Acacia sieberiana Effects on Soil Properties and Plant Diversity in Songa Pastures, Rwanda

Table 1

Chemical characteristics of the top (0–10 cm) soil layer under and outside the canopies of Acacia sieberiana trees in Songa pasture, southern Rwanda.

Soil properties	Means under tree canopy (𝑛=48)	Means under open area (𝑛=48)
pH	5.79 ± 0.13	5.44 ± 0.08	*
N (%)	0.90 ± 0.06	0.63 ± 0.05	*
C (%)	4.76 ± 0.31	3.63 ± 0.29	*
P (ppm)	45.01 ± 5.72	31.54 ± 4.14	NS
Ca^2+	9.81 ± 0.55	4.14 ± 0.56	*
K^+	0.46 ± 0.03	0.58 ± 0.09	NS
Mg^2+	1.91 ± 0.10	1.94 ± 0.21	NS

∗and NS denote, respectively, significant and nonsignificant differences among means for soils under and away from tree crowns (𝑃<0.05).