Irene Montes Londono

Interest in silvopastoral systems is growing across tropical America as extensive cattle production continues to expand and intensification technologies are expected to promote and enable forms of production that are both economically and environmentally viable. Silvopastoral systems that incorporate native trees are instrumental for the productive rehabilitation of cattle production, for climate change mitigation and adaptation, and for biodiversity conservation in agricultural landscapes. However, a lack of information regarding Neotropical tree species performance in silvopastoral systems (SPS) impedes their widespread adoption. Farmers from the Andean foothills of Colombia have been planting the Neotropical tree species Maclura tinctoria in their pasture lands for its valuable wood and its potential to enhance ecosystem services in SPS, but currently, there is insufficient data on this species’ specific growth patterns. I collected data on diameter at breast height (DBH), diameter at the base, height, and crown size of 367 trees of this species in fifteen silvopastoral farms with planted M. tinctoria trees ranging in age from one to thirty years across the middle basin of the Cauca river watershed. I also collected data on bulk density, organic matter, N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Al, pH ant texture of the soil under the crown of M. tinctoria trees. Through regression analysis and ANOVA methods I will examine relationships between tree size and soil fertility variables. Using these relationships, I will then develop spacing guidelines for silvopastoral systems and estimates of total and merchantable bole volume.