This research was carried out in the Meta Department of eastern
Colombia. At roughly 200 m in elevation, the region experiences a
humid tropical climate, with an average annual temperature of
26 C, rainfall averaging 2500 mm year1, and a marked dry season
between December and March (Decaëns et al., 2001). Sampling
was conducted along a 200 km transect extending from Puerto
Lopez to Carimagua (to the Northeast) and bounded to the North
by the Meta River (Fig. 1). Soil-based ecosystem services and
biodiversity were assessed within
five representative production
systems in the region: 1) annual crops (rice, maize and soybeans),
2) rubber plantations, 3) oil palm, 4) improved pastures, and 5)
semi-natural savannas. Fifteen
fields for each production system
were distributed regularly along the transect, such that all systems
sampled were equally present in each of three municipalities
studied (Puerto Lopez, Puerto Gaitan and Carimagua), yielding a
total of 75 sampled
fields (Fig. 1).