Research Article Open Access

The Fertility Status of Soils at Rehabilitated Degraded Land in Universiti Putra Malaysia Planted with Pinus caribaea and Swietenia macrophylla

Mohammad Nazrin Abdul Malik1, Arifin Abdu2, Daljit Singh Karam3, Shamshuddin Jusop3, Hazandy Abdul Hamid2, Aiza Shaliha Jamaluddin1, MohdHadi Akbar Basri1 and Nur-Nazirah Patek Mohd1
  • 1 Department of Forest Management, Faculty of Forestry, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia
  • 2 Laboratory of Sustainable Bioresource Management, Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
  • 3 Department of Land Management, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia

Abstract

Soil fertility (both physical and chemical) is one of the important factors limiting plant growth. So, the fertility of the soils should be determined before growing crops and after the establishment of forest rehabilitation. A study was conducted to determine the fertility status of soils at rehabilitated degraded land in Universiti Putra Malaysia. The main objective was to compare the fertility of soils planted forest and pasture. Three sites studied were pines plantation (Pinus caribaea), mahogany plantation (Swietenia macrophylla) and pasture area. At each site, three squares of 20×20 m were selected and two depths of soil sample were collected, topsoil (0-20 cm) and subsoil (20-40 cm), from six points within the squares. The physical properties of the soils analyzed were bulk density, soil texture and moisture content, while the chemical properties were pH, total C and N, cation exchangeable capacity and exchangeable cations (Al, Ca, Mg, K and Na). The mean annual increment of height, diameter and volume of planted forest were also taken. The increment of height, diameter at breast height and volume of P. caribaea and S. macrophylla did not show any comparative difference for the cause of the similarity in the increment of patterns catalysed at the same location and climatic condition. P. caribaea showed higher SFI value compared to the other study plots, especially for the topsoil. In contrast, pasture plot had higher SEF, followed by P. caribaea and S. macrophylla plantation plots. P. caribaea showed the highest SFI value, while pasture plot had highest SEF, followed by P. caribaea and S. macrophylla plantation plots. Further study on bigger forest plantation having different types of plant species and land topography needs to be conducted to allow individuals and bodies in the field of forest plantation to gain the opportunity and implement the right approaches to establish forest plantation with good planting establishment practices.

American Journal of Applied Sciences
Volume 12 No. 10, 2015, 752-758

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3844/ajassp.2015.752.758

Submitted On: 12 January 2015 Published On: 5 November 2015

How to Cite: Malik, M. N. A., Abdu, A., Karam, D. S., Jusop, S., Hamid, H. A., Jamaluddin, A. S., Basri, M. A. & Mohd, N. P. (2015). The Fertility Status of Soils at Rehabilitated Degraded Land in Universiti Putra Malaysia Planted with Pinus caribaea and Swietenia macrophylla. American Journal of Applied Sciences, 12(10), 752-758. https://doi.org/10.3844/ajassp.2015.752.758

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Keywords

  • Soil Fertility
  • Degraded Land
  • Pastures
  • Pinus caribea
  • Swietenia macrophylla