Ecological Engineering 58 (2013) 434440

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Ecological Engineering
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ecoleng

Sodic soil reclamation potential of Jatropha curcas: A long-term study

Kripal Singh a,b, , Bajrang Singh a , Rakesh Tuli c
a

Restoration Ecology Group, CSIR National Botanical Research Institute, Rana Pratap Marg, Lucknow 226001, Uttar Pradesh, India
Department of Environmental Science, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar (Central) University, Raibarelly Road, Lucknow 226 025, Uttar Pradesh, India
c
National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute, Mohali 160 071, Chandigarh, India
b

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 19 January 2013
Received in revised form 22 May 2013
Accepted 4 July 2013
Available online 15 August 2013
Keywords:
Biomass
Enzyme activities
Microbial biomass
Prosopis juliora
Sodic soils

a b s t r a c t
Jatropha curcas L. (JCL) has been identied as a biodiesel plant globally. Efforts are underway to domesticate
JCL for high seed yield. The plant has potential to grow on marginal/degraded/substandard lands to avoid
competition with food crops, but little is known about its potential to reclaim degraded lands. At this
study, several accessions of JCL were planted in 2005 on sodic soil to assess soil amelioration potential
of the plant. After six years (2011) of plant growth, seed yield was not economically viable; however,
soil properties improved signicantly when compared to initial (0-year plantation) soil properties at
015 cm soil depth. Random soil samples were collected from 0 to 15 cm soil depth beneath and outside
canopies of JCL with high, medium and poor growth in the year 2008 (3-year plantation) and 2011 (6-year
plantation). Soil bulk density, pH, electrical conductivity (EC) and exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP)
decreased and soil organic carbon (SOC), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), microbial biomass (MB-C, MB-N
and MB-P) and enzyme activities (dehydrogenase, -glucosidase and protease) increased signicantly
with effect of JCL plantation. Signicant decrease in soil pH, EC and ESP has been noticed from 8.6 to
7.6, 1.29 to 0.98 dS m1 and 20.7% to 13.8%, respectively. Similarly, soil fertility parameters like SOC,
MB-C, dehydrogenase, -glucosidase and protease increased signicantly from 4.55 to 8.41 g kg1 , 98 to
352 g g1 , 16.3 to 51.2 g TPF g1 h1 , 75.8 to 338.2 g PNP g1 h1 and 43.7 to 163.2 g Tyrosine g1 h1 ,
respectively after 6 years of JCL cultivation on sodic soil. Changes in soil properties were signicantly
higher beneath the canopy than outside canopy. Soil sodicity parameters (bulk density, pH, EC and ESP)
and fertility attributes (SOC, N, P, MB and enzymes) were signicantly negatively and positively correlated
with the height, biomass and litter fall of JCL, respectively. Furthermore, to test whether changes in soil
properties are induced by test crop, changes were compared with Prosopis juliora plantation of same
age, which is generally planted for amelioration of sodic soils. The signicant decrease in soil sodicity and
increase in soil fertility conclude that JCL is equally good to reclaim the sodic soils.
2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Jatropha curcas L. (JCL) has been widely accepted as a biodiesel
plant which is supposed to contribute signicantly in biodiesel production all over the world (Francis et al., 2005). Global attention on
biofuel, ecosystem services, human well-being and utilization of
degraded lands with JCL plantations, has created a hyped interest in this species (Everson et al., 2012). Until now JCL is a wild
species but has ample scope in the production of biodiesel. It has
been speculated that JCL has potential to: reclaim marginal lands,
sequester atmospheric CO2 (aboveground and belowground), grow
under saline and sodic conditions, and use less water (high water

Corresponding author at: Department of Environmental Science, Babasaheb

Bhimrao Ambedkar (Central) University, Raibarelly Road, Lucknow 226 025, Uttar
Pradesh, India. Tel.: +91 8858355269.
E-mail addresses: kripalsingh04@gmail.com (K. Singh),
bsingh471@rediffmail.com (B. Singh).
0925-8574/$ see front matter 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2013.07.006

use efciency) (Francis et al., 2005; Achten et al., 2008). It is also

claimed as drought tolerant, has less nutrient requirement, low
labor inputs and does not compete with food production if cultivated on marginal lands. The plant is tolerant to pests and disease,
easily propagated and has a small gestation period (Abhilash et al.,
2011). Consequently, JCL is a potential biofuel plant for sustainable
environmental development (Pandey et al., 2012).
Recently, some of the physiological traits (water relations,
stomatal conductance, drought stress and photosynthetic performance) in seedlings of JCL have been investigated (Maes et al.,
2009, 2011; Achten et al., 2010; Ranjan et al., 2012), which support
its drought tolerance. Additionally, eld performance of a number
of accessions of JCL has also been monitored to optimize agrotechnology (Behera et al., 2010; Srivastava et al., 2011; Everson
et al., 2012; Singh et al., 2013a,d). Soil carbon sequestration
potential of JCL plantations has been assessed in varying edaphic
conditions (Srivastava et al., 2012; Wani et al., 2012). Restoration
of y ash landlls and phytoremediation of heavy metals from y

K. Singh et al. / Ecological Engineering 58 (2013) 434440

ash dykes through JCL plantations was addressed by Jamil et al.

(2009). Effect of reclaimed water irrigation on cultivation of JCL
was recently investigated (de Miguel et al., 2013) to use reclaimed
water as a complementary local energy option.
Although JCL plantation may results in soil fertility benets and
losses those were not included in above studies. Two recent studies
have investigated the effect of organic amendment on growth performance of JCL planted on a completely barren and degraded land
in the Sahelian area of Burkina Faso following three restoration
techniques (sub-soiling, half-moon and Zai) to conserve soil and
water (Kagamebga et al., 2011; Sop et al., 2011). A study on the contribution of JCL to increase structural stability and carbonnitrogen
content in a degraded Indian entisol is also available in the literature (Ogunwole et al., 2008). Similarly, Wani et al. (2012) have
assessed land rehabilitation through JCL by measuring soil organic
carbon, microbial biomass and microbial counts in a range of semiarid degraded lands. In another study, JCL inuenced the microbial
community structure signicantly in rhizosphere soils (Chaudhary
et al., 2012). In the rhizosphere soils of JCL, fungi were higher
than bacteria and actinomycetes (Chaudhary et al., 2012) which
contribute greatly in soil amelioration as fungal hyphae promote
aggregation of soils (Gupta and Germida, 1988).
Sodic soils are widely distributed in arid and semiarid part of
the world and pose a serious environmental problem as a missing sink for sequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (Singh
et al., 2013b). Sodic soils are characterized by high levels of soil pH
(>8.5), exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) and insoluble CaCO3
(Shukla et al., 2011). Additionally, these soils showed poor microbial and enzyme activities (Singh et al., 2012b). Several efforts have
been made to reclaim these soils through chemical and organic
amendments (Gill et al., 2009). Phytoremediation techniques are
also in practice (Bhojvaid and Timmer, 1998; Rahi and Singh, 2013;
Singh et al., 2012a,b). The monoculture plantation of Terminalia
arjuna, Prosopis juliora, Eucalyptus spp. and Albizia procera and
establishment of mixed forests for phytoremediation of degraded
sodic lands have been extensively adopted in semi-arid regions
(Bhojvaid and Timmer, 1998; Mishra and Sharma, 2003; Tripathi
and Singh, 2005; Haper et al., 2012; Vallejoa et al., 2012). Recently,
Singh et al. (2013c) reported the potential of Cynodon dactylon for
the revegetation of abandoned sodic lands. The changes in physical,
chemical and microbial properties of afforested sodic soils are likely
to depend on the age and species composition of the introduced
vegetation. Mechanisms and processes driving phytoremediation
of sodic soils have already been discussed in detail (Qadir et al.,
2002, 2007). In brief, plantation on calcareous sodic soils assists in
enhancing the dissolution rate of calcite (CaCO3 ) through plantsoil

435

interaction resulting in increased levels of Ca2+ in soil solution,

increase in partial pressure of CO2 due to root and microbial respiration and release of H+ from plant roots to increase in Ca2+ and
decrease soil pH and Na+ (Qadir et al., 2002, 2007).
As JCL is recommended for cultivation on degraded soils; therefore, it is important to assess its effectiveness to reclaim such
soils. Furthermore, as degraded lands are rehabilitated with JCL
crop, focus has been on changes in soil carbon sequestration (Wani
et al., 2012). Little attention has been paid to assess the impacts
of JCL plantation on the microbial activities of rhizosphere soils.
Therefore, it is proposed to study the changes in physical, chemical (carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus) and biological (microbial
biomass and enzyme activities) properties of sodic soil as a result
of JCL plantation. Changes in soil properties were measured using a
chronosequence (0, 3, and 6 years) to obtain a clear understanding
of the potential of JCL to reclaim sodic soils. It was hypothesized that
JCL plantation may reduce soil sodicity and enhance soil microbial
and enzyme activities.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Study site
The study was conducted at Banthra Research Station of CSIR
National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow (26 40 45 N
80 45 53 E), India. The study site has an average (20062011)
annual rainfall of 950 mm. The average daily temperature for the
study site is varied from 42 C (maximum) during summer (June
August) to 6 C (minimum) during winter (NovemberJanuary).
The soil is classied as Typic Halaquepts with poor drainage,
brownish gray color, yellowish brown mottles and silty clay texture. The soil was alkaline (pH = 810, ESP = 4590%, SAR = 425%)
with a calcareous layer throughout the soil prole (0100 cm). The
details of the sodic soils of this site can also be found in Singh et al.
(2012a,b).
2.2. JCL plantation, experimental approach and soil sampling
A total of 24 accessions of JCL were planted in a completely randomized block design (RBD) with four replicates in 45 cm3 relled
pits with the same soil at a spacing of 2.5 m 2.5 m (within a row
as well as between rows), corresponding to a density of about
1600 plants ha- 1 in September 2005. The plantation covers about
0.5 hectare (ha) area. Fig. 1 shows growth and plant architecture of
JCL. The eld was irrigated after the plantation and subsequently
in summer season as and when required. The objective of this

Fig. 1. A view of Jatropha curcas plantation, [A] an intact plant showing luxuriant growth on sodic soil and [B] plant architecture from bottom to top. Photograph by
corresponding author.

436

K. Singh et al. / Ecological Engineering 58 (2013) 434440

plantation was to assess growth performance and seed yield of

several accessions of JCL on sodic soils as well as to observe their
effectiveness in amelioration of sodic soils. The ndings of growth
performance and seed yield of different accessions have been published (Singh et al., 2013d) and in this paper soil amelioration is
reported.
Several random soil cores (15 cm soil depth, 4 cm diameter)
were collected in July 2005 from sodic land to know the actual
status of soil sodicity and fertility before JCL plantation. Initial soil
properties of plantation site are presented in tables as 0 year data.
Out of total plantation, 54 plants were marked to assess amelioration potential of JCL in September 2008 (at 3 year growth). These
plants were further divided in three subgroups (eighteen for each)
with high, medium and poor growth to correlate plant growth data
with soil properties. Four random soil cores were taken at 50 cm
radius from the each plant stem (beneath canopy) and composited
to generate three samples for each growth group. Similarly, outside
canopy samples were taken from open interspaces between plants.
Soil samples were taken in September 2008 and 2011, and were
sieved (2 mm), placed in plastic bags, transported to the laboratory
and divided in two parts for physicochemical and biological soil
analyses. One part of soil samples were air dried to analyze physicochemical soil properties and other stored at laboratory temperature
for fteen days before biological analysis.
2.3. Soil analysis
Soil bulk density was calculated through known volume of
steel core and weight of soil sampled by core at a time. KR box
method was applied for the measurement of water holding capacity
(Kalra and Maynard, 1991). Soil particle distribution was analyzed with International Pipette method described by Kalra and
Maynard (1991). Soil pH and electrical conductivity (EC) was estimated using soil:water (1:2) suspension with digital pH meter. Soil
organic carbon (SOC) was determined by the Walkley and Black
dichromate oxidation method (Kalra and Maynard, 1991). Total
nitrogen was estimated with H2 SO4 digestion and steam distillation method (Kalra and Maynard, 1991) and available nitrogen
was determined using KMnO4 solution followed by steam distillation (Kalra and Maynard, 1991). Extraction of available phosphorus
was done with NaHCO3 (Kalra and Maynard, 1991). Exchangeable sodium (Na+ ) was extracted in 1 N CH3 COONH4 (ammonium
acetate) and analyzed with atomic adsorption spectrophotometer
(Kalra and Maynard, 1991). Microbial biomass (MB-C, MB-N, and
MB-P) was estimated by the fumigationextraction methods as
suggested by Vance et al. (1987) and Brookes et al. (1982, 1985). The
activities of soil enzymes, dehydrogenase, -glucosidase and protease were determined with the methods described by Tabatabai
(1994).
2.4. Statistical analysis
Data was subjected to two way analysis of variance using a
SPSS Statistical Software SYSTAT 16.0 to determine the signicance
of growth years and canopy treatments on different soil properties. Correlation coefcients (r2 ) were also determined with linear
regression analysis to observe effect of growth parameters on soil
properties (SPSS 16.0). Results are presented as arithmetic means
of three measurements with their standard deviations.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Tree growth, biomass and litter fall
Variation in height and biomass is a natural feature in plantations crops as JCL attained the maximum 326 cm and minimum

Table 1
Growth performance of Jatropha curcas after six years of plantation (September
2005September 2011).
Growth parameters

Plant groups
High growth

Height (cm)
Stem diameter (cm)
Branches (number)
Canopy spread (cm)
Total biomass (kg plant1 )
Leal fall (kg plant1 year1 )

325.9
9.60
48.0
251.7
24.6
1.95

17.5
0.75
5.90
30.8
3.35
0.05

Medium growth
232.2
7.45
34.7
170.0
14.4
1.15

17.6
0.52
2.92
17.5
1.58
0.09

Poor growth
146.9
5.57
29.1
102.4
9.55
0.95

31.6
0.57
3.00
19.9
0.61
0.16

147 cm height with about 24.6 and 9.55 kg biomass (oven dry)
plant1 at 6 year of growth (Table 1). This might be due to different accessions of genetic variability or soil heterogeneity. The
growth of JCL in present study was similar to that of Srivastava
et al. (2011) but different from Behera et al. (2010). Srivastava
et al. (2011) found maximum 254 cm height at soil with 7.85 pH
and 3.60 g kg1 SOC and minimum 190 cm height at soil with 7.54
pH and 4.60 g kg1 SOC at 3 year growth of JCL. However, JCL
attained maximum 141 cm height at soil treated with VAM (Vascular Arbuscular Mycorrhyza) and minimum 57 cm in agroforestry
with Azadirachta indica (Behera et al., 2010) at same age. These
variations might be due to status of planting material and inherent
soil properties of study sites. Good growth performance of JCL at
present study site might be due to drought avoidance (low water
use efciency) (Maes et al., 2009) and salt tolerant strategies of the
plant. Even after salt tolerance strategies in JCL, there is a recent
study in which JCL was inoculated with plant growth promoting
rhizobacterium, Enterobacter clocae (MSA), Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes (MSC) and Bacillus sp., with a mycorrhizal fungus, Glomus
intraradices, to increase seed germination, vegetative growth, mineral nutrient uptake in leaves and enhance antioxidant enzyme
activities, phosphatase activity, solute accumulation under saline
conditions, where the performance of JCL was not so good (Patel
and Saraf, 2013). Sodic soils have less water available for crops
due to high salt concentration in the soil solution (low osmotic
potential) at which crop growth is negatively affected. JCL required
less water so grew well on sodic soils. Furthermore, JCL plantation received life saving irrigation, during summer (3640 C), with
respect to yield perspectives; which also played an important role
to reduce the sodicity stress.

3.2. Effect of JCL plantation on physicochemical soil properties

The effect of JCL plantation on physicochemical properties of
sodic soil was observed at 0 (before plantation), 3 and 6 year growth
stages (Table 2). Differences in water holding capacity (WHC) and
bulk density were signicant (P < 0.05) beneath the canopy of 3
and 6 year JCL plantation, when compared to control (before plantation) soil and outside canopy soils. Sodic soils generally have low
WHC and high bulk density which inhibit the water movement and
leaching of salts from the surface (Singh et al., 2012b). Increase in
WHC beneath canopy can be explained by development of supercial root carpet (Achten et al., 2008) due to vegetatively propagated
plants. The root system of JCL is shallow which enhances the proportion of macropores to micropores which in turn result in higher
WHC and lower bulk density. As a result of JCL plantation, mean
weight diameter of the soil and soil aggregate stability increased
11% and 2%, respectively. However, with application of nitrogen
and phosphorus or without any amendment aggregate stability
improved from 6% to 30%. Soil structure recovery under cultivation
of JCL implies a sustainable improvement in the surface integrity of

K. Singh et al. / Ecological Engineering 58 (2013) 434440

437

Table 2
Physicochemical properties of soils beneath and outside canopy of Jatropha curcas L. at 0, 3 and 6 years growth stage. Mean SD (n = 3).
Physicochemical soil properties

0 year

3 year

No plantation
WHC (%)
Bulk density (g cm3 )
pH
EC (dS m1 )
Na+ (c mol kg1 )
K+ (c mol kg1 )
Ca++ (c mol kg1 )
Mg++ (c mol kg1 )
ESP (%)
SOC (g kg1 )
Nitrogen (g g1 )
Phosphorus (g g1 )

36.3
1.55
8.60
1.29
2.12
1.79
5.50
0.87
20.7
4.55
39.7
35.3

1.52
0.08
0.15a
0.05a
0.12
0.21
0.50
0.10
1.14
0.39
3.68
2.51

6 year

Beneath canopy
40.0
1.38
8.00
1.12
1.88
1.88
6.82
1.28
16.0
6.40
53.0
43.5

5.29a *
0.06a *
0.24a
0.12a
0.38a *
0.23a *
0.60a *
0.15a *
2.05a
0.38a *
1.73a *
1.15a *

Outside canopy
36.7
1.48
8.36
1.41
2.06
1.82
6.20
1.35
18.0
5.00
43.0
37.6

3.05A
0.08A
0.15A
0.18A
0.12A
0.34A
0.20A
0.12A
1.44A
0.95A
3.60A
1.52A

Beneath canopy
43.5
1.24
7.60
0.98
1.92
1.92
8.78
1.15
13.8
8.41
57.0
48.5

1.25b *
0.12b *
0.15b *
0.11b *
0.32a *
0.24a
0.22b *
0.15a
1.84b *
0.15b *
6.80b *
5.20b *

Outside canopy
38.6
1.50
8.20
1.35
2.15
1.93
5.65
1.15
19.6
5.10
48.0
38.5

4.16A
0.01A
0.20A
0.09A
0.25A
0.25A
0.98B
0.13A
0.75A
0.15A
3.50B
3.05A

EC, electrical conductivity; WHC, water holding capacity; ESP, exchangeable sodium percentage; SOC, soil organic carbon.
Values with the different superscript lowercase letters (a, b) are signicantly different at P < 0.05 between growth years beneath canopy.
Values with the different superscript uppercase letters (A, B) are signicantly different at P < 0.05 between growth years outside canopy.
*
Signicantly different at P < 0.05 beneath and outside of canopy of particular growth year.

degraded Indian entisol, which will ensure more water inltration

rather than runoff and erosion (Ogunwole et al., 2008).
Signicant decrease in soil pH and EC was observed only in soils
beneath canopy of JCL after 6 year of growth. In agreement with
earlier studies (Qadir et al., 2002; Tripathi and Singh, 2005; Singh
et al., 2012a,b) phytoremediation of sodic soils thorough JCL cultivation reduces the soil pH and EC. Soil respiration (CO2 emission),
organic matter decomposition and root exudates may be responsible for reduction in pH of sodic soils. Carbon dioxide emission
(CO2 emission) from soil by microbial respiration, root respiration
and faunal respiration increases partial pressure of CO2 in sodic
environment which mainly initiate the reclamation process as follow: (i) dissolution of CO2 in water to form H2 CO3 , (ii) dissociation
of H2 CO3 resulting in H+ (reduce soil pH) and HCO3 , (iii) reaction
H+ with soil CaCO3 to produce Ca++ , (iv) increased concentration
of Ca++ , replace Na+ from exchange complex, (v) leaching of
replaced Na+ in percolating water through root channels and (VI)
pronounced reduction in soil sodicity (pH, EC and ESP) (Qadir et al.,
2002; Mishra and Sharma, 2003; Mishra et al., 2004; Qadir et al.,
2007). Organic matter (added by leaf litter and root mortality)
on decomposition produces organic acids (humic and fulvic) that
reduce soil pH. Root exudates are made up of organic acids, sugars,
amino acids, hormones and mucilage (Jamaluddin and Shukla,
2012) that also play important role to reduce soil pH. We found
signicant decrease in ESP beneath canopy at 3 and 6 year growth
age of JCL in comparison to control, while ESP outside canopy
(6 year) was signicantly higher than that of beneath canopy
(Table 2). The ESP declined more markedly beneath canopy due to
increased availability of Ca++ . This difference can be explained in
part by the fact that maximum dissolution of native calcite (CaCO3 )
occurs beneath canopy in presence of maximum organic matter.

Considering the fact that sodic soil reclamation is accomplished by

providing a source Ca++ , most of the sodic soils contain a source of
Ca++ i.e. calcite at varying depth within the soil prole (Qadir et al.,
2007).
When compared to control soil, signicant increase in SOC
was found beneath canopy of 3 and 6 year JCL growth; however,
outside canopy differences were not signicant, while differences
in SOC were also signicant between beneath and outside canopy
(Table 2). Wani et al. (2012) reported that carbon increased in the
degraded surface soil layer by 19%, resulting in about 2500 kg ha1
soil carbon sequestration during 4 years of JCL cultivation. Maximum SOC beneath canopy of JCL may be correlated to leaf fall and
ne root mortality. Development of vegetation cover on degraded
sodic land incorporates substantial organic matter in the soil
system which alters physicochemical and biological properties.
Partial increase in SOC outside canopy, 9% and 11% may also
be ascribed to weed growth and their mulching during manual
weeding and irrigation.
3.3. Effect of JCL plantation on biological soil properties
The growing trees of JCL (biomass production and litter fall),
contribute to reduce soil sodicity, increase soil organic matter
and consequently enhance biological processes in sodic soils. In
comparison to 0-year plantation (before plantation), signicant
increase in soil microbial biomass (MB-C, MB-N and MB-P) and
activities of soil enzymes (dehydrogenase, -glucosidase and protease) have been observed beneath as well as outside canopy at
3 and 6 year growth (Table 3). This indicates that root system
interacts with sodic soil (rhizospheric interaction) to deliver positive effect on soil microbial biomass and enzyme activities.

Table 3
Biological properties of soils beneath and outside canopy of Jatropha curcas L. at 0, 3 and 6 years growth stage. Mean SD (n = 3).
Biological soil properties

0 year

3 year

No plantation
MB-carbon (g g1 )
MB-nitrogen (g g1 )
MB-phosphorus (g g1 )
Dehydrogenase (g TPF g1 h1 )
-Glucosidase (g PNP g1 h1 )
Protease (g Tyrosine g1 h1 )

98.0
16.0
15.6
16.3
75.8
43.7

6.55C
1.94C
3.51C
1.92A
10.6C
10.2A

6 year

Beneath canopy
230.0
82.70
30.50
48.8
330.0
146.2

13.2a *
6.80a *
4.95a *
3.56a *
12.2a *
8.78a *

Outside canopy
132.0
48.00
19.00
15.1
85.4
48.5

11.8A
6.08A
4.58A
2.88A
9.60A
6.88A

Beneath canopy
352.0
126.6
50.00
51.2
338.2
163.2

MB, microbial biomass.

Values with the different lowercase letters (a, b) are signicantly different at P < 0.05 beneath canopy of different growth years.
Values with the different uppercase letters (A, B) are signicantly different at P < 0.05 outside canopy of different growth years.
*
Signicantly different at P < 0.05 beneath and outside of canopy of particular growth year.

6.08b *
4.60b *
5.30b *
9.14b *
10.1a *
10.4b *

Outside canopy
211.0
68.00
38.50
29.0
115.4
97.6

11.5B
6.00B
6.50B
4.58B
6.36B
12.5B

438

K. Singh et al. / Ecological Engineering 58 (2013) 434440

Increased microbial activity promotes decomposition of organic

matter and recycling of the nutrients in the sodic soils. It has been
discussed well that plantations (pure, mixed or agroforestry) can
improve soil quality through sequestration of atmospheric CO2
to soil system (Bhojvaid and Timmer, 1998; Pandey et al., 2011;
Singh et al., 2012a,b). Similarly, in this study the supply of litter,
root mass and rhizospheric associated microbial activities might
be responsible for enhanced microbial biomass and enzyme activities beneath canopy. We found higher increase in MB at old age
plantation than young plantation when compared to initial values.
It was 48% and 10% higher than values observed by Behera et al.
(2010) in three year old JCL plantation. The relatively higher concentration of MBC in current study can probably be ascribed to
the long term (6 years) C and N inputs through JCL biomass. Singh
et al. (2012a) have observed that sodic land under phytoremediation through crop cultivation exhibited increases in MB-C, MB-N
and MB-P by 81%, 66% and 49%, respectively at 030 cm soil depth.
These values are close to those found in this study, with 58%, 81%,
and 48% and 73%, 88%, and 60% increase in soil MB (C, N and P)
beneath canopy at 3 and 6 year old JCL plantations, respectively.
Wani et al. (2012) reported 22% and 24% increase in MBC and MBN,
respectively in the rhizosphere of JCL in comparison to adjacent
grassland. Litter and root turnover and standing biomass increased
with plants age which had direct positive effect on clustering of soil
microbial communities (Singh et al., 2012a).
JCL plantation enhanced the activities of enzymes involved
in the cycling of carbon (dehydrogenase and -glucosidase) and
nitrogen (protease) (Table 3). The activities of soil enzymes were
signicantly (P < 0.05) higher beneath canopy at 3 and 6 years
growth in comparison to 0 year plantation as well as outside canopy
(Table 3). The higher inputs and diversity of ground vegetation
residues under canopy provides substrate for microbial growth and
stimulation of enzyme production. The enzyme activities depend
on substrate quantity and quality, enzyme localized in root cells,
root remains, microbial cells, microbial cell debris, microfaunal
cells, root exudates (Chaudhary et al., 2012) and free extracellular
enzymes in the soil colloids (Nannipieri et al., 2003). On averaging the data of both the years, we found 3.5 times increase in
dehydrogenase and protease activities but increase in the activity of -glucosidase was 4.5 times higher in comparison to 0 year
plantation. This indicates that chemistry (carbon and nitrogen) of
organic matter received from JCL plantation may favor the production of -glucosidase. Root exudates of JCL promote colonization of
arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, which in turn improve the soil biological health and growth of JCL (Jamaluddin and Shukla, 2012). The
increased level of SOC by 29% beneath canopy at 3 years of growth
Table 4
Relationship (r2 * ) between growth parameters (height, biomass and litter fall) and
soil properties of JCL planted on sodic soils (n = 9).
Soil properties

Water holding capacity

Bulk density
pH
Electrical conductivity
Exchangeable sodium percentage
Organic carbon
Total nitrogen
Microbial biomass carbon
Microbial biomass nitrogen
Microbial biomass phosphorus
Dehydrogenase
-Glucosidase
Protease
*

Signicant at P < 0.001.

Growth parameter
Height

Biomass

Litter fall

0.81
0.68
0.85
0.82
0.81
0.89
0.88
0.98
0.95
0.90
0.78
0.78
0.83

0.59
0.62
0.89
0.79
0.88
0.88
0.90
0.94
0.93
0.89
0.69
0.73
0.77

0.75
0.64
0.82
0.76
0.78
0.87
0.92
0.93
0.90
0.89
0.65
0.67
0.73

led to increase in activities of dehydrogenase, -glucosidase and

protease by 67%, 77% and 71%, respectively. While 46% increase in
SOC beneath canopy after 6 year of growth led increase in activities
of soils enzymes almost similar (69%, 78% and 74%) to that of 3 year
JCL plantation. This indicates that increase in availability of organic
matter on bare sodic land through leaf fall and ne root biomass
of JCL enhances the activity of soil enzymes maximum during initial growth phase (3 year). In later years increase in nutrient (C and
N) availability suppressed enzyme activities through negative feedback mechanism. For instance, microbes produce enzymes perhaps
only when availability of substrate is sufcient and enzymes can
help to release nutrients and therefore lead in microbial growth
and metabolism (Shi, 2011; Singh et al., 2012c). This enzyme production can be low when the end products (C and N in this study)
of enzymatic reaction, are abundant (Shi, 2011).
3.4. Effect of JCL growth, biomass production and litter fall on soil
properties
Soil physicochemical and biological properties were correlated
with height, biomass and litter fall to determine the effect of JCL
on soil properties (Table 4). Soil sodicity parameters (bulk density,
pH, EC and ESP) and fertility attributes (SOC, N, P, MB and enzymes)
were signicantly negatively and positively related to the height,
biomass and litter fall, respectively. Signicant negative effect of
growth parameters on soil sodicity showed that increase in growth
of JCL played an important role to reduce soil sodicity and increase
soil fertility.
3.5. Potential of JCL to reclaim sodic soils
P. juliora (PJ) has been used extensively for reclamation of
sodic soils in northern India (Garg, 1999; Mishra and Sharma, 2003;
Mishra et al., 2004; Singh et al., 2012b) as well as in other countries
(Vallejoa et al., 2012). On the other hand this tree provides good
quality of fuelwood for rural mass. Therefore, to assess the reclamation potential of JCL, we selected 3 and 6 year old monoculture
plantation of PJ developed for reclamation of sodic soils adjacent to
our study site (see Mishra and Sharma, 2003; Mishra et al., 2004).
Changes in soil physicochemical properties due to effect of PJ plantation are presented in Table 5. Increase in desirable (WHC and
SOC) and decrease in undesirable (bulk density, pH, EC and ESP)
soil properties with effect of PJ and JCL plantations, calculated from
Tables 2 and 5, are presented in Fig. 2. Increase in WHC was almost
equal to P. juliora after three years of growth; however, at 6 year
growth WHC was signicantly higher at JCL planted site. Similarly,
soil pH decreased signicantly much at JCL planted sites in comparison to P. juliora planted site. However, the contribution of P.
juliora was little higher to increase SOC and decrease ESP. This
indicates that buildup of soil organic matter through JCL plantation is less than P. juliora. This might also be due to leguminous
Table 5
Effect of Prosopis juliora plantation on physicochemical properties of sodic soil after
3 and 6 year of growth.
Plant height and soil properties

0 year

3 year

6 year

Height (cm)
WHC (%)
Bulk density (g cm3 )
pH
EC (dS m1 )
ESP (%)
Organic carbon (g kg1 )
Total nitrogen (g kg1 )

0.00
43.3
1.66
9.77
1.90
70.6
2.00
0.18

1.00
47.8
1.37
9.64
1.05
26.9
3.90
0.45

1.25
48.7
1.24
9.05
0.87
18.1
6.60
0.60

Source: Mishra and Sharma (2003) and Mishra et al. (2004).

K. Singh et al. / Ecological Engineering 58 (2013) 434440

80

Percent (%)

70

PJ of 3 Year
JCL of 3 Year

60

PJ of 6 Year

50

JCL of 6 Year

40
30
20
10
0
WHC

BD

pH

EC

OC

ESP

Fig. 2. Reclamation effect (%) of Prosopis juliora (PJ) and Jatropha curcas (JCL) plantations on properties of sodic soil after 3 and 6 years of growth.

nature of P. juliora (easily decomposable litter), quality and quantity of fallen litter and ne roots, and ground layer vegetation at
both the planted sites.
4. Conclusions
This study supported the assumptions (Francis et al., 2005;
Achten et al., 2010; Abhilash et al., 2011; Pandey et al., 2012) that
JCL has potential to reclaim degraded lands. JCL plantation reduces
soil sodicity (bulk density, pH, EC and ESP) and improves the fertility (soil organic carbon, microbial biomass and enzyme activities)
in accordance with growth and age of the plantation. Our hypothesis that JCL plantation on sodic soils would improve soil quality
was conrmed in part by the results of this study. As this is natural to be, the reclamation efciency of JCL was signicantly higher
beneath canopy than outside canopy. In future interspaces between
JCL plants should be utilized for cultivation of local shade loving
dwarf crops those can grow on sodic soils. This will ensure returns
and provide greater amount and diversity of plant residues for
maximum carbon storage in sodic soils.
Acknowledgements
The study was supported by Council of Scientic and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, India under the New Millennium
Indian Technology Leadership Initiative (NMITLI) program as a
special grant (CSIR-NMITLI) in eleventh ve year plan of government of India (GOI). We are thankful to Director, National
Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow, for constant support and
critical advice to complete this work. Kripal Singh expresses
his sincere thank to the CSIR for Senior Research Fellowship
(31/8/(233)2009/EMR-1). Thanks to anonymous reviewer for his
useful suggestions.
References
Abhilash, P.C., Srivastava, P., Jamil, S., Singh, N., 2011. Revisited Jatropha curcas as
an oil plant of multiple benets: critical research needs and prospects for the
future. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 18, 127131.
Achten, W.M.J., Verchot, L., Franken, Y.J., Mathijs, E., Singh, V.P., Aerts, R., et al., 2008.
Jatropha bio-diesel production and use. Biomass Bioenergy 32, 10631084.
Achten, W.M.J., Maes, W.H., Reubens, B., Mathijs, E., Singh, V.P., Verchot, L., Muys, B.,
2010. Biomass production and allocation in Jatropha curcas L. seedlings under
different levels of drought stress. Biomass Bioenergy 34, 667676.
Behera, S.K., Srivastava, P., Tripathi, R., Singh, J.P., Singh, N., 2010. Evaluation of plant
performance of Jatropha curcas L. under different agro-practice for optimizing
biomass a case study. Biomass Bioenergy 32, 3041.
Bhojvaid, T., Timmer, V.R., 1998. Soil dynamics in an age sequence of Prosopis juliora
planted for sodic soil restoration in India. Forest Ecol. Manage. 106, 181193.

439

Brookes, P.C., Powlson, D.S., Jenkinson, D.S., 1982. Measurement of microbial

biomass phosphorus in soil. Soil Biol. Biochem. 14, 319329.
Brookes, P.C., Landman, A., Pruden, G., Jenkinson, D.S., 1985. Chloroform fumigation
and release of soil N: a rapid direct extraction method to measure microbial
biomass N in soil. Soil Biol. Biochem. 17, 837842.
Chaudhary, D.R., Saxena, J., Lorenz, N., Dick, L.K., Dick, R.P., 2012. Microbial proles of
Rhizosphere and bulk soil microbial communities of biofuel crops Switchgrass
(Panicum virgatum L.) and Jatropha (Jatropha curcas L.). Appl. Environ. Soil Sci.
1, 16.
de Miguel, A., Martnez-Hernndez, V., Leal, M., Gonzlez-Naranjo, V., de Bustamante, I., Lillo, J., Martn, I., Salas, J.J., Palacios-Daz, M.P., 2013. Short-term effects
of reclaimed water irrigation: Jatropha curcas L. cultivation. Ecol. Eng. 50, 4451.
Everson, C.S., Mengistu, M.G., Gush, M.B., 2012. A eld assessment of the agronomic performance and water use of Jatropha curcas in South Africa. Biomass
Bioenergy, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2012.03.013, in press.
Francis, G., Edinger, R., Becker, K., 2005. A concept for simultaneous wasteland reclamation, fuel production, and socio-economic development in degraded areas
in India: need, potential and perspectives of Jatropha plantations. Nat. Resour.
Forum 29, 1224.
Garg, V.K., 1999. Leguminous trees for the rehabilitation of sodic wasteland in northern India. Restor. Ecol. 2, 281287.
Gill, J.S., Sale, P.W.G., Peries, R.R., Tang, C., 2009. Changes in soil physical properties
and crop root growth in dense sodic subsoil following incorporation of organic
amendments. Field Crop Res. 114, 137146.
Gupta, V.V.S.R., Germida, J.J., 1988. Distribution of microbial biomass and its activity in different soil aggregate size classes as affected by cultivation. Soil Biol.
Biochem. 20, 777786.
Haper, R.J., Okom, A.E.A., Stilwell, A.T., Tibbett, M., Dean, C., George, S.J., Sochacki,
S.J., Mitchell, C.D., Mann, S.S., Dods, K., 2012. Reforesting degraded agricultural
landscape with Eucalyptus: effects on carbon storage and soil fertility after 26
years. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 163, 313.
Jamaluddin, Shukla, R., 2012. Effect of root exudates on colonisation of AM fungi in
Jatropha curcas. Ind. Forest 138, 113115.
Jamil, S., Abhilash, P.C., Singh, N., Sharma, P.N., 2009. Jatropha curcas: a potential
crop for phytoremediation of coal y ash. J. Hazard. Mater. 172, 269275.
Kagamebga, W.F., Thiombiano, A., Traor, S., Zougmor, R., Boussim, J.I., 2011. Survival and growth responses of Jatropha curcas L. to three restoration techniques
on degraded soils in Burkina Faso. Ann. For. Res 54, 171184.
Kalra, Y.P., Maynard, D.G., 1991. Methods Manual for Forest Soil and Plant Analysis.
Information Report NOR-X-319. Northern Forestry Centre, Northwest Region,
Forestry Canada, Edmonton, Alberta.
Maes, W.H., Achten, W.J.M., Reudens, B., Raes, D., Samson, R., Muys, B., 2009.
Plantwater relationships and growth strategies of Jatropha curcas L. seedlings
under different levels of drought stress. J. Arid Environ. 73, 877884.
Maes, W.H., Achten, W.J.M., Reudens, B., Muys, B., 2011. Monitoring stomatal conductance of Jatropha curcas seedlings under different levels of water shortage
with infrared thermography. Agric. Forest Meteorol. 151, 554564.
Mishra, A., Sharma, S.D., 2003. Leguminous tree for the restoration of degraded sodic
wasteland in eastern Uttar Pradesh, India. Land Degrad. Dev. 14, 245261.
Mishra, A., Sharma, S.D., Pandey, R., Mishra, L., 2004. Amelioration of highly alkaline
soil by trees in northern India. Soil Use Manage. 20, 325332.
Nannipieri, P., Ascher, J., Ceccherini, M.T., Landi, L., Pietramellara, G., Renella, G.,
2003. Microbial diversity and soil functions. Eur. J. Soil Sci. 54, 655670.
Ogunwole, J.O., Chaudhary, D.R., Ghosh, A., Daudu, C.K., Chikara, J., Patolia, J.S., 2008.
Contribution of Jatropha curcas to soil quality improvement in a degraded Indian
entisol. Acta Agric. Scand. A 58, 245251.
Pandey, V.C., Singh, K., Singh, B., Singh, R.P., 2011. New approaches to enhance ecorestoration efciency of degraded sodic lands: critical research needs and future
prospects. Ecol. Restor. 29, 322325.
Pandey, V.C., Singh, K., Singh, J.S., Kumar, A., Singh, B., Singh, R.P., 2012. Jatropha
curcas: a potential biofuel plant for sustainable environmental development.
Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 16, 28702883.
Patel, D., Saraf, M., 2013. Inuence of soil ameliorants and microora on induction
of antioxidant enzymes and growth promotion of Jatropha curcas L. under saline
condition. Eur. J. Soil Biol. 55, 4754.
Qadir, M., Qureshi, R.H., Ahmad, N., 2002. Amelioration of calcareous salinesodic
soils through phytoremediation and chemical strategies. Soil Use Manage. 18,
381385.
Qadir, M., Oster, J.D., Schubert, S., Noble, A.D., Sahrawat, K.L., 2007. Phytoremediation
of sodic and saline sodic soils. Adv. Agron. 96, 197247.
Rahi, T.S., Singh, K., Singh, b., 2013. Screening of sodicity tolerance in Aloe vera: an
industrial crop for utilization of sodic lands. Ind. Crop. Prod. 44, 528533.
Ranjan, S., Singh, R., Soni, D.K., Pathre, U.V., Shirke, P.A., 2012. Photosynthetic performance of Jatropha curcas fruits. Plant Physiol. Biochem. 52, 6676.
Shi, W., 2011. Agriculture and ecological signicance of soil enzymes: soil carbon
sequestration and nutrient cycling. In: Shukla, G., Varma, A. (Eds.), Soil Biology:
Soil Enzymology. Springer, London, pp. 4360.
Shukla, S.K., Singh, K., Singh, B., Gautam, N.N., 2011. Biomass productivity and
nutrient availability of Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. growing on soils of different
sodicity stress. Biomass Bioenergy 35, 34403447.
Singh, K., Pandey, V.C., Singh, B., Singh, R.R., 2012a. Ecological restoration of degraded
sodic lands through afforestation and cropping. Ecol. Eng. 43, 7080.
Singh, K., Singh, B., Singh, R.R., 2012b. Changes in physico-chemical, microbial and
enzymatic activities during restoration of degraded sodic lands: ecological suitability of mixed forest over plantation. Catena 96, 5767.

440

K. Singh et al. / Ecological Engineering 58 (2013) 434440

Singh, K., Pandey, V.C., Singh, B., 2012c. In: Shukla, G., Varma, A. (Eds.), Soil Biology: Soil Enzymology. Springer, London, New York, 384 p. Price: 149,95 D , ISBN
9783642142246 (Appl. Soil Ecol. 62, 5051).
Singh, B., Singh, K., Rao, G.R., Chikara, J., Kumar, D., Mishra, D.K., Saikia, S.P., Pathre,
U.V., Raghuvanshi, N., Rahi, T.S., Tuli, R., 2013a. Agro-technology of Jatropha
curcas for diverse environmental conditions in India. Biomass Bioenergy 48,
191202.
Singh, K., Singh, B., Singh, R.R., 2013b. Effect of land rehabilitation on physicochemical and microbial properties of a sodic soil. Catena 109, 4957.
Singh, K., Pandey, V.C., Singh, R.P., 2013c. Cynodon dactylon: an efcient perennial
grass to revegetate sodic soils. Ecol. Eng. 54, 3238.
Singh, B., Singh, K., Shukla, G., Pathre, U.V., Rahi, T.S., Tuli, R., 2013d. Field performance of some accessions of Jatropha curcas L. (biodiesel plant) on degraded
sodic land in north India. Int. J. Green Energ. 10, 10261040.
Sop, T.K., Kagambega, F.W., Bellefontaine, R., Schmiedel, U., Thiombiano, A., 2011.
Effects of organic amendment on early growth performance of Jatropha curcas
L. on a severely degraded site in the Sub-Sahel of Burkina Faso. Agroforest. Syst.,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10457-011-9421-4.
Srivastava, P., Behera, S.K., Gupta, J., Jamil, S., Singh, N., Sharma, Y.K., 2011. Growth
performance variability in yield traits and oil content of selected accessions of

Jatropha curas L. growing in a large scale plantation site. Biomass Bioenergy 35,
39363942.
Srivastava, P., Kumar, A., Behera, S.K., Sharma, Y.K., Singh, N., 2012. Soil carbon
sequestration: an innovative strategy for reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide
concentration. Biodivers. Conserv. 21, 13431358.
Tabatabai, M.A., 1994. Soil enzymes. In: Weaver, R.W., Angle, S., Bottomley, P.,
Bezdicek, D., et al. (Eds.), Methods of soil analysis Part 2 Microbiological and
biochemical properties. SSSA Book Series, pp. 755833.
Tripathi, K.P., Singh, B., 2005. The role of revegetation for rehabilitation of sodic soils
in semiarid subtropical forest, India. Restor. Ecol. 13, 2938.
Vallejoa, V.E., Arbelia, Z., Ternb, W., Lorenzc, N., Dick, R.P., Roldana, F., 2012. Effect
of land management and Prosopis juliora (Sw.) DC trees on soil microbial community and enzymatic activities in intensive silvopastoral systems of Colombia.
Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 150, 139148.
Vance, E.D., Brookes, P.C., Jenkinson, D.S., 1987. An extraction method for measuring
soil microbial biomass. Soil Biol. Biochem. 19, 703707.
Wani, S.P., Chander, G., Sahrawat, K.L., Rao, Ch.S., Raghvendra, G., Susanna, P.,
Pavani, M., 2012. Carbon sequestration and land rehabilitation through Jatropha curcas (L.) plantation in degraded lands. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 161,
112120.