Descomposición de hojarasca y raíces en un sistema de descanso largo (Altiplano de Bolivia)

Abstract

The fallow agriculture system is based on the fact that after depletion of soil organic matter due to cultivation, the soil can recover its initial level of fertility by leaving the fields for a long fallow period. During this period, the soil organic matter stock will be reconstituted by the inputs of the residues of the natural vegetation succession. The decomposition of 12 kinds of plant material (different organs and species) from a young three-years old and an old eight-years old fallow was studied in the semiarid Bolivian puna (Patacamaya, South of La Paz, 3,800 m asl.) by incubating litterbags over one or two years in field conditions. A PCA ordinated the initial litter quality in three groups: (i) the grass shoots, (ii) the leaves and stems of non-grass plants, and (iii) the roots.