Assessment of Nutrient Turnover and Soil Fertility of Natural Forests of Central Western Ghats

This study was undertaken to quantify the nutrient turnover and soil fertility status in the natural forests of Central Western Ghats. Major nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium were analyzed in the litter, both from the samples collected in pre and post monsoon seasons. There was no much difference seen in the values between the two seasons studied in all the three nutrients studied among all the forest types studied. All the three nutrients analyzed were found to be marginally higher in evergreen forest among the forest soils analyzed. The major nutrients NPK turnover from the litter studied was different among the different forest types, it was found to be highest in evergreen forest type (9.36 t hayr, 0.57 t hayr, 4.43 t hayr) followed by semi evergreen (8.42 t hayr, 0.55 t hayr, 4.39 t hayr) and least was found in dry deciduous forest type (2.87 t hayr, 0.30 t hayr, 2.52 t hayr).