Association between Soil Fertility and Growth Performance of Planted Shorea macrophylla (de Vriese) after Enrichment Planting at Rehabilitation Sites of Sampadi Forest Reserve, Sarawak, Malaysia

Abstract

A study was conducted to determine the status of soil properties after enrichment planting in comparison to an adjacent secondary forest and to evaluate the effect of enrichment planting of Shorea macrophylla (de Vriese) on the soil fertility status with special reference to Soil Fertility Index (SFI) and Soil Evaluation Factor (SEF) at Sampadi Forest Reserve, Sarawak. The study sites were stands rehabilitated in different years (1996: SM96; 1997: SM97; 1998: SM98; 1999: SM99) and secondary forest (SF). Findings indicated that the soils at rehabilitation sites and SF were strongly acidic in nature, with pH less than 5.50, poor soil exchangeable bases, and nutrient status. The soils were relatively of sandy clay loam to sandy clay. Principal Component Analysis revealed the three most significant components of the soil properties which explained 76.3% of the total variation. At surface soils, SFI was correlated with tree growth parameters of S. macrophylla, indicating that SFI is an applicable soil quality index as compared to SEF. Notwithstanding, a significant association was found between soil available phosphorus and planted S. macrophylla, indicating that soil phosphorus is a better indicator than SFI. Further studies on other environmental factors influencing tree growth performance, early establishment of experimental reforestation at nursery, and field should be implemented to obtain the initial data on seedling growth performance prior to outplanting.

Soil properties after forest rehabilitation by planting teak and mahogany in Java, Indonesia

“…We saw that soil pH decreased with increasing age of the planted stands, supporting Aweto (1981), Perumal et al (2017), and Li et al (2013) who observed a decline in soil pH over 10, 18, and 30 years, respectively, as result of a succession. We showed that this decline continued with age.…”

Evaluation of Physicochemical Properties of Sandy-Textured Soils under Smallholder Agricultural Land Use Practices in Sarawak, East Malaysia

“…Soil pro le description was conducted at the study sites for the identi cation of soil types [46]. Subsequently, undisturbed core samples (100 g•mL −1 ) were collected from 0-10 cm depth and 30-40 cm depth in triplicates for soil bulk density determination [47]. Soil hardness was determined using Yamanaka-type push cone penetrometer.…”

Effects of Soil Compaction and Relative Light Intensity on Survival and Growth Performance of Planted Shorea macrophylla (de Vriese) in Riparian Forest along Kayan Ulu River, Sarawak, Malaysia

“…However, in our recent study it was stated that the root of S. macrophylla trees was able to survive and grow under waterlogged soil conditions with a low availability of oxygen [10]. Thus, S. macrophylla not only is considered as shade tolerant species but also can be considered as flood tolerant tree [10,11].…”

“…Previous studies from our group [10,11,15] and others [6,[16][17][18] starting in the year 1999 have emphasized determining suitable species for enrichment planting in relation to the growth performance, planting techniques, and soil characteristics. Thus, this study was conducted due to a gap in the information available on the potential of indigenous tree species after enrichment planting for restoration ecology in riparian areas.…”