Study of the Impact of Prosopis juliflora on Soil moisture and Humidity

Abstract

This paper aims to present the impact of invasive alien species on soil moisture over the other native species. Prosopis juliflora is a majestic, non-native species that grows abundantly over the arid and semi-arid regions especially over the southern part of Indian sub-continent. These non-native, invasive species are modifying the native bio diversity, natural irrigation and local ecosystem by alternating the soil fertility measures such as soil moisture and relative humidity of the soil. In this study, the impact of the non-native species and native species on soil moisture and atmospheric humidity are considered for the analysis of the effect of the Prosopis juliflora and the variation in the conditions are visualized using the k- means clustering technique. The soil moisture at a depth of 2 meters and 1 meter and the air humidity is compared for regions in the presence of the nonnative species and in the absence of nonnative species. The results indicate that the non-native species has a negative impact on the cultivating land, spoiling its fertility measures by reducing its soil moisture content. The study provides evidence for the need to take necessary actions to eradicate species such as Prosopis juliflora and in turn to protect the native vegetation and develop management strategies to control the spread of the species.