Abstract
Different studies have shown that the effect of eucalyptus trees on soil physicochemical properties is variable, which indicates that more investigations that focus on different specific geographical locations and eucalyptus tree species are required. The objectives of this study was to evaluate the status of soil nutrients under four eucalyptus tree species planted in hedgerow system in comparison with that in its adjacent open land. To achieve these objectives, soil samples were taken from a soil depth of 0-20 cm from 15-20 spots by using auger and composited for respective treatments. Each soil samples analyzed at Teppi soil laboratory following standard procedures. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and treatments separation were made by using Least Significance Difference (LSD) at 95% probability level. The analysis result indicated that there were no significance differences between Eucalyptus tree species and its adjacent open land in the level of soil nutrients (total N, available P, pH, OM, soil moisture and OC) (p<0.05). The only significant difference recorded between Eucalyptus tree species and its adjacent open land in the level of sand percentage whereas non-significant difference was noticed between the treatments on the level of silt and clay percentage in the study. Finally, the results indicate that the eucalyptus tree species established in hedgerow system on clay soil in high rainfall area have no significant impact on soil physicochemical properties under short rotation period of the tree species.
 Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. Tech. 10(2): 7-14, December 2020
Highlights
Eucalyptus is one of the exotic tree species and most successful plant growing on different environments in Ethiopia and broadly in Africa (Zegeye, 2010)
The soil pH was improved as compared to before and after the trial respectively and high improvement was recorded the soil under Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Eucalyptus saligna than the remaining treatments
Similar to soil pH, soil organic carbon and soil organic matter have revealed an improvement in comparison with before soil analysis and relatively the higher value was recorded in soil under Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Eucalyptus saligna, which is a good indication of soil improvement under the eucalyptus tree species in the short rotation system
Summary
Eucalyptus is one of the exotic tree species and most successful plant growing on different environments in Ethiopia and broadly in Africa (Zegeye, 2010). Eucalyptus was planted in Africa initially on the southern African plateaus in the early 19th century to supply fuel wood (Beinart, 2003). The country has small remnant natural forest the only option for fuel wood was eucalyptus (Bennett, 2011). In the 1895, the Emperor of Ethiopia introduced the tree from Australia to address the prevailing fuel wood and construction material demand (Breitenbach, 1961). Many eucalyptus species are easy to cultivate for fuel wood, timber, construction and charcoal due to their ability to coppice readily, tolerance for low quality sites, and low maintenance requirements (Liang et al, 2016)
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