Note on a Preliminary Study of the Effects of an East African Softwood Crop on the Physical and Chemical Condition of a Tropical Soil

Abstract

Some soil physical and chemical properties were measured under a secondary indigenous forest cover and a 16-year-old stand of Cupressus lusitanica. No significant differences in the physical parameters were noted; but distinct differences in some of the chemical determinations, viz. nitrogen, exchangeable bases, exchangeable hydrogen and pH, were found particularly at the top of the soil profile; however, the sampling technique requires to be refined. Further detailed studies are planned.