PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF SOIL IN RELATION TO SPECIES COMPOSITION AND DIVERSITY OF SUBTROPICAL AND TEMPERATE FOREST STANDS IN THE WESTERN HIMALAYA
Asian Journal of Plant and Soil Sciences, Volume 6, Issue 1,
Page 82-90
Abstract
The present communication aims to envisage the physico-chemical properties of soils in relation to the vegetational parameter in the subtropical and temperate forest stands of Western Himalaya. A total of four forest stands were investigated for various vegetational and physico-chemical properties ranging from 300-2250 m m.s.l. The study revealed that the soil moisture, water holding capacity (WHC) and total nitrogen recorded maximum (26.33%, 63.52%, and 0.41% respectively) in the mixed oak forest stands and minimum (19.09%, 46.28%, and 0.14% respectively) in the sal forest stands, however, the soil organic carbon (SOC) was reported maximum (4.25%) in banj-oak forest and minimum (1.23%) in sal forest stands. Temperate oak forests are richer in terms of specie richness, diversity as well as physical and chemical properties of soil as compare to subtropical sal and chir-pine forest stands. This result indicate that the soil nutrient dynamics is positively correlated with species diversity and richness of forest.
- Oak and pine forest
- organic carbon
- soil nutrient
- tree density
How to Cite
References
Mueller L, Schindler U, Mirschel W, Shepherd TG, Ball BC, Helming K, Wiggering H. Assessing the productivity function of soils. A review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development. 2010; 30:601-614.
Sharma CM, Gairola S, Ghildiyal SK, Suyal S. Physical properties of soils in relation to forest composition in moist temperate valley slopes of the Central Western Himalaya. Journal of Forest and Environmental Science. 2010;26: 117-129.
Zubair A. Malik, Bhatt AB. Regeneration status of tree species and survival of their seedlings in Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary and its adjoining areas in Western Himalaya, India Tropical Ecology. 2016;57(4):677-690.
Jha MN, Pande P. Loss of soil moisture as affected by decomposing leaf litter of different forest species. Indian Forester. 1980; 106:352-356.
Buringh P. Organic carbon in soils of the world. The role of terrestrial vegetation in the global carbon cycle: Measurement by Remote Sensing. 1984; 23:91-109.
Lal R. Soil carbon sequestration to mitigate climate change. Geoderma. 2004; 123:1-22.
Singh JS, Singh SP. Forest vegetation of the Himalaya. The Botanical Review. 1987; 53:80-192.
Meentemeyer V, Berg B. Regional variation in rate of mass loss of Pinus sylvestris needle litter in Swedish pine forest as influenced by climate and litter quality. Scand Journal of Forestry Research. 1986; 1:167-180.
Khera N, Kumar A, Ram J, Tewari A. Plant biodiversity assessment in relation to disturbances in mid-elevational forest of Central Himalaya, India. Tropical Ecology. 2001; 42:83-95.
Singh H, Kumar M, Sheikh MA. Distribution pattern of Oak and Pine along altitudinal gradients in Garhwal Himalaya. Nature and Science. 2009; 7:81-85.
Jina BS, Bohra CS, Lodhiyal LS, Sah P. Soil characteristics in oak and pine forests of Indian Central Himalaya. E-International Scientific Research Journal. 2011; 3:19-22.
Gairola S, Sharma CM, Ghildiyal SK, Suyal S. Regeneration dynamics of dominant tree species along an altitudinal gradient in moist temperate valley slopes of the Garhwal Himalaya. Journal of Forestry Research. 2012; 23:53-63.
Joshi PC, Pandey P, Kaushal BR. Analysis of some Physico-chemical parameters of soil from a protected forest in Uttarakhand. Nature and Science. 2013; 11:136-140.
Tewari G, Khati D, Rana L, Yadav P, Pande C, Bhatt S, Joshi PK. Assessment of Physicochemical Properties of Soils from Different Land Use Systems in Uttarakhand, India. Journal of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry Research. 2016; 3:1114-1118.
Pandey NC, Tewari LM, Joshi GC, Upreti BM. Physico-chemical characterization of Oak, Pine and Sal forest soil profiles of Betalghat Region of Kumaun Himalaya. Eurasian Journal of Soil Science. 2018; 7:261-272.
Mueller-Dombois D, Jacobi JD, Cooray RG, Balakrishnan N. Ohia rain forest study: Ecological investigations of the Ohia dieback Problem in Hawaii. Hawaii Institute of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, Honolulu, Hi (Miscellaneous publication 183); 1980.
Curtis JT, Mcintosh RP. he interrelations of certain analytic and synthetic phytosociological characters. Ecology. 1950; 31:434-455.
Shannon CE. The mathematical theory of communication, by CE Shannon (and Recent Contributions to the Mathematical Theory of Communication), W. Weaver. University of Illinois Press; 1949.
Simpson EH. Measurement of diversity. Nature. 1949; 163:688-688.
Pielou EC. Shannon’s formula as a measure of specific diversity: its use and misuse. American Naturalist. 1966; 100:463–465.
Piper CS. Soil and plant analysis (Asian edition). Hans Publishers., Bombay, India. 1966;223-237.
Jackson ML. Soil chemical analysis prentice Hall. Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ. 1958;498: 183-204.
Piper CS. Soil and plant analysis. Interscience Publishers Inc., New York, USA; 1950.
Walkley A, Black IA. An examination of the Degtjareff method for determining soil organic matter, and a proposed modification of the chromic acid titration method. Soil Science. 1934; 37:29-38.
Kjeldahl C. A new method for the determination of nitrogen in organic matter. Z Anal Chemistry. 1883; 22:366.
Olsen SR. Phosphorus. (No. Colección general/631.41 M592m v. 2). En: Methods of soil analysis: part 2; chemical and microbiological properties. --Winsconsin, US: American Society of Agronomy, 1986. 1982; 403-430.
Black CA. Method of soil analysis part 2. Chemical and microbiological properties. 1965; 9:1387-1388
Rana BS. Biomass and net primary productivity of central Himalaya forest along altitudinal gradient. Kumaun University Nainital (Ph. D Thesis) Submitted to KU Nainital; 1985.
Rawat YS, Singh JS. Structure and function of oak forests in central Himalaya. I. Dry matter dynamics. Annals of Botany. 1988; 62:397-411.
Upadhyay VP, Singh JS. Patterns of nutrient immobilization and release in decomposing forest litter in Central Himalaya, India. The Journal of Ecology. 1989;127-146.
Pandey SK, Shukla RP. Regeneration strategy and plant diversity status in degraded sal forests. Current Science. 2001;95-102.
Semwal S. Studies on phytosociology, Diversity patterns and competition along an altitudinal gradient in a part of lesser Himalaya, Garhwal, Uttarakhand. Garhwal University, Srinagar Garhwal. (Ph. D. Thesis) submitted to HNB university Srinagar; 2006.
Gairola S, Sharma CM, Rana CS, Ghildiyal SK, Suyal S. Phytodiversity (Angiosperms and Gymnosperms) in Mandal-Chopta forest of Garhwal Himalaya, Uttarakhand, India. Nature and Science. 2010; 8:1-17.
Thadani R, Ashton PMS. Regeneration of banj oak (Quercus leucotrichophora A. Camus) in the central Himalaya. Forest Ecology and Management. 1995; 78:217- 224.
-
Abstract View: 0 times
PDF Download: 0 times