Volume 60, Issue 334, January - April 2024

Leaf litter decomposition and nutrient dynamics in tree plantations at Kurukshetra, Haryana, India

Pooja Arora^♦

Institute of Environmental Studies, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, Haryana, India

^♦Corresponding author
Institute of Environmental Studies, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, Haryana, India

ABSTRACT

Leaf litter production and simultaneous decomposition can account for a significant quantity of the total annual requirement of essential elements for forest plants. This study was carried out to assess the leaf litter decomposition and associated soil nutrient dynamics in the Tectona grandis and Eucalyptus tereticornis plantation done under the Social Forestry Scheme at Kurukshetra by the Forest Department of Haryana. Nutrient status of fresh, freshly fallen, decomposing, and decomposed leaf samples and the soil samples in terms of C, N, P, K, Ca, and Mg content of both plantations were estimated. A continuous decrease in the nutrient concentration was found in the leaf samples during the decomposition process in both plantations. However, the release of nutrients from Tectona leaves was generally found to be more than that of Eucalyptus leaf samples for all the nutrients. The decrease was gradual in the case of Carbon, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Calcium in both plantations whereas a rapid decline was observed in the case of Potassium and Magnesium. In general, the release of nutrients followed the order K>Mg>C>P>Ca>N in both plantations. The amount of nutrients in soil samples increased from initial to final sampling indicating the continuous accumulation of nutrients that are released from the leaf litter decomposition. However, the increase was gradual, not rapid in both plantations. In general, the soil samples of the T. grandis plantation were richer in nutrient concentration than those of the E. tereticornis plantation.

Keywords: Litter, decomposition, nutrients, soil carbon, nitrogen

Discovery, 2024, 60, e4d1408

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi.v60i334.e4d1408

Published: 09 February 2024