Post-Tin-Mining Agricultural Soil Regeneration Using Local Organic Amendments Improve Nitrogen Fixation and Uptake in a Legume–Cassava Intercropping System
2023
Rizki Maftukhah | Katharina M. Keiblinger | Ngadisih Ngadisih | Murtiningrum Murtiningrum | Rosana M. Kral | Axel Mentler | Rebecca Hood-Nowotny
The low nitrogen content of Bangka Island&rsquo:s post-tin-mining soil may limit its suitability for agricultural production. In this study, we investigated the effect of locally available organic soil amendments on nitrogen fixation (N2&ndash:fixation) and crop nitrogen (N) uptake in a cassava&ndash:legume intercrop system. Cassava was intercropped with centrosema in post-tin-mining soils with six treatments, including a control and different soil amendments, such as dolomite, compost, charcoal, a combined treatment of charcoal and compost, and a combined treatment of compost and sawdust. The percentages of N derived from N2-fixation (%Ndfa) with the different seasons and treatments were comparable. Nonetheless, due to the higher shoot biomass accumulation, the mass of N2&ndash:fixation in soil amended with compost and when combined with charcoal was significantly higher than the control (50 to 73 kg ha&minus:1). Treatments with compost and its combination with charcoal exhibited higher N uptake from the cassava&ndash:centrosema intercropped system (82 and 137 kg ha&minus:1) and higher inorganic ammonium (NH4+) concentrations in the soil at harvest time (5.5 and 6.7 µ:g g&minus:1). When combined with organic soil amendments, N2&ndash:fixation from centrosema produces not only higher biomass, but also higher N contribution to the system. Overall, locally available organic amendments, particularly the combined application of charcoal and compost, showed promise for improving N2&ndash:fixation of intercrop centrosema as well as for increasing N availability in the soil, which is of critical importance for crop growth in post-mining soils that have lost fertility.
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