Chemical Properties of Volcanic Soil After 10 Years of the Eruption of Mt. Sinabung (North Sumatera, Indonesia)

Abstract

Mount Sinabung was active again in 2010 after 400 years of dormancy and it is still erupting to date. The eruptions produced volcanic ash which blanket the soil surface. The distribution of volcanic materials was monitored by using Landsat Satellite which covers an area of 30, 320 Ha in 2018, then in 2019, it changed to 1, 371 Ha. After eruptions for 10 years, we believed soil characteristics are changed. The objective of this study was to characterize soil properties in the vicinity of Mt. Sinabung. There were 34 soil samples taken at a depth of 0-20 cm with a total research area of 4, 517.25 Ha. The samples were analyze for chemical properties included pH (H2O), total N, organic carbon, exchangeable base cations, and cation exchange capacity (CEC). The results showed that the pH (H2O) ranged from very acidic to neutral (4.14-6.52). The total N low to high category (0.13-0.60%). Organic carbon low to very high (1.73-13.05%). The exchangeable base cations have a high concentration with values of K (1.60-2.98 cmol kg−1), Na (3.72-7.45 cmol kg−1) and Mg (5, 79-12.15 cmol kg−1) respectively. Cation exchange capacity (CEC) showed high to very high category values (11.78-97.71 cmol kg−1). Volcanic ash provides many benefits to soil properties. This indicates that volcanic ash enrich soils by providing nutrients to the soils aftermath of volcanic eruptions.