Physico-chemical Study of Soils in some Bamboo Forests of Assam

Abstract

The results of a soil investigation conducted in some bamboo forests of Assam in December 1963 have been reported in this paper. The soils of the different bamboo species show wide variations in many physical and chemical characteristics and assume greater significance on account of the shallow root system of the species. The soils under Bambusa tulda and Dendrocalamus hamiltonii occurring in the semi-evergreen forests contain higher amounts of clay and silt than those under Melocanna bambusoides, Teinostachyum dullooa and Oxytenananthera nigrociliata occurring in the Cachar evergreen forests. The soil under B.tulda possesses the highest clay fraction, organic matter, nitrogen, calcium, potassium and phosphorus, whereas the soil under T.dullooa and O.nigrociliata exhibits the highest amount of sand and lowest reserve of magnesium, potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen. The data indicate that the latter species are capable of growing satisfactorily even on coarse-textured soils provided sufficient moisture is available. In view of immense potentiality for industrial utilisation and extensive area occupied by several bamboo species in Assam, the need for more systematic intensified studies to know precisely the relationship between soils and bamboos has been suggested.