SOIL CHARACTERISTICS IN DIFFERENT AGES OF PLANTATION AND NATURAL FOREST IN TERAI ARC LANDSCAPE OF UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA
Kumari Poonam,*,Upama Malla and Gopal S. Singh
ABSTRACT
The objective of this paper was to determine the physicochemical properties of soil at plantation (done by the Taungya system) and natural forest in the Terai of eastern Uttar Pradesh. Soil samples were collected from both the different sites of 25yr, 50yr and 75 yr of the plantation and natural forest and analyzed for texture pH, water holding capacity, bulk density, organic carbon, total nitrogen and available phosphorus. Both the forest had the sandy loamy type of texture containing 60.20% of sand, 27.13% Silt and 12.66% clay in plantation and 49.00% sand, 32.00% silt and 19.00% clay in forest soil. Soils under different sites have been markedly differing in their content of organic carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. As the higher level of nutrients in natural forest shows that it is much nutrient-rich compared to the plantation forest.
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