Influence of Reed Bamboo (Ochlandra travancorica) on Soils of the Western Ghats in Kerala - a Comparative Study with Adjacent Non-reed Bamboo Areas

Considering the importance of reed bamboo (Ochlandra travancorica) in cottage and paper industries along with its indigenous ecofriendly and fast growing nature, this study was conducted to evaluate the impact of reed bamboo on soil characteristics. For this typical soil profiles were studied in three major reed growing areas of Kerala State viz., Vazhachal, Pooyamkutty and Pamba and various soil properties were compared with those of adjacent non-reed bamboo areas. Results revealed that colour, structure, texture and the development of subsurface horizons are greatly influenced by the growth of reed when compared with the adjacent non-reed areas. The dominance of brown colour and coarse texture throughout the soil profiles and the presence of cambic horizon seemed to be characteristic of reed growing soils. A high dominance and increase in the content of lateritic gravel and accumulation of clay in the subsurface layers were noted in non-reed soils than reed soils. The surface soils of reed growing areas were coarse-textured, loose and acidic with higher content of organic matter. Results in general indicated that reed bamboo plays a great role on overall development and fertility of soils through its protective umbrella of canopy, litter and ischolar_main mat.