TITLE:
Agroforestry for Improving Physico-Chemical and Biological Properties of Soil under Cocoa Trees in West-Central Côte d’Ivoire
AUTHORS:
Evelyne Gévère-Marise Assi, Acka Jacques Alain Kotaix, Kouakou Stanislas Koffi, Caudou Trébissou, Hervé Kouadio
KEYWORDS:
Agroforestry, Cocoa Tree, Density, Fertility, Lakota
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Agricultural Chemistry and Environment,
Vol.15 No.4,
November
10,
2026
ABSTRACT: Agroforestry is a very common practice in farmers’ cultivation methods. It involves growing trees alongside crops on the same plot of land. With the aim of determining the effects of agroforestry trees on cocoa trees, a study was carried out in traditional agroforestry systems in the department of Lakota. To this end, an assessment was carried out of the plant species and the physical, chemical and biological fertility of the soils in these systems. With regard to the physical and chemical indicators of soil fertility, the following analyses were carried out on the soil samples from the various treatments: bulk density, coarse particle content, available water content, and the determination of organic matter (OM), organic carbon (OC), nitrogen (N), the C/N ratio and soil pH. With regard to biological indicators, 12 monoliths were installed in the plots in order to identify the biological organisms in the soil, as well as their abundance and diversity. The results showed that, during the floristic survey, fruit-bearing species (62.49 per cent) were more prevalent than forest species (37.51 per cent). Furthermore, the bulk density and usable water reserve decrease as the density of trees associated with cocoa trees increases; consequently, coarse particles are more abundant in more sparsely spaced stands. As for the chemical indicators, organic matter content was higher in the soils of agroforestry systems (28.52 - 32.16 g·kg−1) than in the soils of full-sun plots (25.80 g·kg−1). With regard to biological indicators, high organism abundance was observed in treatments T2 (earthworms: 58, molluscs: 9.33, termites: 98.67) and T3 (earthworms: 61.67, molluscs: 8; termites: 43), whilst low values were observed under full sun (earthworms: 9, molluscs: 4.32; termites: 25.33). From our results, we can conclude that densities of between 25 and 50 trees per hectare could be beneficial for the sustainability of cocoa plantations, given that the physical, chemical and biological indicators of soil fertility showed optimal values.