article · Soil Advances
Cocoa-based agroforestry systems sustain critical ecological relationships between plant life and soil organisms. Research in the littoral region of Cameroon examined these interactions across 50 farms using standardised quadrat sampling. The assessment recorded 33 tree species alongside 13 functional groups of soil macrofauna. Common plants included cocoa, kola nut, avocado, plantain, and African pear, yielding a high tree diversity index. The soil macrofauna featured ecologically valuable decomposers and functional organisms such as earthworms, termites, ants, millipedes, and spiders. Functional groups, including nitrogen-fixing Albizia trees and earthworms like Lumbricus terrestris, support key ecosystem services such as nutrient cycling and pest regulation. The findings show that maintaining diverse tree species within cocoa agroecosystems supports healthy soil fauna communities, providing a foundation for sustainable farm management and long-term crop resilience.
Cocoa farming often risks biodiversity loss if managed as intensive monoculture. Demonstrating that mixed cocoa agroforests shelter diverse trees and essential soil organisms shows how agriculture can preserve ecosystems. Healthy soil fauna drive soil fertility and pest regulation, which are necessary for keeping farms productive, resilient, and environmentally sustainable over the long term.
This early-stage ecological research provides baseline evidence that agricultural extension programmes, farmer cooperatives, and agroforestry developers can use to refine cocoa farm design. Integrating specific beneficial trees like Albizia species could lower dependence on synthetic inputs by enhancing natural nutrient cycling. However, the abstract outlines no specific commercial product, tool, or market deployment pathway.
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Cocoa-based agroforests are vital for biodiversity conservation, supporting diverse tree species and soil macrofauna, which play key roles in ecosystem functioning and productivity. Limited understanding of how tree species diversity influences soil macrofauna hampers the optimization of agroforestry practices for sustainable cocoa production and biodiversity preservation. This study investigates the nexus between tree species diversity and soil macro-fauna in cocoa-based agroforests in the littoral region of Cameroon. The methodology used included standardized quadrat sampling (40 × 40 m²) across 50 farms for tree species and 100 quadrats (20 × 20 m²) for soil macro-fauna. Diversity indices and relative abundance metrics quantified species richness and ecological importance. Findings reveal that cocoa-based agroforests harbor significant tree and macro-faunal diversity, contributing to ecosystem services such as nutrient cycling and pest regulation. The dominance of functional species, like nitrogen-fixing Albizia spp. and decomposer earthworms, underscores their ecological value. Tree inventories conducted on cocoa farms identified 33 tree species, with Theobroma cacao , Cola acuminata , Persea americana , Musa spp. , and Dacryodes edulis exhibiting the highest frequencies and densities. The Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index for tree species was 2.321, highlighting substantial diversity. Soil macro-fauna surveys revealed 13 functional groups, including termites, ants, earthworms, millipedes, and spiders. Notable species, such as Lumbricus terrestris (earthworm) and Coptotermes formosanus (termite), displayed high frequency and density. In conclusion, cocoa agroforests in Cameroon represent biodiversity hotspots essential for sustainable agroecosystem management. Enhancing tree and soil fauna diversity through farmer education and agroforestry practices is recommended to ensure long-term productivity and resilience.
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DOI: 10.1016/j.soilad.2025.100042
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