Soil Nutrients and Carbon Stock in Plantation of Different Age and Species along Canal Command Area in Indian Desert
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36808/if/2017/v143i7/119017Keywords:
Arid Zone, Plantation, Soil Nutrients, Carbon Stock, Litter Removal.Abstract
A two-year study on plantations of six species with different stand age along the Indira Gandhi Nahar Pariyojna (IGNP) to quantify the soil nutritional changes brought about by these plantations. There was an increase in soil organic carbon (SOC), NH4 -N, NO3 -N and PO4 -P in the plantation area with increase in age. Species wise high concentration of nutrients was observed in P. cineraria and A. tortilis plantations and low in T. undulata and E. camaldulensis plantations. Carbon stock in top 25 cmsoil layerwas high in P. cineraria and A. nilotica (7.87Mg ha-1), followed by A. tortilis (7.75Mg ha-1),E. camaldulensis (6.75 Mg ha-1), D. sissoo (6.37 Mg ha-1) and T. undulata (5.25 Mg ha-1). The study also signifies importance of forest floor litter mass in maintaining fertility status of the soils in a plantation. In absence of litter cover on forest floor, rapid decrease in organic carbon, NH4 -N, NO3 -N and PO4 -P was observed. All these parameters were found to be high in the top soil layers except NO3-N which was high in the sub-surface soil layer (25-50 cm). The study reveals that the plantations of different species and stand age have modified the nutrient compositions in varied degree, being high in old stands.References
Albrektson A. (1988). Needle litterfall in stands of Pinus sylvestris L. in Sweden, in relation to site quality, stand age and latitude. Scand. J. For. Res., 3: 333-342.
Allison M. and Ausden M. (2006). Effects of removing the litter and humic layers on heathland establishment following plantation removal. Biological Conservation, 127:177-182.
Andrade J., Abreu F. and Madeira M. (2010). Influence of litter layer removal on the soil thermal regime of a pine forest in a mediterranean climate, Revista Brasileria de Ciencia do solo, 34(5): 1481-1490.
Balak Ram and Chauhan J.S. (2009). Assessment of land use changes using remote sensing and GIS in Jaisalmer district of Arid Rajasthan. Geography in Action. 10th ESRI India User Conference. Noida (NCR Delhi), India.
Baruah T.C. and Barthkumar H.P. (1999). A textbook of soil analysis. Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi, 154pp.
Bhat D.M. (1990). Litter production and seasonality in tropical moist forest ecosystems of Uttar Kannada District, Karnataka. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. (Plant Sci.), 100: 139-152.
Bray J.R. and Gorham E. (1964). Litter production in forests of the world. Adv. Ecol. Res., 2: 101-157.
Dzwonko Z. and Gawronski S. (2002). Effect of litter removal on species richness and acidification of a mixed oak-pine woodland. Biological conservation, 106(3): 389-398.
GoI (1991). District census handbook, Jaisalmer, Census of India, Series 21.
Gupta S.R. and Raut S.K. (1992). Litter dynamics and turnover in a mixed deciduous forest. In: Tropical Ecosystems: Ecology and Management (K. P. Singh and J. S. Singh Eds.), Wiley Eastern, New Delhi, pp. 443-459.
Jackson M.L. (1973). Soil Chemical analysis. Prntice Hall of India private Ltd., New Delhi.
Jana C.K. (1998). Litter dynamics in a tropical dry deciduous forest ecosystem, Ph. D. thesis, Bhavnagar University, Gujarat: 298 pp.
Kaur B. (1998). Organic matter dynamics and nitrogen mineralization in agroforestry systems(Doctoral dissertation, Ph. D. Thesis, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra).
Khietam R.S. and Ramakrishnan P.S. (1993). Litter and fine root dynamics of a relic sacred grove forest at Charrapunji in north-eastern India. Forest Ecology and Management, 60: 327-344.
Lie G., Xue Li and Zeng S. (2016). Impact of litter removal on soil characteristics under a Pinus caribaea stand, Toxicological & Environmental Chemistry, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02772248.2015.1133381.
Lu Yao-Dong, Xue Li, Cao He, Xie Teng-Fang and Wang Xiang-E. (2008). Impact of litter removal on soil characteristics under a Pinus caribaea stand. Acta Ecologica Sinica, 28(7):3205-3211.
Nagy L.A. and Macauley B.J. (1982). Eucalyptus leaf-litter decomposition: effects of relative humidity and substrate moisture content. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 14: 233-236.
Olson J.S. (1963). Energy storage and the balance of producers and decomposers in ecological systems. Ecology, 44: 322-331.
Pande P.K. (1986). Litter production and decomposition, mineral release and biochemical diversity of four forest stands (Shorea robusta, Tectona grandis, Eucalyptus spp. and Pinus roxburghii) at FRI Demonstration Area, Ph. D. thesis, Garwal University, Srinagar, Garwal.
Pandit B.R. and Jana C.K. (2000). Litter production and its nutrient concentration in a tropical forest ecosystem of Gujarat. J. Tropical Forestry, 16: 55-61.
Peng S.L. Ren H., Wu J.G. and Lu H.F. (2003). Effects of litter removal on plant species diversity: a case study in tropical Eucalyptus forest ecosystems in South China. J. Environ Sci (China), 15(3): 367-371.
Proctor J., Anderson J.M., Fogden S.C.L. and Vallack H.W. (1983). Ecological studies of four contrasting low land rain forests in Gunung Muju National Park, Sarawak. J. Ecology, 71: 261-283.
Sargent C. (1998). Natural forest or plantation? In: Plantation Politics (Eds. C. Sargent and S. Bass). Earthscan, London, pp. 16-40.
Singh G., Singh B., Kuppusamy V. and Bala N. (2002). Variation in foliage and soil nutrient composition in Acacia tortilis plantation of different ages in north-western Rajasthan. Indian Forester, 128(5): 524-522.
Singh O., Sharma D.C. and Rawat J.K. (1993). Production and decomposition of leaf litter in Sal, Teak, Eucalyptus and Poplar forests in Uttar Pradesh. Indian Forester, 119(2): 112-121.
Swift M.J., Heal O.W. and Anderson J.M. (1979). Decomposition in Terrestrial Ecosystems. Blackwell Scientific Publications, London.
Tóth J.A., Nagy P.T., Krakomperger Zs., Veres Zs., Kotroczó Zs., Kincses S., Fekete I., Papp M. and Lajtha K. (2011). Effect of litter fall on soil nutrient content and pH, and its consequences in view of climate change (SÃkfõkút DIRT Project), Acta Silv. Lign. Hung., 7: 75–86.
Van Cleave K. and Viereck L.A. (1981). Forest succession in relation to nutrient cycling in the boreal forest of Alaska. In: Succession; Concept and application (D. B. Botkin Ed.), Springer, New York, pp. 184-211.
Van Der Drift J. (1963). The disappearance of litter in mull and mor in connection with weather conditions and the activity of the macrofauna. In: Soil organisms (J. Doeksen and C. J. Vander Der Drift Eds.), North- Holland Pobl. Co., Anstredam, pp. 125-133.
Vitousek P. M. and Sanford Jr. R. L. (1986). Nutrient cycling in most tropical forest. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Sys., 17:137-167.
Walkley A. and Black I. (1934). An examination of Degtjareff method for determining soil organic matter, and a proposed modification of the chromic acid titration method. Soil Sci., 37:29-38.
Waring R.H. and Schlesinger W.H. (1985). Forest Ecosystems-Concepts and Management, Academic Press, Inc., Orlando, FL. 338 pp.
Yadav R.S., Yadav B.L., and Chhipa B.R. (2008). Litter dynamics and soil properties under different tree species in a semi-arid region of Rajasthan, India. Agroforestry systems, 73(1): 1-12.
Downloads
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Unless otherwise stated, copyright or similar rights in all materials presented on the site, including graphical images, are owned by Indian Forester.
