Decomposition and nutrient loss from prunings of different contour hedgerow species in tea plantations in the sloping highlands of Sri Lanka |
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| Authors: | W A J M De Costa A M L K Atapattu |
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| Institution: | (1) Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Peredeniya, 20400, Sri Lanka |
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| Abstract: | Contour hedgerows of multipurpose tree species in the sloping tea lands of Sri Lanka are expected to reduce soil erosion and
also add significant amounts of plant nutrients to the soil via periodic prunings. The objective of this experiment was to characterize the biomass decomposition pattern and quantify the
amount of nutrients added through prunings of six tree species (Calliandra calothyrsus, Senna spectabilis, Euphatorium innulifolium, Flemingia congesta, Gliricidia sepium and Tithonia diversifolia) currently being used in hedgerows associated with tea. Withered leaf and stem prunings (50 g) were enclosed in 2-mm litter
bags, placed at 5-cm depth and retrieved after one, three, six, nine and 12 weeks. Loss of initial dry weight, N, P and K
was measured. Single exponential decay function adequately described both dry weight and nutrient loss. Tree species differed
significantly in their rate of breakdown with decomposition constants (k) varying from 0.0299 to 0.2006 week−1 for leaves and from 0.0225 to 0.0633 week−1 for stems. Gliricidia showed the highest k for leaves with the rest in the following descending order: Senna > Tithonia ≥ Euphatorium > Calliandra > Flemingia. A similar pattern was observed for loss of all nutrients with Calliandra and Flemingia always having lower k values than the rest. Although N immobilization was not observed, immobilization of P and K was observed
during the first week of incubation in some species, particularly in stem prunings. Annual biomass of prunings differed significantly
between tree species in the following descending order: Calliandra > Senna > Flemingia > Tithonia > Gliricidia > Euphatorium. Calliandra added the greatest amount of nutrients annually to the soil with Euphatorium adding the least. Calliandra prunings provided the annual total K requirement and 49% of the N requirement of mature tea. However, none of the species
provided more than 5% of the P requirement. It is concluded that among the tree species tested, Calliandra and Flemingia are the most suitable for contour hedgerows in tea plantations of this agroclimatic region because of their higher soil nutrient
enrichment capacity and slower decomposition rates which would minimize leaching losses.
This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date. |
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| Keywords: | Calliandra Euphatorium Flemingia Gliricidia Senna Tithonia |
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