Speargrass as a Soil Fertility Indicator along a Deforestation Chronosquence
Abstract
171 words
This study estimated the time taken for speargrass (Imperata
cylindrica) to occur on arable fields along a deforestation
chronosquence; established the effect of burning on soil
properties and determined the reliability of speargrass as a soil
fertility indicator. Results showed that speargrass never grew
in the study fields within the first six years of cultivation. During
the same period average values for bulk density, total N, K,
organic matter and soil pH were within the recommended
ranges for optimal crop growth. After six years of cultivation
in burnt and un-burnt fields on both Nitisols and Red Latosols,
average values of the above parameters decreased below their
critical levels and continued to deviate negatively from the critical
range by years of cultivation. During the same period,
speargrass infestation set-in and shoot count rose with time.
Speargrass populations rose faster in fields with lower total N,
K and organic matter and higher bulk density. This confirms
that speargrass infestation and subsequent invasion is favoured
by declining soil fertility thus, indicative of soil degradation.
Subjects
1 categoryRelated papers
More in Working Document Series →- Effect of refugees and host communities on the natural resource degradation: A case study on Hitsats Kebele, northern Ethiopia
- Grazing exclosures increase soil organic carbon stock at a rate greater than “4 per 1000” per year across agricultural landscapes in Northern Ethiopia
- Coconut-gliricidia mixed cropping systems improve soil nutrients in dry and wet regions of Sri Lanka
- Effects of organic mulch on soil properties and yield composition of groundnut on a typical latosol