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Production and nutrient content of earthworm casts in a tropical agrisilvicultural system

dc.contributor.authorNorgrove, L.
dc.contributor.authorHauser, S.
dc.date.accessioned2019-12-04T11:21:11Z
dc.date.available2019-12-04T11:21:11Z
dc.date.issued2000
dc.identifier.citationNorgrove, L. & Hauser, S. (2000). Production and nutrient content of earthworm casts in a tropical agrisilvicultural system. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 32(11-12), 1651-1660.
dc.identifier.issn0038-0717
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12478/3702
dc.description.abstractEarthworm surface cast production and nutrient turnover through casts were measured for 3 years in a 17-year-old timber plantation in southern Cameroon after selective reduction to two timber stand densities (TSDs) and understorey cropping with plantain and tannia. Neither understorey cropping nor timber stand density treatments had significant effects upon cast production in any year. Mean cast production in cropped plots was 35.7 Mg ha−1in the first year, 34.9 Mg ha−1 in year 2 and 30.1 Mg ha−1 in year 3. This was 63%, 84%, and 65%, respectively, of cast production in undisturbed, unthinned timber plantation plots. In comparing cast nutrient concentrations between years 1, 2 and 3, there were highly significant correlations for nearly all nutrients in control plots but fewer such correlations in the low TSD. In cropped plots, none of earthworm parameters was correlated with nutrient concentrations of slash or amounts of slash applied to the soil surface at establishment. There were positive correlations between cast N and litterfall N (kg ha−1 y−1) in both year 2 (cast N = 0.49 × litterfall N + 61.7, r2=0.46) and year 3 (cast N = 0.38 × litterfall N + 55.6, r2=0.42). The ratio of soil:cast nutrient concentrations were related by negative power functions to soil nutrient concentrations for all nutrients and organic carbon. This suggests that earthworm communities adjust to lower soil nutrient concentrations by increasing their selectivity and thus produce relatively higher quality casts on poorer soil.
dc.language.isoen
dc.subjectAgroforestry
dc.subjectSouthern Cameroon
dc.subjectTerminalia Ivorensis
dc.subjectTimber Stand Density
dc.subjectSoil Nutrient Concentration
dc.subjectSoil Fertility
dc.subjectSoil Organic Matter
dc.subjectEcosystem
dc.subjectEarthworm Population
dc.titleProduction and nutrient content of earthworm casts in a tropical agrisilvicultural system
dc.typeJournal Article
dc.description.versionPeer Review
cg.contributor.affiliationUniversity of London
cg.contributor.affiliationInternational Institute of Tropical Agriculture
cg.coverage.regionAcp
cg.coverage.regionAfrica
cg.coverage.regionEurope
cg.coverage.regionCentral Africa
cg.coverage.countryUnited Kingdom
cg.coverage.countryCameroon
cg.isijournalISI Journal
cg.authorship.typesCGIAR and advanced research institute
cg.iitasubjectPlant Production
cg.iitasubjectFood Security
cg.iitasubjectNutrition
cg.iitasubjectIntegrated Soil Fertility Management
cg.iitasubjectSoil Fertility
cg.iitasubjectSoil Health
cg.iitasubjectSoil Information
cg.iitasubjectDiseases Control
cg.iitasubjectLivelihoods
cg.iitasubjectPlant Breeding
cg.iitasubjectPests Of Plants
cg.iitasubjectPlant Diseases
cg.iitasubjectGenetic Improvement
cg.iitasubjectCassava
cg.iitasubjectFarm Management
cg.accessibilitystatusLimited Access
local.dspaceid95857
cg.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1016/S0038-0717(00)00081-X


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