Influence of fuelwood trees on sodic soils

Abstract

The persistent acute fuelwood shortage problem in India has necessitated having tree plantations on waste lands to obtain renewable energy. Fuelwood production screening trials initiated in 1981 at the Biomass Research Centre in Banthra, India (of the National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow, India), identified babul, Acacianilotica (L.) Willd. ex Delile, and mesquite, Prosopisjuliflora (Swartz) DC, to be the most promising and suitable leguminous trees in terms of biomass production on sodic sites. A study was carried out to assess soil enrichment due to the growth of these fuelwood trees planted a decade past on sodic soil that had had no other amendments. Results showed preferential nutrient accumulation and greater reduction in soil pH (from 9.5 to 7.9) and exchangeable sodium (from 30 to 8%) at the P. juliflora plantation compared with at the A. nilotica plantation. There was also a reduction in surface soil (0–15 cm) bulk density, but an enhancement in porosity and water holding capacity, making soil more friable. The P. juliflora plantation produced markedly more leaf litter (6.1 t•ha−1•year−1) than the A. nilotica plantation (5.7 t•ha−1•year−1). Both the species had fibrous lateral root systems on the surface in the sodic soil. However, the penetration and spread of roots were almost 2-fold greater in P. juliflora than in A. nilotica. Thus, the potential magnitude of changes in soil properties was related to the distribution of roots and amount of litter falling on the soil surface. Prosopisjuliflora appeared to be better than A. nilotica under adverse sodic soil conditions in establishing an enlarged plant-litter nutrient cycle relationship. This study also provides an assessment of soil amelioration by leguminous trees under short-rotation forestry practices.