JFES

Regular Article
pISSN: 2288-9744, eISSN: 2288-9752
Journal of Forest and Environmental Science Journal of Forest and
Environmental Science
Vol. 31, No. 1, pp. 14-23, February, 2015
http://dx.doi.org/10.7747/JFES.2015.31.1.14

Properties of Soils under Different Land Uses in

Chittagong Region, Bangladesh
Md. Akhtaruzzaman1*, K.T. Osman1 and S. M. Sirajul Haque2
1
Department of Soil Science, University of Chittagong, Chittagong-4331, Bangladesh
2
Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences, University of Chittagong, Chittagong-4331, Bangladesh

Abstract
In this study, we investigated the effects of three land uses on soil properties in two soil layers; surface soil (0∼15 cm)
and subsoil (15∼30 cm). Soil samples were collected from planted forest, barren lands and cultivated lands from different
areas in Chittagong Cox’s Bazar and analyzed for some physical and chemical properties. Results showed that soil textural
class varied from sandy clay loam in planted forest and barren land site to sandy loam in cultivated soils. Maximum
water holding capacity was higher in forest followed by barren land and the lowest in cultivated lands. At both soil
-3
depths, soils of cultivated land showed the highest values of bulk density (1.42 to 1.50 g cm ), followed by barren
-3 -3
lands (1.37 to 1.46 g cm ) and the least (1.32 to 1.45 g cm ) in forest soils. Total porosity decreased with depth
ranging from 40.24% to 41.53% in subsoils and from 42.04 to 43.23% in surface soil of cultivated and of planted
forest sites respectively. The result further revealed that organic carbon (OC) and total nitrogen (TN) contents were
higher in the planted forest soil than in other two land uses. The soils of all land uses under study are acidic in
nature and the lowest pH was found in both surface and subsoils of barren land. Cultivated soil contained the highest
amount of available P, Ca, Mg and K in both surface soil and subsoils. In contrast, barren site had the lowest contents
of available P, Ca, Mg and K in both layers. The soil organic carbon (SOC) and total N storage were higher in planted
forest than in barren and cultivated land uses.

Key Words: land use types, soil physical properties, soil chemical properties, soil carbon storage, total nitrogen storage

Introduction production, but if the land is kept fallow, clear felling is fol-
lowed by natural generation of herbs, shrubs and grasses.
Soil nutrient status can be changed due to the change of The conversion of forest into other land uses affects soil
the natural forest to different land use type. Rapid pop- properties in many ways. Land use changes may influence
ulation growth in the country like Bangladesh creates ex- many natural phenomena and ecological processes includ-
treme pressure on its forest resources. As a result of increas- ing soil nutrient and soil water change (Fu et al. 1999;
ing demand for firewood, timber, pasture, shelter and food, 2000). Land use/land cover changes (degradation of natu-
forests are being clear cut at an alarming rate. This results ral forest and subsequent cultivation of soils) resulted in
in destruction of natural forest ecosystems and loss of soil surface compaction and significant decreases in silt and clay
quality. contents, porosity and aggregate stability (Islam and Weil
Most of the cleared forest lands have been used for crop 2000). The conversion of natural forest ecosystems into cul-

Received: June 29, 2014. Revised: August 13, 2014. Accepted: August 24, 2014.

Corresponding author: Md. Akhtaruzzaman

Department of Soil Science, University of Chittagong, Chittagong-4331, Bangladesh

Tel: 88-031-716552-Extn. 4296, Fax: 88-031-2606014, E-mail: akhtarsoilcu@gmail.com

14 Journal of Forest and Environmental Science http://jofs.or.kr

 Akhtaruzzaman et al.

tivation and monoculture plantations can change the nu- On this background, the present study was undertaken
trient cycling processes through changes in plant cover and to determine some physicochemical properties of land with
species composition owing to differential patterns among different cover that can be used as a baseline for refor-
plant species in litter production and turnover and nutrient estation and soil management.
accumulation (Lugo 1992). Frequent harvesting of forest
plantations result in long-term decline in soil organic car- Materials and Methods
bon (SOC) and nutrient content due to disruption of the
Study area
flow of carbon and nutrients through litter, removal of large
amounts of nutrients from the soil through biomass and al- The soils under present investigation are at hilly region
so losses by erosion and leaching (Zech and Drechsel and have similar soil parent materials (Tertiary sediments),
1998). However, the continuous conversion of vegetal areas parent rocks (Tertiary rocks) and climate. Topography and
to non-vegetal surfaces reduces soil productivity as a result slope gradient of the study sites are more or less similar.
of increased soil erosion and changes in moisture content. The soils under study are classified as Brown Hill Soils as
SOC loss caused by the conversion of natural to culti- general soil type.
vated vegetation is well documented (Yan et al. 2012). Chittagong region has a sub-tropical climate, with annu-
o o
Globally, 24% of the SOC stock has been lost through the al temperatures varying from 13 C in January to 32 C in
conversion of forestland to cropland (Murty et al. 2002). April, May. Chittagong receives on an average 2735 mm of
Land-use change is also associated with changes in land precipitation annually. The dry season, prevailing from
cover and C stocks (Bolin and Sukumar 2000). Each soil November to February, is cool and dry and receives about
has an equilibrium C storage potential that is determined by 2% of the total annual rainfall, mostly occasionally drizzles.
the nature of vegetation, climatic conditions, and phys- Hill soil has developed from tertiary sediments of Dupi
icochemical properties of the soil (Six et al. 2002). Tila formation. The Dupi Tila series is also characterized
Cultivation can alter soil physical, chemical, and bio- by the presence of inter-bedding of sandstones and shales
logical properties (Grant and Lafond 1993). Several studies and local occurrence of fossilized or silicified wood frag-
have reported the negative impacts of tillage, crop rotation, ments and conglomerate. Ringbong plantation forest situ-
inappropriate agricultural management and indiscriminate ated at Chakaria forest beat in Faissakhali range under
supply of nutrients on soil quality (Angers 1992; Ismail et Chittagong South Forest Division. The forest comprises
al. 1994). Soil nutrient status can be changed where forest is mainly dhaki jam (Syzygium grande) and garjan (Dipterocarpus
cleared for agricultural cultivation, allowed to revert to nat- turbinatus, Dipterocarpus alatus) species (planted in 1979).
ural vegetation or replanted to perennial vegetation (Fu et The barren site and nearby cultivated site under study were
al. 2001). In most cases, more soil nutrients are removed located at inside and outside of Chittagong University,
from the system by leaching, gaseous losses, soil erosion Hathazari upazilla of Chittagong district respectively. The
and through crop uptake than are returned to the soil in the three locations (i.e. planted forest land, barren land and cul-
form of litter fall or crop residues. Such variation in land tivated land) were selected for soil sampling (Fig. 1). The
cover may have an impact on soil properties. Changes in basic site information of three land use types was given in
land use cover have significant effect on the amount and di- Table 1.
versity of biomass returned to the soil, which was also re-
Sampling method
lated to the nutrient pool restored to the soil. There is
strong rational for predicting that land cover would have a There were three 10×10 m plots chosen in each land
significant influence on soil properties and nutrient condi- use. Soil samples were taken from two layers of 0∼15 and
tions. A few reports or information on changes in soil prop- 15∼30 cm at four corners of each plot as described above.
erties after forest clearing are available in the literature. Before collecting samples, first the ground litter and grassy
There is a need for determining soil properties due to the materials were removed. The soil samples were then col-
effect of land use change from forest to the cultivated land. lected in three replicates from each depth mixed thoroughly

J For Env Sci 31(1), 14-23 15

Properties of soils under different land uses

Fig. 1. Study area of Chittagong

region, Bangladesh.

Table 1. Land use of different sites under study

Land use type Latitude (N) Longitude (E) Land use Topography Slope (%)
o o
Planted forest land 21 40΄07″ 092 05΄02″ Syzygium grande, Dipterocarpus turbinatus, High land Nearly level (3%)
Dipterocarpus alatus
Barren land 22o27΄97″ 91o46΄81″ Herbs, shrubs, grasses High land Nearly level (2%)
o
Cultivated land 22 28΄69″ 91o47΄71″ Summer crops- Fallow- Winter crops Medium High land Nearly level (2%)

3
to form a composite soil sample and brought to the labo- were measured using a stainless steel core of 100 cm vol-
ratory in labeled poly bag. Each sample was air-dried and ume by weight method: the weight of soil in the core and its
o
sieved through a 2 mm screen. Samples were stored at room dry weight after oven-drying at 105 C were measured. In
temperature for the determination of soil physical and case of MWHC, the weight of soil in the core under satu-
chemical properties. ration with water was measured before getting dry weight.
Particle size distribution of the soils was determined by The pH was measured in soil-water suspension (1：2.5)
hydrometer method (Day 1965). Maximum water holding using a corning glass electrode pH-meter. Organic carbon
capacity (MWHC) and bulk density of different soil layers and total nitrogen were determined by wet-oxidation meth-

16 Journal of Forest and Environmental Science http://jofs.or.kr

 Akhtaruzzaman et al.

od of Walkley-Black (1934) and micro-Kjeldahl’s method use types. Cultivated land had significantly higher content
(Jackson 1973) respectively. Available phosphorus was ex- of silt at the surface and subsoil than planted forest and bar-
tracted with Bray and Kurtz no.2 extractant and measured ren land. Clay contents in Planted forest were significantly
by SnCl2 reduced molybdophosphoric blue color method higher than in fallow site at surface soils and than in fallow
using spectrophotometer (Jackson 1973). Available cal- and cultivated sites at subsoil (Table 2).
cium, magnesium and potassium were extracted with 1N Maximum water holding capacity (MWHC) of soils
NH4OAC and determined by an atomic absorption ranged from 30.24 to 34.43% and from 32.60 to 37.53% in
spectrophotometer. Significant differences in soil properties the surface of cultivated and subsoils of planted forest sites
due to effects of planted forest land, barren land and culti- respectively (Table 3). MWHC was found to increase with
vated land uses was tested by paired t test using Minitab depth under the three different land uses. Planted forest
-1
(1996). Total storage (Mg ha ) of soil organic carbon land had higher values than barren land and cultivated
(SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) at each soil depth was cal- land. MWHC varied significantly in surface soils among
culated according to Guo and Gifford (2002). three land uses while significantly differed in subsoils be-
tween planted forest land and barren land uses (Table 3).
-3
Results The bulk density of soils varied from 1.32 g cm to 1.42 g
-3 -3 -3
cm and 1.45 g cm to 1.50 g cm and at the surface of
Soil physical characteristics
planted forest sites and at subsoil in cultivated sites re-
Table 2 showed that sand was the dominant particle and spectively (Table 3). Both surface soil and subsoil of culti-
showed no significant difference in the surface layers while vated site had significantly higher bulk density than that of
in subsoil it differed significantly within the different land planted and fallow land sites. The bulk density of soils in all

Table 2. Textural class of soils under investigation

Soil layer Location Sand Silt Clay Texture*
a a a
Surface soil Planted forest land 60 (0.58) 17 (1.73) 23 (1.20) Sandy clay loam
(0∼15) Barren land 62a (1.15) 18a (1.55) 20b (0.67) Sandy clay loam
a
Cultivated land 63 (1.73) 20b (1.15) 17ab (0.88) Sandy loam
Subsoil Planted forest land 51a (0.67) 20a (1.53) 29a (5.20) Sandy clay loam
(15∼30) Barren land 55b (1.00) 20a (1.00) 25b (4.62) Sandy clay loam
c
Cultivated land 58 (1.53) 21a (2.60) 21cb (3.46) Sandy loam
Each value is the mean of soil samples of three plots in each land use. Values in the parentheses are standard deviations of samples. Values with
different lowercase (a∼c) letters are significantly different in the same soil layers at different land-use systems (p<0.05).

Table 3. Soil physical characteristics under different land use systems

Maximum water
Soil layer Location Bulk density (g cm-3) Total porosity (%)
holding capacity (%)
Surface soil Planted forest land 34.43a (5.20) 1.32a (0.04) 45.23a (0.56)
(0∼15) Barren land 33.32b (1.73) 1.37a (0.06) 43.39a (0.46)
Cultivated land 30.24c (1.15) 1.42ab (0.07) 42.04a (1.17)
Subsoil Planted forest land 37.53a (4.46) 1.45a (0.173) 41.53a (0.421)
(15∼30) Barren land 35.31b (2.89) 1.46a (0.064) 40.89b (0.514)
Cultivated land 32.60ab (1.67) 1.50ab (0.058) 40.24c (0.652)
Each value is the mean of soil samples of three plots in each land use. Values in the parentheses are standard deviations of samples. Values with
different lowercase (a∼c) letters are significantly different in the same soil layers at different land-use systems (p<0.05).

J For Env Sci 31(1), 14-23 17

Properties of soils under different land uses

Table 4. Chemical properties of soils under different land use systems

SOC Total N pH Avail. P Avail. Ca Avail. Mg Avail. K

Soil layer Location
(%) (%) H2O (mg kg-1) cmolcKg -1

Surface soil Planted forest land 1.14a (0.323) 0.12a (0.029) 4.53a (0.751) 7.95a (0.485) 1.52a (0.115) 0.59a (0.046) 0.21a (0.017)
(0∼15 cm) Barren land 0.70b (0.179) 0.09b (0.035) 4.40b (0.722) 6.89b (0.973) 0.98a (0.289) 0.46b (0.064) 0.17a (0.038)
cb
Cultivated land 0.59 (0.115) 0.10ab (0.038) 4.65c (0.731) 8.13a (1.15) 1.76ab (0.173) 0.68c (0.026) 0.22ab (0.040)
Subsoil Planted forest land 0.49a (0.208) 0.07a (0.025) 4.56a (0.785) 5.33a (1.79) 1.17a (0.231) 0.41a (0.092) 0.17a (0.023)
(15 Barren land 0.31b (0.217) 0.05a (0.021) 4.41b (0.753) 4.17b (0.92) 0.95a (0.058) 0.37a (0.035) 0.12b (0.012)
∼30 cm) Cultivated land 0.23c (0.214) 0.05a (0.017) 4.72c (0.811) 5.45a (1.04) 1.23a (0.133) 0.49ba (0.107) 0.19a (0.006)
Each value is the mean of soil samples of three plots in each land use. Values in the parentheses are standard deviations of samples. Values with
different lowercase (a∼c) letters are significantly different in the same soil layers at different land-use systems (p<0.05).

Fig. 2. Effect of different land-uses on Soil OC storage at surface soil and Fig. 3. Effect of different land-uses on total N storage at surface soil and
subsoil. subsoil.

profiles increased with depth (Table 3). higher in the upper soil depths than in the lower depths in
Soil porosity of all soil samples were found to be ranged the land uses studied. Total nitrogen at both surface and
from 42.04% to 45.23% in surface soils and 40.24% to subsoil in planted forest was found to be higher than in bar-
41.53% in subsoils of cultivated site and planted forest site ren and cultivated sites and differed significantly only from
respectively (Table 3). Unlike bulk density, porosity de- the barren sites in surface soil (Table 4).
creases with depth of soil profiles. Soil porosity showed sig- SOC storage in planted forest differed significantly from
nificant difference in surface soils at the three land uses. the upper soils of barren land and cultivated land and from
the lower soils of barren land at. The significant difference
Soil chemical characteristics
in total N storage was found only in planted forest and bar-
Table 4 showed planted forest land contained sig- ren land soils at subsoil. Total organic carbon and nitrogen
nificantly higher amount of soil organic carbon (SOC) than storage were higher in topsoils across the three land uses
the other sites in both surface and subsoils. SOC ranged than in lower soils (Fig. 2 and 3).
from 0.59% to 1.14% at the surface soil and 0.23% to Fig. 4 showed total SOC (soil organic carbon) storage
0.49% at the subsoil of cultivated soil and planted forest soil and total N storage in a total depth of 0∼30 cm. Total SOC
respectively. At surface soil SOC varied non significantly (soil organic carbon) storage and total N storage at both
between barren land and cultivated land. The SOC was layers in planted forest were observed higher in comparison

18 Journal of Forest and Environmental Science http://jofs.or.kr

 Akhtaruzzaman et al.

slightly higher in both layers of cultivated land than in

planted site. Available Ca contents differed significantly at
the surface soils of barren land and cultivated sites while
subsoils showed no significant difference among the three
sites. On the other hand, available Mg at surface soils varied
significantly among three sites and at subsoil differed sig-
nificantly between planted and cultivated sites. Available K
contents in barren land site were significantly lower as com-
pared to cultivated site at both surface and subsoil and also
to planted site at subsoil. Available Ca, Mg and K showed
the decreasing trends with depths in all land use types.

Fig. 4. Total soil organic carbon sand nitrogen storage at the total depth of 0 Discussion
∼30 cm under different land-use types.
Soil physical characteristics
to other two land uses (Fig. 4). The present investigation showed that sand was the
The values of total SOC storage in the depth of 0∼30 dominant soil particle in both depths. Brammer (1971) re-
cm decreased in the order: planted land > barren land > ported that sand is the dominant particle in brown hill soils
cultivated land .While TN storage in 0∼30 cm depth fol- because they developed from sandstone parent materials..
lowed the decreasing order: planted land > cultivated land Lower contents of clay at both layers of barren land and
> barren land (Fig. 4). TOC storage in cultivated soils was cultivated land sites might be due to intensive loss of clay
lower compared to other land uses. Unlike total SOC stor- fraction from the upper layer through leaching, surface
age, total N storage in cultivated soils was higher compared runoff and soil erosion during bare condition. Jaiyeoba
to barren soils although intensive crop cultivation and crop (2003) reported that clay contents of deeper depths in-
removal occurred in cultivated land. creased during cultivation might be due to either by clay
The soils under study are acidic in reaction. The pH val- translocation from the surface horizon or by removal of clay
ues varied significantly from 4.40 to 4.65 of surface soil and from the surface runoff. The clay and silt contents increased
4.41 to 4.72 in subsoil at barren and cultivated lands re- whereas the sand contents decreased with depths in all land
spectively (Table 4). The pH values at both surface and use systems. This could be due to the smaller soil particle
subsoils of cultivated site were significantly higher as com- move more easily through soil. An increase in clay and de-
pared to that of other two land uses. Available phosphorus crease in sand particle with depth in hill soil has been re-
-1 -1
contents varied from 6.89 mg kg to 8.13 mg kg in sur- ported by several workers (Brammer 1971; Rahman 2005).
-1 -1
face soils and 4.17 mg kg to 5.45 mg kg in the subsoils of MWHC might be affected by clay, organic matter con-
barren land and planted forest site respectively (Table 4). tents and soil depth among the land use systems. The in-
Cultivated soil contained the highest amounts of avail- creasing trend of soil moisture with depth under different
able P while, barren soils had the lowest contents in both land uses was possibly related to clay increment with depth.
surface and subsoils. Available P in barren site varied sig- Similar results were also reported by Gupta et al. (2010).
nificantly from planted forest land and cultivated sites in Higher bulk density at both depths in the cultivated land
two depths. could be due to the coarser texture, low organic matter con-
The dominant soluble cation was Ca and followed by tent and tillage operation of the cultivated soils. Bulk den-
Mg and K in land use types studied (Table 4).The concen- sity might be related to the presence of organic matter and
trations of available Ca, Mg and K were observed higher in clay content (Evrendilek et al. 2004), soil aggregate stabil-
both surface soils and subsoils of the cultivated site than in ity and porosity (Yan et al. 2009). The bulk density of soils
planted forest and barren sites. The soluble K contents were in all land uses increased with depth (Table 3) could be at-

J For Env Sci 31(1), 14-23 19

Properties of soils under different land uses

tributed to the greater compaction in the lower depths of the volatilization.

soils under study with time. The results of this study are in In case of cultivated site, a considerable amount of nitro-
consistent with the findings of other studies (Lee et al. gen is taken up by the crops from added fertilizer and very
2009; Gupta et al. 2010). little is returned to soils. The losses of total nitrogen in cul-
The higher porosity at both surface and subsoils of plant- tivated soils might also be enhanced by leaching and volati-
ed forest land could be explained by the presence of higher lization during wet condition and dry fallow period respec-
amount of organic matter and clay in planted forest soils. tively. Moreover, very little organic residues left upon the
Gupta et al. (2010) observed the same results and reported soil after harvesting. Patrick and Smith (1975) reported
a positive correlation between porosity with organic carbon that total tree harvesting caused the nutrient, including ni-
and clay content. For cultivated land, the lower porosity was trogen, to be removed up to three times compared to con-
mainly attributed to cultivation. Kizilkaya and Dengiz (2010) ventional logging.
reported that long-term cultivation without appropriate soil Total SOC or TN storage in soils of different land uses
management enhances rapid organic matter degradation and could mainly be associated with quantity, quality of organic
finally results in soil compaction and lower porosity. material, types of plant species, soil bulk density, human in-
terference, management practices etc. in the sites. Dube et
Soil chemical characteristics
al. (2009) found that variation in SOC stock at different
Planted forest types had significantly higher amounts of land-use types might be caused due to quantity and quality
soil organic carbon (SOC) in both layers as compared to the of plant material as well as soil bulk densities under differ-
other sites can be ascribed to addition of organic carbon ent land-uses. Total organic carbon and nitrogen storage
from plant cover (Table 4). Lowest amount of organic mat- were higher in upper soils than in lower soils. Previous stud-
ter was observed in cultivated soils because tillage operation ies reported that about 60% of SOC (Arevalo et al. 2009)
accelerates decomposition of organic matter. Similar ob- and N (Chen and Lee 2003) are stored in topsoil layers.
servation was reported previously by a number studies The plant litter played the vital role in C and N storage in
(Hajabbasi et al. 1997; Pulleman et al. 2005) that agricul- planted land. In case of cultivated land the management ac-
tural practices accelerated decomposition of soil organic tivities and nitrogen-fixing species (e.g. bean plants) are
matter and finally led to a net loss of soil organic matter important in TN storage. Many studies have found that ni-
from the cultivated soils. Kizilkaya and Dengiz (2010) re- trogen-fixing species can significantly increase soil N levels
ported that most of soil organic matter produced in the cul- (Youngberg and Wollum 1976; Binkley 1992).
tivated lands was removed with harvest while crop residues At the same time, cultivated soils contained the lowest
left over the soils and were placed under the soil with TOC storage. The possible explanation is that burning,
plough. Post and Mann (1990), and Lal et al. (1995) ob- plowing and intense management activities, such as remov-
served that agricultural management practices increased ing plants on the forest floor; increased loss of soil C.
aeration and the loss of carbon to the atmosphere. The up- The results showed that all soils under study were acidic
per soils had the higher SOC might be attributed to higher in nature. Acidic nature of hill soil was enhanced by in-
accumulation of organic matter on the topsoil. tensive leaching of bases through the soils. CERDI (1983)
Higher amount of total nitrogen at both surface and sub- also found that brown hill soil is strongly acidic in reaction
soil in planted forest than in barren and cultivated sites throughout the entire profile. The higher pH in both layers
might be attributed to the canopy cover that helped in nitro- of cultivated land might be associated with management
gen accretion in the soil. The lowest content of total nitrogen practices (e.g. ash application during ploughing and plant-
was observed at barren soils because of few and scattered ing) that were adopted by the farmers.
growth of vegetation (e.g. herbs, shrubs and grasses) that The highest content of available phosphorus in culti-
could enhance soil nutrient loss through surface erosion and vated soils could be due to phosphate fertilizer application
leaching during rainy season. The bare condition also accel- during cultivation. A number of studies reported that
erated the loss of nitrogen from barren soils through brown hill soils in Bangladesh are poor in available phos-

20 Journal of Forest and Environmental Science http://jofs.or.kr

 Akhtaruzzaman et al.

phorus (CERDI 1983; Chowdhury et al. 2007). The con- textured with poor physical properties. Planted forest had
centrations of P in soils depend on a combination of factors higher nutrient content in most cases than barren and culti-
including plant uptake, adsorption-desorption and dis- vated land uses. Available phosphorus, calcium, magne-
solution precipitation of inorganic P, the mineralization of sium and potassium were slightly higher in cultivated site
organic P and microbial immobilization and fertilizer addi- than that of other two land uses. Our study also shows that
tion (Perrott et al. 1990; Frossard et al. 2000). in soils of planted forest sites, higher content of OC and
The hill soils of Bangladesh are rich in sesquioxides TN was stored compared to barren and cultivated land
(Brammer 1996) that promote higher fixation of phospho- uses. Cultivation system and barren condition has sig-
rus under acid environment. The similar results have been nificantly affected soil physical and chemical properties in
reported by others (Ishizuka et al. 1998; Akbar et al. 2010). these two land uses. Soil physical and chemical properties
Lower amounts of available P in the subsoils of the three may be deteriorated if such condition continued further in
land uses studied might be ascribed to the lower amount of barren land uses although soil properties (i.e. soil texture,
organic matter and higher fixation of phosphorus in subsoils. OC, TN etc.) might also be affected in cultivated. Agro-
The cultivated soils had the higher contents of available forestry or plantation may be considered as the appropriate
Ca, Mg and K in both surface soils and subsoils than in method to reduce soil degradation in barren land. On the
soils of other two land uses. This might be explained as cul- other hand, cultivation is an important and traditional prac-
tivated soils under study received more available Ca and tice of crop production in the region. For the continuation
Mg and K from applied ash (a part of management practi- of cultivation, some measurements such as minimum till-
ces) during cultivation. No substantial change in soluble K age, use of crop residues and rotation techniques are ex-
was observed in both layers of cultivated and planted sites. pected to increase soil organic matter by minimizing the
Soto and Diazfierros (1993) reported that K released by de- loss of nutrients through soil erosion and leaching. Further
composition of organic residues might have leached easily research is to be needed to find out the ways to upgrade soil
into the deep layer of soil. Higher contents of available Ca, health and to increase or maintain soil carbon and other nu-
Mg and K in the top soils were probably associated with bi- trient storage.
ological accumulation from plants (Soto and Diazfierros
1993; Akbar et al. 2010). References
Planted forest land use has shown better physical and
chemical properties compared to barren and cultivated land Akbar MH, Ahmed OH, Jamaluddin AS Nik Ab, Majid NM,
uses. The possible reasons are: continuous addition of litter Abdul-Hamid H, Jusop S, Hassan A, Yusof KH, Arifin A.
in planted forest land plays an important role in improving 2010. Differences in soil physical and chemical properties of re-
habilitated and secondary forests. Am J Appl Sci 7: 1200-1209.
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Angers DA. 1992. Changes in Soil aggregation and organic carbon
concentrations of SOC and TN. On the other hand, bare under corn and alfalfa. Soil Sci Soc Am J 56: 1244-1249.
ground or agricultural activity reduces soil porosity, water Arevalo CBM, Bhatti JS, Chang SX, Sidders D. 2009. Ecosystem
holding capacity. Removal of vegetation increases top soil carbon stocks and distribution under different land-uses in north
erosion that results in a direct loss of soil organic matter. In central alberta, canada. For Ecol Manage 257: 1776-1785.
Binkley D. 1992. Mixtures of nitrogen-fixing and non-nitrogen
addition, cultivation accelerates organic matter decom-
fixing tree species. In: The Ecology of Mixed-Species Stands of
position, nitrogen mineralization and their losses from soil Trees (Cannell MGR, Malcolm DC, Robertson PA, eds). The
media. Higher temperature under bare condition is also as- British Ecological Society, Oxford.
sociated with the depletion of organic matter and nitrogen Bolin B, Sukumar R. 2000. Global perspective. In: Stabilization
through rapid decomposition. mechanisms of soil organic matter: Implications for C-satu-
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NH, Six J, Conant RT, Paul EA, Paustian K, eds). Plant Soil,
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Brammer H. 1971. Bangladesh Land Resources Technical
The result showed that the soils under study are sand Report-3. AGL: SF, Pak-6, FAO, Rome.

J For Env Sci 31(1), 14-23 21

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