Conversion of grazing land into Grevillea robusta plantation and exclosure: impacts on soil nutrients and soil organic carbon

Abstract

Different studies have shown that the effect of land use conversion on soil nutrients and soil organic carbon (SOC) is variable, which indicates that more investigations that focus on different specific geographical locations and land use types are required. The objectives of this study were (1) to evaluate the effect of grazing land (GL) conversion into Grevillea robusta plantation and exclosure (EX) on soil nutrients and soil organic carbon (SOC) and (2) to examine the impact of soil organic matter (SOM) on soil nutrients. To achieve these objectives, soil samples were taken from a soil depth of 20cm (n = 4) in each of the studied land areas. Each soil sample was analysed in a soil laboratory following a standard procedure. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Pearson's correlation coefficient were used for the data analysis. The result indicated that conversion of GL into EX improved the soil electrical conductivity (EC), exchangeable K, cation exchange capacity (CEC), total N and available P (p < 0.05), while the exchangeable Mg, SOC, available K and SOM were decreased (p < 0.05). Conversion of GL into G. robusta improved the soil EC, exchangeable (K, Ca, Mg), CEC, SOC, total N, available K and SOM (p < 0.05). There was a significant relationship between SOM and available P, total N, SOC and EC. There were no significant relationships between SOM and pH, available K and CEC. Finally, the results indicate that both land uses, established in acidic Nitosols, have variable impacts on soil chemical properties and that G. robusta plantation improved most of the soil nutrients and SOC much better than the EX land use.