Chapter 7 - Soil nutrient dynamics under mountainous landscape: issues and challenges

Abstract

Understanding the nutrient requirements of forests is entirely dependent on the tree species found in single species natural forests or plantations. The nutrients that were released into the soil were readily assimilated and absorbed by the growing plants. It is critical to estimate the amount of nutrients available to the plants using physical, chemical, biological, or biochemical methods. Agricultural crops have shorter rotation periods than forest trees, which have longer rotation periods. Estimating nutrient requirements for forest crops is more difficult because agricultural methodologies are difficult to apply. Before considering increasing wood production in a specific area, it is critical to understand the soil's nutrient status. As a result, it is critical to understand the prudent silvicultural operations that were used to increase the nutrient requirement of forest crops. The nutrient requirements differ significantly between seedling establishment and maturity. It also differs between those before and after crown closure. As a result, determining the quantity of nutrients available when nutrient uptake and retention information is used is extremely difficult. As previously stated, nutrient cycling is a major research area that encompasses physicochemical, biochemical, and biological processes. These processes are dynamic in nature and can occur in three phases (solid, liquid, and gas), which are difficult to predict based on soil samples taken at a specific point in time. Coniferous vegetation requires fewer nutrients, but this varies greatly between groups. The amount of nutrients driven through throughfall and stemflow is determined by the nutritional status of the tree. Throughout the growing season, nutrients are constantly relocated within the trees. The concentration of nutrients in foliage and litterfall indicates the amount of nutrients retranslocated. Production, accumulation, and decomposition are the three primary functions of any ecosystem. As a result, soil nutrient availability would not be considered a self-determining parameter in nutrient dynamics in forest systems. The current chapter is concerned with the dynamics of nutrients under soils from various sources in various vegetation covers.