Soil properties and understory biomass production in some tree plantations in South India
2001
Kannan, D. | Satish, Kannan, P. (VHNSN Coll., Virudhunagar - 626 001 (India). Dept. of Botany)_
Forest plantations established on wastelands can play an important role in tropical forest rehabilitation. From past experience the expansion of plantations without considering the diverse and degraded soil types in the tropics has caused many problems. There is a need to correct this wrong practice. Soil physico-chemical properties and understory vegetation analysis were studied in plantations of Azadirachta indica, Acacia nilotica and a Eucalyptus species at degraded sites in southern India. Control plots were also set-up. Results showed that the plantations tend to increase soil pH and increase water retention capacity. The soil taken from the Eucalyptus plantation showed a significant reduction in its soil moisture content and the nutrients in the soil when compared with the control plot. Other plantation soils used in this study contained more nutrients than the control plots. Acacia and Azadirachta plantations cause less microclimatic variations which favors the growth of understory vegetation. No understory vegetation growth was observed in the Eucalyptus plantation, thus no dry matter production was analyzed. In neem and acacia plantations, understory dry matter production exceeded the adjoining wasteland areas. The results of the present study further emphasized the need for more studies to assess the impacts of monoculture and mixed plantations on soil quality and understory vegetation. Improved ecological and silvicultural knowledge can be of great value in tthe rehabilitation process. This could help us to identify the major constraints and appropriate solutions for more effective tropical silviculture
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