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• Hernández, C
• Netuzhilin, I
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• Hernández, C
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Sustainability 2009, 1(2), 215-233; doi:10.3390/su1020215

Article

Agricultural Systems Located in the Forest-Savanna Ecotone of the Venezuelan Amazonian. Are Organic Agroforestry Farms Sustainable?

Danilo López-Hernández ^1,* , Carmen Leonor Hernández ¹ , Igor Netuzhilin ²  and Ana Yamila López-Contreras ¹

¹ Universidad Central de Venezuela. Instituto de Zoología Tropical. Laboratorio de Estudios Ambientales, Apdo 47058, Caracas 1041A, Venezuela ² Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Science, Moscow, Russia

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received: 9 February 2009 / Accepted: 8 April 2009 / Published: 22 May 2009

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Renewable Agriculture)

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Abstract: The savannas located in the forest-savanna ecotone in the Venezuelan Amazon have unfertile sandy ultisols and entisols which show a very low crop production unless they are supplemented with large amounts of fertiliser. In spite of this restriction, local farmers have established long-term production systems by using low input doses of organic manure. The use of organic waste in unfertile ultisols and entisols typical of savannas have resulted in increases in organic matter content and biological activities in soils with respect to inorganic fertilised or non-fertilised natural savanna, which, in turn, may be related to increases in crop productivity. These results could be a successful and reliable soil management technique for rehabilitation of the South American savannas.

Keywords: organic farms; soil quality; microbial biomass; enzymatic activities; Amazonia

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