Soil recovery of alluvial gold mine spoils in the Peruvian Amazon using Stylosanthes guianensis, a promising cover crop

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dc.creatorVelásquez Ramírez, Manuel Gabriel
dc.creatorCastillo Torres, Dennis del
dc.creatorGuerrero Barrantes, Juan Antonio
dc.creatorVásquez Bardales, Joel
dc.creatorThomas, Evert
dc.creatorCusi Auca, Edgar
dc.creatorChinen Gushiken, Midori
dc.creatorMuñoz Diaz, Betzy
dc.creatorRusso, Ricardo
dc.creatorCorvera Gomringer, Ronald
dc.date2021-12
dc.date2021-10-21T09:25:15Z
dc.date2021-10-21T09:25:15Z
dc.date.accessioned2026-06-27T13:24:11Z
dc.descriptionThe Amazon is an important reservoir of biodiversity and carbon but it is under pressure by multiple threats such as artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM). In Peru ASGM has degraded 90,000 ha of old growth forest since the eighties, leaving vast areas as wastelands. As most ASGM in the region is illegal, efforts to recover degraded areas have been scant. Here we assessed the potential of Stylosanthes guianensis to recover soil health as a first step in the restoration of gold mine spoils in a Native community and a mining concession in Madre de Dios, Peru. We evaluated plant growth and analyzed changes in physical, chemical and biological soil parameters. After 470 days after sowing, average plant height was 46.7 cm with a survival rate > 50% and yields of 23.9 t ha−1 and 450 kg ha−1 of dry biomass and nitrogen, respectively. Multiple soil parameters increased significantly, including cationic exchange capacity (3.3 to 4.0 cmol [+] kg−1), soil organic matter (0.03 to 0.39%), soil respiration (0.02 to 0.06 mg CO2 g−1 d−1) and biomass (0.03 to 0.15 mg C g−1). Soil macrofauna increased from 2 to 11 taxonomic groups, including ants, considered as soil engineers. Furthermore, S. guianensis increased soil carbon sequestration of impacted areas from 0.004 t C ha−1 by more than 1650%, up to 0.07 t C ha−1. These promising findings clearly illustrate S. guianensis potential to kick-start natural succession of Amazonian forests after degradation by ASGM and hence help achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
dc.identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/115589
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/123456789/58289
dc.languageen
dc.publisherWiley
dc.rightsLimited Access
dc.sourceVelásquez Ramírez, M.G.; del Castillo Torres, D.; Guerrero Barrantes, J.A.; Vásquez Bardales, J.; Thomas, E.; Cusi Auca, E.; Chinen Gushiken, M.; Muñoz Diaz, B.; Russo, R.; Corvera Gomringer, R. (2021) Soil recovery of alluvial gold mine spoils in the Peruvian Amazon using Stylosanthes guianensis, a promising cover crop. Land Degradation & Development, Online first paper (03 October 2021). ISSN: 1085-3278
dc.subjectplant growth
dc.subjectsoil analysis
dc.subjectalluvial soils
dc.subjectcover plants
dc.subjectcrecimiento de planta
dc.subjectanálisis del suelo
dc.subjectsuelo aluvial
dc.subjectdevelopment
dc.titleSoil recovery of alluvial gold mine spoils in the Peruvian Amazon using Stylosanthes guianensis, a promising cover crop
dc.typeJournal Article

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