Fertility Management of Forest Soil

Fertility Management of
Forest Soil.
- By Aman Kumar
Roll no-53
Faculty of Forestry
Introduction
 Soil Fertility Management refers to the efficient use of nutrients

sources in the soil system. Efficient soil management is the key to
sustainable forest crop production. Soil fertility research and
management is primarily concerned with the essential plant
nutrients, their amounts, availability to plants, processes making
them unavailable to crop plants and ways and means of replenishing
them in these soils.
Soil Fertility
 Soil fertility can be defined as the capacity of the soil to supply
nutrient in available form to crops.
 Essential element is a mineral element that is considered to be essential for
the plant growth and development through metabolic functions.
 In 1939 Arnon gave the criteria of essentiality of a element to a particular
plant
1.The plant must be unable to grow normally or unable to complete its life
cycle in absence of the particular element.
2.The element must be specific to plant.
3.The element plays a direct role in the metabolism of a plant.
Problem soils
 Problem soils are those soils which are not suitable for arable farming
because of specific limitations. As these soils cannot be economically used
for the cultivation of crops.
 There are broadly divided into two distinct category namely-
 Physical Problems Soils Chemical Problems Soils
1.Slow permeable soils 1.Acid Soils
2.High Permeable soil 2.Saline soil
3.Surface hard pan 3.Sodic Soil
4.Shallow Soil
A) Physical problem soil
1)Slow Permeable soil
 The soil which have infiltration rates less than 6 cm/ day due to high clay
content of the soil.
 Constraints
Low infiltration rates reduces entry of water into the soil and therby
increases the run-off and accelerates soil erosion. This further leads to
nutrient removal from the top soil .Hence decreases fertility
 Management
1. Application of huge amount of river sand or red soil of coarser texture to
reduce the heaviness of the soil
2. Application of organic manures.
3. Provision of drainage facilities either through sub surface drains.
4. Application of soil conditioners like H- Concentrates etc, to reduce run off
and soil erosion.
2) High Permeable soil
 The soil having more than 70 percent of sand and is devoid of finer particles
,organic matter and the aggregates are weakly formed due to less clay
content and poor structure.
 Constraints
These soil does not give sufficient anchorage to plants. Soil is liable to wind
erosion, Hence, this soil is inert, unable to retain nutrient and water.
Leaching of fertilizer nutrients is common.
Management
1. Apply clay soil (up to 100 t ha-1) and plough well towards better mixing.
This changes sandy texture into loam texture. The availability of clay soil is
the limiting factor for this approach.
2. Provision of asphalt sheet, polythene sheets etc. below the soil surface
(depth>60 cm) is beneficial to reduce the infiltration rate.
3) Surface hard pan
 Subsoil hard pan occurs in red soils due to illuviation of clay in association with
cementing action of oxides Fe ,Al and calcium carbonate. This occurs usually in coarse
textured soils and red soils.
 Constraints
It prevents root proliferation and limits nutrients uptake only from surface soil. All put
together decreased the infiltration and percolation rates and transport within the soils
profile.
 Management
1.Deep ploughing of the soil once in 2- 3 years to open up sub- soils.
2. Cultivation of deep rooted semi perennial plants like Mulberry, Jasmine , Match wood
trees to encourage natural breaking of the hard pan.
3. Application of organics to improve the aggregation and soil structure so as to prevent
further movement of clay to the lower layers.
4) Shallow soils
 Shallow soils are characterized by the presence of parent rock at 15-20 cm depth from
the soil surface.
 Constraints
Restricts the root elongation and spreading . Soil available nutrient will be exhausted in
short time.
 Management
1. Growing of shallow rooted crops is an ideal option with frequent fertilizer application.
2. Crop which can withstand the hard rocky subsoil are suitable for this soil. E.g.- Mango,
ber, fig tamarind etc
B)Chemical Problem Soil
1) Acid Soils
 Soils with pH less than6.5 are known as acid soils. It is referred to presence of higher
concentration of H + ions in the soil solution .
 Constraints
• It leads to deficiency of secondary nutrients like ca and Mg.
• Toxicity of H+,Fe,Al ions owing to higher availability of these elements.
• Injury to plants roots due to high exchangeable acidity.
• It inhibits the bacteria and actinomycetes activity. As a result, nitrogen fixation by bacteria is
significantly reduced.
• Enhances fungi related diseases in plants.
 Management
1.Application of lime
2.Selection of suitable crops that are tolerant to high acidic conditions of the soil.
3. Applications of organics i.e.- F.Y.M.
2) Saline Soil
 Solis containing higher amount of soluble salts are called as saline soils. Saline soils
are formed through a soil forming process called salinization.
 Constraints
• The presence of salt leads to higher osmotic potential of the soil leads to reduced
nutrients uptake by plants.
• Causes dehydration of plants parts due to excessive exosmosis.
• Adversely effects the seed germinations.
• Reduces the microbial activity in the soil which results in slow decomposition of
organic material.
 Management
1.Removal of excess salt from the soil by leeching it with good quantity of water
followed by adequate drainage.
2. Land leveling is essential before leeching. As improper leeching leads to
accumulation of salts leached from the elevated portion to the depressed areas.
3) Sodic Soil
 Soils with high level of exchangeable sodium, higher pH and low levels of total soluble salts are called
as sodic soils.
 Constraints
• Soil compaction enhanced.
• Reduced soil aeration.
• Availability of ca and Mg is less.
• Phosphorous availability is less due to conversion of phosphorous into insoluble Ca and Mg
phosphates.
• Soil become hard mass under dry conditions.
• Causes low microbial activity.
 Management
1.Providing drainage is practiced to improve aeration and remove accumulated salts.
2.Inversion of soil to induce proper aeration and enhanced infiltration.
3.Removal of sodium from the soil exchange complex with the aid of of incorporating calcium
containing material.E.G. Gypsum.
4.Addition of organic matter enhances decomposition of organic matter which releases organic and
inorganic acids which counteract the ill effects of high pH of the soil.
Conclusion
 The first approach in soil management is to identify the soil constraints to crop production and
assess their degree of severity. In the humid tropics, these detriments are closely related to
nutrients and water which are the most limiting factors to crop productivity. Both are available
via the soil to the plants, particularly those with good rooting activity
 Soil fertility management require interactive management approach to achieve the basic
objectives of crop productivity and maintenance of soil fertility and to do in an
environmentally acceptable way.
 To conclude, many things in soil’s fertility and it is hard to talk about one factor without
mentioning another, since they are interrelated. The acidity or pH scale is one of the main
factors in determining soil fertility, but this is inevitably linked to water without which no life
could exist. ..

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Fertility Management of Forest Soil

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Fertility Management of

 Soil Fertility Management refers to the efficient use of nutrients

 There are broadly divided into two distinct category namely-

 Physical Problems Soils Chemical Problems Soils

1.Slow permeable soils 1.Acid Soils

2.High Permeable soil 2.Saline soil

3.Surface hard pan 3.Sodic Soil

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