TITLE:
Soil Organic Fractions in Cultivated and Uncultivated Soils of Costal Area in Bangladesh
AUTHORS:
Ipsita Sarkar, Md. Zulfikar Khan, Md. Hanif
KEYWORDS:
Particle Size Fraction, Soil Organic Carbon, Nitrogen, Saline Soil
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Agricultural Chemistry and Environment,
Vol.8 No.3,
August
8,
2019
ABSTRACT: Assessment of soil organic matter fractions can be instrumental in
understanding the causes of limited nitrogen supply, and thus soil fertility
restoration. A study was conducted in cultivated and uncultivated saline soil,
in order to assay soil organic carbon (SOC), its particle-size fractions and their
influence on cultivation and soil fertility at Sundarbans costal area in
Bangladesh. Soil samples were taken from the 0 - 15 and 15 - 30 cm depths from
four cultivated fields and from four nearby sites in a native mangrove forest
as references. Soil samples were physically fractionated into sand (2000-50 μm), silt (50-2 μm) and clay (
silt > sand. The SOC pool and N in the clay-sized fraction were correlated
to soil fertility indicators. More N was stored in the silt + clay
size fractions, a generally more stable pool, than in the more labile
sand-sized pool. The SOC pool in sand size fractions was far below in
cultivated soils than in a reference uncultivated soil. Thus, the sand-sized
pool emerged as the most likely cause of limited N supply in cultivated soils.