Soil Properties Under Different Vegetation Types in Chittagong University Campus, Bangladesh

Soil physical and chemical properties at three layers such as top (0-10 cm), middle (10-20 cm) and bottom (20-30 cm) layers under three different vegetation types were studied. Soil samples were collected from Acacia forest, vegetable and fallow lands of Chittagong university campus, Chittagong, Bangladesh. Results showed that sand was the dominant soil particle followed by clay and silt fractions in all soil depths under different vegetation types. Soils of fallow land showed the highest values of bulk density while forest soils had the lowest values at three depths. Acacia forest soil having lowest values of dispersion ratio (DR) is less vulnerable while fallow soil with highest DR values is more vulnerable to soil erosion. The lower pH value at all soil layers in three ecosystems represented that soils under study are acidic in nature. Contents of organic matter, total nitrogen, exchangeable cations (Ca2+, Mg2+, K+ and Na+) and cation exchange capacity (CEC) were observed higher in Acacia forest soils compared to vegetable and fallow soils. Only soils of vegetable land had higher level of available phosphorus in three layers than that of other two land covers. The study also revealed that different soil properties were observed in three different vegetation types might be due to variation in vegetation and agronomic practices.