Assessment of the soil fertility and water quality in establishing suitable sites for afforestation in semi-submerged areas in Binh Phuoc province

Abstract

     Soil fertility and water quality are important factors for site evaluation and zoning in semi-submerged areas. They integrate with other factors playing a decisive role in the distribution, abundance, and development process of flora and fauna populations. However, these factors have not been fully studied and evaluated to provide a science-based criterion for classifying semi-submerged areas. Insights into soil characteristic of soil fertility and water quality are crucial in classifying semi-submerged lands improving efficiency of management, exploitation, and use of semi-flooded land in Binh Phuoc province in particular and across Vietnam in general. Here we present the main findings from field surveys and lab analysis of 100 sampling locations on the semi-submerged land area, with 16 soil and 11 water quality parameters. The results showed that the soil was classified into the less acidic group (pHTB=5,8-6,2), while other parameters such as T-N, T-P, and T-K, as well as alkaline cation (Ca2+, Mg2+, K+ ) are at low to very low levels with the
heterogeneously spatial distribution. The water quality has a good pH and DO concentration with an average of 7,4 ± 0,7 and 5,7 ± 0,4, respectively. The results from this research may help to build a set of criteria for setting up semi-submerged land for afforestation in Binh Phuoc province.