Comparative Evaluation of Soil Physico-Chemical and Enzymatic Dynamics in Termite Mounds Across Tea Cultivation and Fallow Land Use Systems
Sushmita Konwar
Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Assam Down Town University, Panikhaiti, Guwahati, Assam-781026, India.
Gayatri Goswami Kandali
Department of Soil Science, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam-785013, India.
Binoy Kumar Medhi
Department of Soil Science, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam-785013, India.
Boishali Dutta *
Department of Soil Science, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam-785013, India.
Bitopan Das
Department of Agriculture, Govt. of Assam, South Salmara-Mankachar, Assam-783135, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
This study was conducted to analyse the soil properties of the epigeal portions of the termite mounds compared to their adjacent soils under tea (T) and fallow (F) land-use systems in Jorhat, Assam, India. Fifty samples were collected: one from each of the top, centre and base of the mounds, alongside two samples from adjacent surface soils at distances of 1 m and 1.5 m from the mound base. The collected samples were evaluated for physicochemical properties, nutrient content and biological parameters using standard laboratory protocols. The results indicated that termite activity was associated with enrichment of clay (31.21±2.12% in T and 30.14±1.97% in F in the mound soils, and 26.33±1.99 % in T and 25.33±2.31% in F in the adjacent surface soils), organic carbon and key plant-available nutrients (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S) and elevated water holding capacity in the mound soils compared to the adjacent surface soils. Nitrogen content was found to be higher in the mound soils (210±4.28 kg/ha in F and 225±5.71kg/ha) compared to the adjacent surface soils (157±5.21 kg/ha in F and 171.46 kg/ha). The activity of dehydrogenase was found to be 85.24±4.12 µg TPF/g soil/24hr in the mounds under tea and 81.26±4.56 µg TPF/g soil/24hr under the fallow land-use system, compared with 75.35±4.24 µg TPF/g soil/24hr under tea and 68.23±4.98 µg TPF/g soil/24hr under the fallow land-use system. The Soil Quality Index (SQI) values indicated marked aggradation in the termite mound soils (32.12 in T; 31.80 in F) compared to the adjacent soils (29.32 in T; 26.21 in F).
Keywords: Termite mounds, tea cultivation, fallow land, soil physicochemical properties, soil enzymes, soil quality index, organic carbon, soil nutrients, water-holding capacity