Nutrient Leaching from Leaf Litter of Cropland Agroforest Tree Species of Bangladesh

Leaf litter is the main and quick source of organic matter and nutrient to the soil compared to other parts of litter. This study focused on the nutrients (N, P and K) leaching from leaf litter of Melia azadirachta, Azadirachta indica, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Swietenia macrophylla, Mangifera indica, Zizyphus jujuba, Litchi chinensis, Albizia saman, Artocarpus heterophyllus, Acacia auriculiformis, Dalbergia sissoo and Khaya anthotheca as the common cropland agroforest tree species of Bangladesh. About (9 to 35) % of initial mass was lost, while Electric Conductivity (EC) and TDS (Total Dissolved Solid) of leaching water increased to (573 to 3,247) ${\mu}S/cm$ and (401 to 2,307) mg/l respectively after 192 hours of leaching process. Mass loss (%) of leaf litter, EC and TDS of leaching water showed significant (ANOVA, p<0.05) curvilinear relationship with leaching time. Initial concentration of NH4, PO4 and K in leaching water was found to increase significantly (p<0.05) up to 48/72 hours and then remained almost constant at later stages (48/72 to 192 hours). Mass loss of leaves; EC, TDS, $NH_4$, $PO_4$ and K in leaching water was varied also significantly (ANOVA, p<0.05) among the studied tree species. All the tree species showed similar pattern of nutrients (K>N>P) release during the leaching process. The highest $NH_4$ (4,097 ppm) and potassium (8,904 ppm) concentration was found for M. azadirachta while the highest $PO_4$ (1,331 ppm) concentration was found for E. camaldulensis in the leaching water. Among the studied tree species, M. azadirachta, A. indica, D. sissoo, E. camaldulensis and Z. jujuba was selected as the best tree species with respect to nutrient leaching.