Soil aggregate stability influenced by different integrated livestock-forest systems, pastures, and tillage in the Brazilian semi-arid areas

doi:10.1016/j.jaridl.2026.03.007

Journal of Arid Land

2026, Vol. 18

Issue (3): 477-500 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaridl.2026.03.007 CSTR: 32276.14.JAL.20250319

Research article

Soil aggregate stability influenced by different integrated livestock-forest systems, pastures, and tillage in the Brazilian semi-arid areas

Handerson Brandão Melo de LIMA¹^,^*(

), Marcelo CAVALCANTE², Rafael Dantas dos SANTOS³, Maurício Roberto CHERUBIN⁴, Carlos Eduardo Pellegrino CERRI⁴, Stoécio Malta Ferreira MAIA⁵

¹Campus of Engineering and Agrarian Sciences, Federal University of Alagoas, Rio Largo 57100000, Brazil
²Federal Institute of Education, Science, and Technology of Alagoas, Maragogi 57955000, Brazil
³Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA), Aracaju 49025040, Brazil
⁴Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba 13418900, Brazil
⁵Federal Institute of Education, Science, and Technology of Alagoas, Marechal Deodoro 57160000, Brazil

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Abstract

Soil aggregation is a fundamental process that influences various soil properties, including structure, porosity, water infiltration, and resistance to erosion. In the Caatinga biome, preserving the soil's physical quality is crucial to the development of sustainable agriculture. In this biome, soil aggregation is critical due to the susceptibility of the semi-arid area to erosion and degradation. This study aims to evaluate the impact of converting native vegetation (NV; dense Caatinga) into two grasslands and two integrated livestock-forestry (ILF) systems on soil organic carbon (SOC) content and soil physical quality through water-stable aggregate (WSA) classes (macroaggregates, mesoaggregates, and microaggregates) and aggregation indices (mean weight diameter (MWD), geometric mean diameter (GMD), and aggregate stability index (ASI)). Soil samples were collected at 0-10, 10-20, 20-30, 30-50, 50-70, and 70-100 cm layers in Nossa Senhora da Glória Municipality, Sergipe State, Brazil. The land use systems analyzed in this study included NV, an ILF system with Gliricidia (Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.) Kunth ex Walp.)+Urochloa (Urochloa decumbens (Stapf) R.D. Webster) under no-tillage (ILFug), another ILF system with Gliricidia+forage cactus (Opuntia cochenillifera (Linnaeus) Miller) under convention tillage (ILFcg), improved pasture (ImpP), and degraded pasture (DegP). Almost all parameters studied were significantly correlated with SOC content, demonstrating that soil organic matter (SOM) is a primary agent in binding soil particles together, influencing the variation in WSA and aggregation indices. The ImpP and DegP exhibited similar SOC content; however, the ImpP showed a higher ASI and increased amount of macroaggregates (particle diameter>2.000 mm). The highest SOC content was found in the ILFug system across the soil profile. There was a predominance of macroaggregates in topsoil (0-10 cm layer) regardless of land use, with the highest proportion found in NV (78.7%); while the lowest was observed in the ILFcg system (59.0%). The ILFug system also showed the greatest ASI at almost all soil layers; the exception was the 0-10 and 50-70 cm layers, where the NV had the highest values of 89.1% and 90.5%, respectively. This study demonstrates that implementing integrated systems under no-tillage as a nature-based solution can enhance SOC content and stability of soil aggregates in semi-arid environments.

Key words： no-tillage water-stable aggregate (WSA) Nature-based Solutions (NbS) agroforestry Caatinga soil organic carbon (SOC) degradation pasture

Received: 15 July 2025 Published: 31 March 2026

Corresponding Authors: *Handerson Brandão Melo de LIMA (E-mail: handerson.lima@ceca.ufal.br)

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	Handerson Brandão Melo de LIMA
	Marcelo CAVALCANTE
	Rafael Dantas dos SANTOS
	Maurício Roberto CHERUBIN
	Carlos Eduardo Pellegrino CERRI
	Stoécio Malta Ferreira MAIA

Cite this article:

Handerson Brandão Melo de LIMA, Marcelo CAVALCANTE, Rafael Dantas dos SANTOS, Maurício Roberto CHERUBIN, Carlos Eduardo Pellegrino CERRI, Stoécio Malta Ferreira MAIA. Soil aggregate stability influenced by different integrated livestock-forest systems, pastures, and tillage in the Brazilian semi-arid areas. Journal of Arid Land, 2026, 18(3): 477-500.

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http://jal.xjegi.com/10.1016/j.jaridl.2026.03.007 OR http://jal.xjegi.com/Y2026/V18/I3/477

Fig. 1 Location (a) and landscape (b) of the study area and timeline (b) for five land use systems. NV, native vegetation; ILFug, integrated livestock-forestry (ILF) with Gliricidia (Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.) Kunth ex Walp.)+Urochloa (Urochloa decumbens (Stapf) R.D. Webster) under no-tillage; ILFcg, ILF with Gliricidia (G. sepium)+forage cactus (Opuntia cochenillifera (Linnaeus) Miller; phase 1) or with Gliricidia (G. sepium)+forage cactus+sorghum (phase 2) under convention tillage; ImpP, improved pasture; DegP, degraded pasture.

Table 1 Soil physical and chemical characterization of five land use systems

Fig. 2 Soil organic carbon (SOC) content (a) and bulk density (BD; b) at the 0-10, 10-20, 20-30, 30-50, 50-70 and 70-100 cm soil layers in different land use systems. ^* Indicates significant difference at P<0.050 level compared with NV in the same soil layer by Friedman's non-parametric test for SOC and by Tukey's test for BD.

Fig. 3 Soil degree of compactness (SDC) at the 0-10, 10-20, 20-30, 30-50, 50-70, and 70-100 cm soil layers in different land use systems in the Brazilian semi-arid areas. Error bars show the standard deviation (SD; n=5). Means followed by the same letter between land use systems for the same soil layer do not differ by Tukey's test (P>0.050).

Fig. 4 Soil structural stability index (SSI) at the 0-10, 10-20, 20-30, 30-50, 50-70, and 70-100 cm soil layers in different land use systems in the Brazilian semi-arid areas. Error bars show the SD (n=5). Different lowercase letters represent significant difference at P<0.050 level between different land use systems at the same soil layer by Tukey's test.

Fig. 5 Distribution of water-stable aggregate (WSA) classes in different land use systems in the Brazilian semi-arid areas. (a), NV; (b), ILFug; (c), ILFcg; (d), ImpP; (e), DegP. Error bars represent the SD (n=5).

Fig. 6 Mean values of the mean weight diameter (MWD; a), geometric mean diameter (GMD; b), and aggregate stability index (ASI; c) in different land use systems in the Brazilian semi-arid areas. Error bars represent the SD (n=5). Different uppercase letters for land use systems and lowercase letters for soil layers signify significant difference at P<0.050 level by Tukey's test.

Fig. 7 Sensitivity index (SI) of different land use systems in the Brazilian semi-arid areas compared with NV

Fig. 8 Pearson's correlation coefficient matrix of the soil parameters for the combined land use systems. ^*, ^**, and ^*** indicate significant correlations at P<0.050, P<0.010, and P<0.001 levels, respectively. Macro, macroaggregate; meso, mesoaggregate; micro, microaggregate.

Table S1 Distribution of water-stable aggregate (WSA) classes in different land use systems in the Brazilian semi-arid areas


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