This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the cultivation of acrocomia palm (Acrocomia aculeata) intercropped or not with pasture on the chemical quality and carbon pools of an Oxisol of the Savanna of Maranhão state. Four land use systems were studied: acrocomia, pasture, acrocomia intercropped with pasture and savanna native vegetation. Soil samples were collected up to 60 cm depth for determination of chemical attributes and soil organic carbon contents and stocks. The highest values of P, K, Ca and Mg were observed in the soil under pasture. Total organic carbon stocks and labile carbon content were higher under native vegetation up to 60 cm followed by acrocomia intercropped with pasture system. Higher values of microbial biomass carbon and microbial quotient were verified in the soil under pasture in all depths. Pasture is important to be intercropped with acrocomia since it increases the soil fertility levels and soil carbon stocks favoring the improvement of the soil quality in the Savanna of Maranhão state.
cerrado; oilseed crop; agroforestry; soil fertility; soil organic matter
