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Annual Burning Enhances Biomass Production and Nutrient Cycling in Degraded Imperata Grasslands
Author(s) -
Pathak Karabi,
Nath Arun Jyoti,
Sileshi Gudeta W.,
Lal Rattan,
Das Ashesh Kumar
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
land degradation and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.403
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1099-145X
pISSN - 1085-3278
DOI - 10.1002/ldr.2707
Subject(s) - imperata , environmental science , nutrient , biomass (ecology) , phosphorus , grassland , agronomy , nutrient cycle , soil carbon , soil water , chemistry , ecology , soil science , biology , organic chemistry
The invasive species Imperata cylindrica is a dominant grass covering a large part of degraded lands of India. Imperata is managed through traditional annual burning, a practice that is prevalent throughout tropical grasslands. A field experiment was conducted to quantify the effects of burning on aboveground and belowground biomass production and soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), available phosphorus (Ave P), potassium (K + ), calcium (Ca + ), and magnesium (Mg + ) concentrations in 0‐ to 15‐cm soil depth under Imperata grassland. The burnt site had 44% and 14% higher aboveground and belowground biomass over the un‐burnt control plots after 300 days of the fire event. The concentrations of SOC, TN, and Ave P increased soon after the fire but decreased regressively with time after the fire in both micro and macro soil aggregate size fractions. In contrast, concentrations of K + , Ca + , and Mg + increased up to 30 days after the fire in both soil aggregate fractions. Burning did not significantly alter the stoichiometric ratios (C : N, C : P, and N : P) in macro aggregates. However, burning significantly reduced the C : N, C : P, and N : P ratios in micro aggregates during the first 0–30 days. Fire increased nutrient stocks (kg ha −1 ) by 20–35% in the burnt site in comparison to an un‐burnt control site. It is concluded that the conventional practice of annual burning increases soil nutrients in surface soils and supports higher biomass production in Imperata ‐covered degraded lands. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.