to be less impacting on the soil macrofauna, providing more expressive diversity and abundance indexes, and the occurrence of more demanding organisms in microclimate conditions, characteristic of preserved areas. The predominant groups of edaphic fauna, both in the unmanaged as in managed Caatinga, were Isoptera, Formicidae, Chilopoda, and Coleoptera Larvae.