Chemical and microbial properties of semiarid tropical soils of short-term fallows in Burkina Faso, West Africa

In the soudano-sahelian zone of Burkina Faso, the short-term fallow effect on the soil chemical and microbial properties was evaluated. In four farm experiments, two types of fallows were compared with cultivated fields: a natural vegetation fallow and a fallow enriched with Andropogon gayanus. Afte...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biology and fertility of soils 2007-01, Vol.43 (3), p.313-320
Main Authors: Bilgo, A, Masse, D, Sall, S, Serpantié, G, Chotte, J-L, Hien, V
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural sciences
Agronomy
Andropogon
Carbon
Ecology, environment
Life Sciences
Natural vegetation
Organic carbon
Soil depth
Soils
Tropical environments
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Summary:In the soudano-sahelian zone of Burkina Faso, the short-term fallow effect on the soil chemical and microbial properties was evaluated. In four farm experiments, two types of fallows were compared with cultivated fields: a natural vegetation fallow and a fallow enriched with Andropogon gayanus. After 5 to 7 years of experiments, soil chemical and microbial characteristics were determined in laboratory for 0-10 cm soil depth. Soil organic carbon (+64%), nitrogen (+35%), microbial biomass (+76%), basal respiration (+141%), and β-glucosidase activity (+86%) were significantly higher in fallows plots than in cultivated fields. The metabolic quotient was not significantly different on fallows compared to the cropped plots. Also, no significant difference was highlighted between natural vegetation fallows and the A. gayanus-enriched one.
ISSN:0178-2762
1432-0789
DOI:10.1007/s00374-006-0107-4