Function
Nitrogen fixer — species for syntropic systems
Nitrogen fixers partner with bacteria that pull N from the air into the system — fertilizer you plant. They belong in every phase of the guild and yield the most when pruned often, releasing the stored nitrogen to their neighbors.
36 species in the catalog · Refine this list in the catalog
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mangium
Acacia mangium
Secondary I Emergent Fertilizer & mulch 🌱 Nitrogen fixerExtremely fast-growing nitrogen-fixing legume, central in syntropic systems as a producer of both cover and fertilizer biomass. Pasini classifies i...
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monjoleiro
Acacia polyphylla
Secondary I High Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixerPioneer legume native to the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado. Medium-to-tall tree (10–20 m), fine compound leaves. Very rapid growth — structural speci...
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siris tree
Albizia lebbeck
Secondary II High Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixerA fast-growing, drought-tolerant leguminous tree of 18-30 m, native to tropical Asia and now pantropical. It fixes nitrogen readily and coppices ex...
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cebil
Anadenanthera colubrina
Secondary I High Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixerFast-growing pioneer legume, nitrogen fixer. Adapted to poor and degraded soils; widely used in restoration of degraded areas across Caatinga, Cerr...
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peanut
Arachis hypogaea
Placenta I Ground cover Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixerAnnual nitrogen-fixing legume that produces its pod underground (geocarpic). Pasini lists it in the low stratum of Tabela 3. Excellent ground cover...
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pinto peanut
Arachis pintoi
Placenta I Ground cover Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixerPerennial creeping legume with stolons, 20–40 cm tall. Permanent living mulch, persists under 70% shade. Fixes nitrogen, produces 5–13 t/ha/year of...
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pigeon pea
Cajanus cajan
Placenta I Low Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixerShort-cycle shrubby legume that fixes nitrogen, widely used in Brazilian agroforestry as green manure, early shade and food. Vigorous on poor soils.
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calliandra
Calliandra calothyrsus
Placenta II Medium Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixerA very fast-growing leguminous shrub or small tree, usually 4-6 m tall, native to Central America. A nitrogen fixer that coppices vigorously after ...
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Brazilian jack bean
Canavalia brasiliensis
Placenta I Low Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixerAnnual nitrogen-fixing legume native to Brazil, cousin of feijão-de-porco. Listed in Embrapa CT-16 Tabela 1 as a cover crop alongside crotalarias a...
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jack bean
Canavalia ensiformis
Placenta I Low Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixerAnnual nitrogen-fixing legume with strong soil-decompacting and weed-suppressing ability. Explicitly cited by Pasini among Accumulation-system spec...
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fairchild's clitoria
Clitoria fairchildiana
Secondary I High Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixerA leguminous tree native to Brazil (Amazonian domain), 6-12 m tall, with a broad crown and violet flowers in pendulous inflorescences. It nodulates...
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butterfly pea
Clitoria ternatea
Placenta I Ground cover Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixerA perennial herbaceous climbing legume able to fix up to 100 kg N per hectare per year in symbiosis with Rhizobium. Used as a high-value forage (pr...
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camaratuba
Cratylia mollis
Placenta II Low Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixerNative shrubby legume of the Caatinga; one of the most important fodder species of the northeastern semiarid, with strong drought resistance and hi...
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sunn hemp
Crotalaria juncea
Placenta I High Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixerAnnual green-manure legume, fixes up to ~450 kg N/ha, ideal for the Placenta I phase. Breaks nematode cycles and contributes large amounts of ferti...
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creeping beggarweed
Desmodium incanum
Placenta I Ground cover Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixerA perennial creeping herbaceous legume native to tropical and subtropical America (including the grasslands of southern Brazil), with an aggressive...
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earpod tree
Enterolobium contortisiliquum
Climax Emergent Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixerLarge nitrogen-fixing leguminous tree native to the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado. EcoAgri lists it in the emergent stratum of the '> 50 years' bin. ...
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cockspur coral tree
Erythrina crista-galli
Secondary I Medium Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixerA deciduous, sun-loving leguminous small tree or tree up to 10-15 m, native to southern Brazil and the rest of southern South America. It inhabits ...
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mulungu
Erythrina velutina
Secondary I High Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixerBrazilian-native nitrogen-fixing tree legume; propagates easily by cuttings and produces abundant fertilizer biomass. Cited by Pasini among tree-fo...
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flemingia
Flemingia macrophylla
Placenta II Low Mulch biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixerA perennial, woody, deep-rooted leguminous shrub up to 2.5 m tall, native to the humid tropics of Asia. It fixes nitrogen and is widely used in con...
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gliricidia
Gliricidia sepium
Secondary I Medium Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixerNitrogen-fixing legume that tolerates drastic pruning and produces fast-decomposing fertilizer biomass. Commonly used as shade for coffee and cocoa...
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soybean
Glycine max
Placenta I Low Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixerAnnual nitrogen-fixing legume (associates with Bradyrhizobium japonicum) — tall varieties Sambaíba and Tracajá were tested by Rebello & Sakamoto (2...
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ice cream bean
Inga edulis
Secondary I High Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixerEssential nitrogen fixer in syntropic systems. Coppices readily after drastic pruning and produces large volumes of fertilizer biomass.
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river inga
Inga vera
Secondary I Medium Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixerA pioneer leguminous tree native to the Neotropics, 5-10 m tall, with a broad low crown, frequent in secondary formations of humid or swampy soil, ...
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leucaena
Leucaena leucocephala
Secondary I High Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixerFast-growing nitrogen-fixing tree legume with strong coppicing ability. Cited by Pasini as a tree-form fertilizer biomass species — sources fertili...
❓ Frequently asked questions
What does "Nitrogen fixer" mean in syntropic agriculture?
Species — usually legumes (Fabaceae) — that live in symbiosis with Rhizobium bacteria in their roots. The bacteria convert atmospheric nitrogen (N₂) into bioavailable forms, fertilising the system with no external inputs. In syntropic management they are planted densely in early phases to accelerate succession.
Which catalog species are tagged Nitrogen fixer?
The catalog holds 36 species, among them mangium, monjoleiro, siris tree. Each profile shows stratum, succession stage, and the management data, with sources cited.