Effect of Exotic Tree Plantations on Plant Diversity and Biological Soil Fertility in the Congo Savanna: With Special Reference to Eucalypts
F. Bernhard-Reversat
The environmental impact of eucalypt plantations in particular on soil water and nutrients, understorey vegetation and biodiversity is a controversial topic. Commercial plantations, mainly eucalypts, have been established on poor sandy soils of savannas in the Congo since 1978. This report on the role of biological factors in soil fertility complements studies of nutrient balance and logging residue management in progress in thses plantations. Biotic processes in relation to plantation age and biotic changes in successive rotations were investigated.
Short -rotation plantation forestry is a land use with numerous positive effects in the Congolese savanna environoment, although more research is needed on longer-term effects of silvicultureal practices on soil organic matter.
Publication Details
- Published: 2001
- Publisher: Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)
- ISBN-10: 9798764722
- Dewey Decimal: 634.973
- ECHO Library: 634.973 REV