Soil and land use management of vertisols in South Trinidad. Case studies in Esmeralda, La Gloria and Poole-Tableland districts
2001
Persad, Seunarine | Rampersad, Ian | Wilson, Hugh W.
Detailed high intensity soil surveys were conducted by the Research Division in the Esmeralda, La Gloria and Poole-Tableland districts during the period of 1998 - 2000. The principal soil distribution is the order Vertisol, represented by the Talparo, Princes Town, Brasso and Tarouba series on slopes 5 - 30 deg. Analyses of soil profiles, landscape characteristics and laboratory determinations, confirm significant land degradation resulting from land use changes from cocoa and sugarcane to pasture, vegetable, citrus and pineapple cultivation. Land degradation resulted from a combination of land movement, slumping, erosion, compaction, organic matter and nutrient depletion. Assessments of productive land losses range from 10 percent in Poole-Tableland to 85 percent in Esmeralda. Soil fertility depletion was severe in all districts. Management practices that enable sustainable development without deterioration and the implications of the accelerated parcelization and land use changes of estates in Central Trinidad are discussed.
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