NUTRIENT RETURN TO THE SOIL THROUGH LITTERFALL UNDER CERTAIN TREE PLANTATIONS ON SODIC WASTELANDS IN NORTHERN INDIA

Abstract

RANA, B. S., SAXENA, A. K., RAO, O. P. & SINGH, B. P. 2007. Nutrient return to the soil through litterfall under certain tree plantations on sodic wastelands in northern India. We studied the patterns of litterfall and nutrient return to the soil under seven-year-old plantations of Casuarina equisetifolia, Leucaena leucocephala, Eucalyptus hybrid and Dalbergia sissoo established on sodic wastelands in northern India and compared them among themselves and with other plantations raised on normal soil. In the present plantations, the leaf litter ranged from 64 (D. sissoo) to 91% (C. equisetifolia) of the total aboveground tree litter production. Winter season reflected maximum leaf and total aboveground litterfall. The annual return of major nutrients (NPK) through litterfall amounted to 1.86−4.82 g m^-2 year^-1 N (D. sissoo and C. equisetifolia respectively), 0.39−0.97
g m^-2 year^-1 P (D. sissoo and C. equisetifolia respectively), and 1.48–1.80 g m^-2 year^-1 K (Eucalyptus hybrid and D. sissoo respectively). Foliage accounted for most of the nutrients (67−92%) returned through litterfall. All the plantations studied were generally more efficient in N and K nutrient use than certain other plantations.