Agricultural Reviews

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Agricultural Reviews, volume 25 issue 3 (september 2004) : 157 - 172

NUTRIENT CYCLING IN FOREST ECOSYSTEMS - A REVIEW

J.C. Sharma, Yogender Sharma
1Department of Soil Science and Water Management, Dr. Y. S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nimni, Solan (HP) - 173 230, India

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Cite article:- Sharma J.C., Sharma Yogender (2024). NUTRIENT CYCLING IN FOREST ECOSYSTEMS - A REVIEW. Agricultural Reviews. 25(3): 157 - 172. doi: .

ABSTRACT

Nutrient management has been well recognized since early times and has become highly relevant with the advent of various commercial forestry programmes. There is a need to understand the nutrient cycling and also budgeting in different forest ecosystems to know the amount of nutrients to be replenished to maintain the forest ecosystems in good health. The cycling of nutrients is important both in natural forests and man made protected plantations as considerable amount of nutrients are returned through litter fall, weathering of rocks, biological N 2 fixation, rainfall etc. and become available for reabsorption. Investigations carried out by various researchers with different forest species in India and abroad demonstrated considerable variations in the major components of nutrient cycle. Maximum amount of macronutrients (N, 33–57%; P, 13–38%; K, 40–48%; Mg, 40–68%) in Tectona grandis, Gmelina arborea and Eucalyptus was accumulated in bole, while maximum Ca (57–75%) was held in bark. Though large amount of nutrients was accumulated in the biomass components of the standing crop, but the annual retention of N, P, K, Ca and Mg was much less than the quantity returned to the soil through litter fall. Harvesting of only utilizable biomass (148 t/ha) ofTectona grandis at the age of 30 years removed 247, 41, 170, 632 and 198 kg/ha N, P, K, Ca, and Mg, respectively. However, harvesting of utilizable biomass of Eucalyptus grandis (264 t/ha) at the age of 11 years removed comparatively higher amount i.e. 380, 50, 220, 650 and 220 kg/ha of N, P, K, Ca, and Mg, respectively. But, the total amount of these respective nutrients removed in the whole tree harvesting ofEucalyptus hybrid at the age of 10 years was comparatively less i.e. 341, 9, 199, 293 and 139 kg/ha, N, P, K, Ca and Mg, respectively. The harvesting of utilizable biomass in Eucalyptus grandis irrespective of age was more exhaustive. The removal, retention and release of nutrients varied with species, age, site and climate conditions etc. Fixation of atmospheric N 2 by microorganisms is probably the most important pathway for this element to enter the forest ecosystems.

KEYWORDS

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