ABSTRACT
When tropical forest soils are cleared and plowed the nature of the soil system is changed in several ways. Cultivation and plowing tend to deform the soil and produce changes in physical and chemical characteristics. With prolonged plowing many soil properties are modified. The rate of this alteration varies with the management system and soil type.
In this study two profiles are described and analyzed: the first is an Agrudalf, an Alfisol modified by agricultural activity; the second is a Tropudalf that develops under indigeneous montane rainforest in Kenya’s Central Province. Prolonged plowing and cultivation lead to deterioration of the soil system producing changes in solum thickness, soil structure, shear strength and texture. The most notable changes of the chemical and organic properties occur with total salts, CEC, some extractable cations (mainly K+), and NO3 −, organic carbon, percent N and C/N ratio. This research was conducted to determine the effect on the soil of removing the forest cover and plowing and cultivating the soil.
