Long-term Effects of Trees on Soil Properties in the Salt-affected Vertisol

Physico-chemical properties of soil as influenced by different tree species after 16 years of planting were studied during 2007. After an initial decrease, the soil salinity started building up after 5–6 years of planting. The same trend continued after 16 years of planting in all the species except in Acacia nilotica, wherein a slight decrease in salinity was observed. In general, irrespective of species, plant growth parameters were highly correlated with the profile (0–90 cm) soil salinity than salinity of shallow depths (0–30 or 0–60 cm). The organic carbon build-up was higher under A. indica and Hardwickia binata after 16 years of planting (9.43 and 9.14 g kg⁻¹, respectively). Among the species, a higher calcium carbonate status was recorded under Casuarina equisetifolia (8.19%) followed by Azadirachita indica (7.38%). Based on the overall growth and biomass production, A. nilotica followed by C. equisetifolia were found to be more promising than others.