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Changes in soil organic matter and phosphorus fractions under planted fallows and a crop rotation system on a Colombian volcanic-ash soil

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Abstract

Planted tree or shrub fallows can help increase the fertility of degraded tropical soils. We investigated the effects of planted fallows of Indigofera (IND), Calliandra (CAL), and Tithonia (TTH); a natural, unmanaged fallow (NAT); and a maize/bean rotation (ROT) on the dynamics and partitioning of soil organic matter (SOM) and phosphorus (P). One year after treatment, samples were collected from a fine-textured volcanic-ash soil (Oxic Dystropept) of a mid-altitude hillside in southwestern Colombia. The SOM in the sand-size fraction (150–2000 μm) was subdivided into light (LL), intermediate (LM), and heavy (LH) fractions. Total soil P was also fractionated into inorganic (Pi) and organic (Po). Of the planted fallows, TTH most increased and NAT least increased plant-available Pi and Po. The amounts of C, N, and P in the LL and LM fractions of SOM followed the order, TTH>CAL>NAT>ROT>IND and CAL>TTH>IND>NAT>ROT, respectively. Total amounts of N, P, K, Ca, and Mg in the soil were significantly (P < 0.05) highest under TTH and lowest under NAT. The fallow and ROT systems did not affect the C/N, C/P, and N/P ratios in the soil but significantly did so in the LL and LM fractions of SOM. Significant correlations indicated that the P content in the LL and LM fractions of SOM may help determine the amounts of NaHCO3-extractable Pi and Po, which may therefore serve as sensitive indicators of `readily available' and `readily mineralizable' soil P pools, respectively, in the volcanic-ash soils of the Andes.

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  1. B.R. Singh

    Present address: The Ohio State University, 210 Kottman Hall, 2021 Coffey Road, Columbus, OH, 43210–1085, U.S.A

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Agricultural University of Norway, P.O. Box 5028, NLH,N-1432, Aas, Norway

    S. Phiri & B.R. Singh

  2. Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT), Apartado Aéreo 6713, Cali, Colombia

    E. Barrios & I.M. Rao

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Phiri, S., Barrios, E., Rao, I. et al. Changes in soil organic matter and phosphorus fractions under planted fallows and a crop rotation system on a Colombian volcanic-ash soil. Plant and Soil 231, 211–223 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010310300067

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