Floristic composition of agroforestry parklands in the semi-arid zone of Ghana: A special focus on Faidherbia albida (Delile) A. Chev

Akpalu, Stephen Edem; Anglaaere, Luke C. N.; Damnyag, Lawrence; Dawoe, Evans; Abunyewa, Akwasi A.; Akpalu, M. M.

doi:10.1016/j.tfp.2022.100310

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 35 publications

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“…Faidherbia albida, hereafter F. albida, is an important agroforestry species introduced that is deliberately left to grow in croplands, mainly in the arid and semi-arid areas of Africa and the Middle East [29]. The tree fixes atmospheric nitrogen through symbiotic association with Rhizobium bacteria [30] (Teixeira, 2016), particularly with Brady rhizobium species [31].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in Ammonium-to-Nitrate Ratio along Faidherbia albida Tree Age Gradients in Arenosols

Amare,

Haile,

Birhane

2024

Nitrogen

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Faidherbia albida can enhance the bio-physicochemical fertility of inherently infertile Arenosols. Changes in the soil ammonium (NH4+)-to-nitrate (NO3−) ratio have agricultural, environmental, and ecological implications. Thus, the present study mainly examined the changes in Arenosol NH4+/NO3− ratios, as influenced by varying Faidherbia albida tree age classes. We collected 40 composite soil samples (4 tree age classes×2 soil depths×5 replications) from 0 to 15 and 15 to 30 cm soil depths following core and auger sampling techniques. Analyses of variance have shown that the highest NH4+/NO3− ratios for soil under the old tree canopies are followed by the medium age. In contrast, the significantly lowest NH4+/NO3− ratios were recorded for soil out-of-canopy. Pearson correlation analysis revealed that the NH4+/NO3− ratio was strongly and positively correlated with clay content, total nematode abundance, the fungi/bacterial biomass ratio, cation exchange capacity, microbial biomass carbon, total nitrogen, and soil organic carbon but negative for sand content, bulk density, and pH. The increment in the plant-available forms of nitrogen might be attributed to the accumulation of biologically fixed nitrogen by the Faidherbia albida tree–Rhizobium bacteria symbiosis. The NH4+/NO3− ratio approached one in soil under the old Faidherbia albida trees. The findings suggest that (1) the ability of soil to retain NH4+ increased and (2) the rate of nitrification might be decreased due to inhibition of nitrification by direct and indirect effects of the tree on the nitrifying group of bacteria. The increment in the NH4+/NO3− ratio could also be due to the lowering of the soil’s pH in the older Faidherbia albida trees because lower pH is known to inhibit the activities of nitrifying bacteria. Moreover, maintaining older Faidherbia albida trees in farmlands could contribute to retaining nitrogen and trigger below- and above-ground communities’ successions and ultimately surpass the productivity of arid and semi-arid Arenosols.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in Ammonium-to-Nitrate Ratio along Faidherbia albida Tree Age Gradients in Arenosols

Amare,

Haile,

Birhane

2024

Nitrogen

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Perennial plant species composition and diversity in relation to socioecological variables and agroforestry practices in central Ethiopia

Demie,

Negash,

Asrat

et al. 2023

Agroforest Syst

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Changes in Arenosol Nematode Abundance and Trophic Composition as Influenced by Different Faidherbia albida (Delile) A. Chev. Tree Stand Ages in Northern Ethiopia

Amare,

Haile,

Birhane

2024

Forest Pathology

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Faidherbia albida (Delile) A. Chev., hereafter F. albida is an important agroforestry tree species in the semi‐arid highlands of Tigray, northern Ethiopia. The paper analyses how different stand ages of the tree could influence nematodes' abundance, trophic composition and selected community index values. A total of 40 composite soil samples were collected from out‐canopies and under‐canopies of different tree stand age classes designated as young (15–20 years), medium age (35–40 years) and older (> 60 years). Nematodes were extracted following the Baermann funnel technique, identified and counted under an inverted Olympus microscope according to their trophic groups. The highest total count of nematodes and relative abundance of fungivores, omnivores and predatory nematode trophic groups were counted from soil samples influenced by older F. albida trees. The relative abundance of bacterivores and plant parasitic nematodes was low. The nematode channel ratio became lower in soils as influenced by older trees while the Wasilewska index was significantly high. The age difference of the trees influenced the abundance of the soil nematode feeding groups and their ecological index values. Moreover, the results have shown the enhancement of nematode trophic diversity. Redundancy analysis showed that tree age significantly influenced the relationships of nematode trophic groups with the studied soil bio‐physicochemical properties. Generally, the findings indicate that the soil food web becomes more complex and functional under the older trees.

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Floristic composition of agroforestry parklands in the semi-arid zone of Ghana: A special focus on Faidherbia albida (Delile) A. Chev

Cited by 3 publications

References 35 publications

Changes in Ammonium-to-Nitrate Ratio along Faidherbia albida Tree Age Gradients in Arenosols

Changes in Ammonium-to-Nitrate Ratio along Faidherbia albida Tree Age Gradients in Arenosols

Perennial plant species composition and diversity in relation to socioecological variables and agroforestry practices in central Ethiopia

Changes in Arenosol Nematode Abundance and Trophic Composition as Influenced by Different Faidherbia albida (Delile) A. Chev. Tree Stand Ages in Northern Ethiopia

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