Passive and Active Restoration Strategies to Activate Soil Biogeochemical Nutrient Cycles in a Degraded Tropical Dry Land

Table 6

Mean values (±SD) for some soil parameters (0–10 cm) in successional patches of mosquero (SPM), forest plantations of neem (FPN), and control sites without vegetation studied in Santafe de Antioquia (Colombia).

Parameter^a	Control sites	SPM	PCI	FPN	PCI
pH	6.3±0.6	6.3±0.3	0.99	6.4±0.4	1.01
SOM (%)	2.0±0.9	4.2±0.4^∗	2.19	3.4±1.3^∗	1.72
Nt (%)	0.21±0.09	0.25±0.06	1.19	0.27±0.04^∗	1.27
P (mg kg^−1)	3.3±0.9	1.8±0.5^∗	0.53	4.3±1.3^∗	1.31
Ca (cmolc kg^−1)	6.2±2.5	11.6±3.8^∗	1.87	7.1±3.6	1.15
Mg (cmolc kg^−1)	6.7±2.8	14.1±3.4^∗	2.11	7.3±2.9	1.10
K (cmolc kg^−1)	0.23±0.05	0.25±0.07	1.14	0.36±0.14^∗	1.61
ECEC (cmolc kg^−1)	13.0±4.6	25.9±6.5^∗	1.98	14.8±6.0	1.14
BD (Mg m^−3)	1.35±0.11	1.25±0.15^∗	0.93	1.25±0.09^∗	0.93
AE (%)	72.8±10.6	68.5±12.9	0.94	80.1±9.5	1.10

aAnalytical methods available in Westerman [8].
PCI: parameter change index (FPN/control or SPM/control), SOM: soil organic matter, ECEC: effective cation exchange capacity, BD: bulk density, AS: aggregate stability. *Indicates significant difference with control sites (Mann-Whitney, P ≤ 0.05).