Soil is a basic natural resource for food production, the vast majority of food we consume is either directly or indirectly derived from soil. Soil quality determines the quantity and quality of foods grown. Protecting the soil's physical, chemical and biological integrity is therefore of vital importance in safeguarding global food security. This paper evaluates the physical and chemical properties of soils in the rainforest of the Takamanda in Southwestern Cameroon and their implications on agricultural productivity and food security. Soils were randomly sampled using a bucket soil auger at the left, middle and right flank of the 50 ha Takamanda forest dynamic plot. Soils were sampled from three flanks at depths of 0 -10 cm, 10 -20 cm and 20 -30 cm. Bulk density increased with soil depth in all the flanks. Soil nitrogen, organic carbon, potassium, magnesium, sodium, phosphorus and cation exchange capacity were greater in topsoil (0 -10 cm) than subsoils. Soil Ca and pH were slightly greater at 20 -30 cm soil depths with value of 0.45 cmol (+)/kg and 4.24 respectively. Soil C/N ratio was highest (13.12) in 10 -20 cm soil depth though it was not significantly different from the other soil depths. To promote food production, an integrated cost-effective approach to soil management should comprise the use of acid-tolerant species of crop plants, efficient use of fertilizers, suitable crop rotations, crop diversification and agroforestry.
Understanding litterfall and macronutrients in the rainforest ecosystem gives baseline information on nutrient dynamics. Litterfall and macronutrients return were studied for 12 months from November 2011 to October 2012 in a 50 ha plot in the Takamanda National Park, South-western Cameroon. This study evaluates the pattern and quantity of litterfall, with implications for forest productivity. It thus assesses the macronutrient concentrations, nutrient inputs into the surface soil, nutrient retranslocation by some key tree species and some physicochemical properties of the soil in the study site. Litter traps where placed randomly in the study plot. Litter was collected every fortnight sorted and air-dried after which they were oven dried at 70°C to constant weight. Soils were sampled from three flanks at depths of 0-10cm, 10-20cm and 20-30cm. Percentage retranslocation or accumulation before leaf fall was calculated from freshly fallen litter and mature green leaf. Total annual litterfall was 5.46 t/ha/yr and this varied with the seasons. Leaf litter contributed 90.9% of total litterfall. The concentration of N and Ca was higher than other nutrient elements Mg, K, P in all litter fragments. Nitrogen had the highest total nutrient input with the following pattern N>Ca>K>Mg>P (85.36 kg/ha/yr> 56.71 kg/ha/yr> 23.1 kg/ha/yr> 17.32 kg/ha/yr> 4.27 kg/ha/yr) respectively.Pterocarpus soyauxii had the highest retranslocation percentages for all the macronutrients studied compared to Afziliabipidensis and Terminalia ivorensis. It was observed that Terminalia ivorensis could be a good nutrient recycler that could be used to improve on degraded soils. It was however observed that Ca and Mg tend to accumulate in leaf litter for all the three species.
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