COPPER BALANCES IN COCOA AGRARIAN ECOSYSTEMS - EFFECTS OF DIFFERENTIAL USE OF CUPRIC FUNGICIDES

This paper presents a synthesis of an investigation on the fate of cop per following the use of cupric fungicides in cocoa ecosystems in Bahi a/Brazil. For the investigation three plantations were determined: Sit e A without fungicide applications, Site B under treatment for 5 years and Site C for 16 years. As input-output balances reveal the imbalanc e of processes and the existence (or non-existence) of a steady state of the ecosystem an attempt is made here to establish a balance of Cu cycling in the three cocoa plantations. The results so far obtained in dicate that an input-output balance can be an appropriate means to rev eal the accumulation of Cu within the ecosystem, as an anthropogenic a gent.