Litter Fall, Nutrient Return and Soil Fertility under Celtis australis: an Indigenous Agroforestry Tree Species in Himachal Pradesh, India

A study was conducted to assess litter fall, nutrient return and soil fertility under Celtis australis in Himachal Pradesh. The annual leaf-fall recorded in C. australis (81.80 g/m²/yr) was maximum followed by miscellaneous litter (60.71 g/m²/yr) and the least was from bark twigs component (3.50 g/m²/yr). Non-leaf litter in the species accounted for 43.98 per cent to the total litter. The highest litter-fall 34.17 g/m² was recorded in the month of October followed by 24.78 g/m² in November 23.04 g/m² while the least litter fall 2.00 g/m² was observed in the month of February. The annual mean concentration values of nitrogen for leaf, twigs and miscellaneous litter were 1.342, 0.818 and 0.857 per cent respectively. Comparatively low concentrations of N, P, K in leaf litter were observed during the months from October to December in C. australis. Total return of nutrients was in the order of Ca > N >Mg >K >P in C. australis. The order of nutrient input from different components of litter was leaves > miscellaneous litter > twigs. In general soils under C. australis were fertile having good physical and chemical health.