Mudanças impulsionadas pela idade na composição funcional, junto à diversidade funcional, moldam a prestação de serviços ecossistêmicos em sistemas agroflorestais.

Abstract

Land-use intensification has simplified functional biodiversity in tropical ecosystems, undermining the provision of ecosystem services. Although agroforestry systems (AFS) have been widely promoted as sustainable alternatives to deforestation, it remains unclear how systems’ age influence plant ecological strategies and functional diversity, and how these functional patterns affect the provision of ecosystem services. We evaluated the functional traits and diversity of tree species across eight AFSs in western Amazonia, differing in age. We measured above- and below-ground traits linked to plant ecological strategies, and ecosystem service proxies. We assessed how system age affects functional identity, trait complementarity, and multifunctionality, and how these functional patterns influence the provision of ecosystem services. Our findings reveal that the human-driven functional composition of tree communities shifts systematically with AFS age, promoting soil fertility and protection, and aboveground biomass storage, which may reduce external inputs and enhance climate resilience. Also, in long-term AFSs, functional traits converged toward conservative strategies, which support ecosystem multifunctionality and may enhance stability while reducing management costs. Functional identity, specifically to leaf dry matter content, was also associated with more protected soils in long-term AFSs. This reinforces the need to consider functional traits in agroforestry planning and policy, which can improve resilience and long-term ecosystem service provision, particularly in degraded tropical areas, strengthening the role of agroforestry in sustainable agriculture.