Comparative analysis of some selected macronutrients of soil in orange orchard and degraded forests in Chittagong Hill Tracts,Bangladesh

Status of organic carbon (C), total nitrogen (N), available potassium (K), calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) in three different depths (0-5 cm, 5-15 cm and 15-30 cm) on two hill slopes of 35% and 55% in orange orchard cultivated by the Mro tribe of Chittagong Hill. Tracts (CHTs) were evaluated and compared with those in degraded bush forests, through digging three profiles in each land use. The content of all the five nutrients was found to be higher in the soil of orange orchard than in the soil of forest. But the variation was not consistent for both the slopes. The content varied depth wise also, having the highest value in surface soil in case of both the land uses on both the slopes. A mean available K content was significantly higher in orange orchard than in forest on 55% slope, while it was lower on 35% slope. Surface soil contained the nutrients of K and Ca with the amount of 0.2905-mg·g-1 soil and 3.025-mg·g-1soil respectively in the orchard, while 0.1934-mg·g-1 soil and 1.6083-mg·g-1 soil were respectively in the forest. Organic carbon and total nitrogen were found more or less similar in surface soil on both the land uses showing a slight difference. Available P was found only in orange orchard, and in forest it was too little in amount to detect by the spectrophotometer. The degraded forests were poor in nutrient content due to high rate of soil erosion, which would be possible to be improved by bringing it under tree cover as proved by the adaptation of orange orchard there.