Multipurpose Trees for Bio-remediation

Multipurpose Tree Species for Bio-remediation
of Problematic Soils
Presented By :
Dr. R.K. Thakur
Assistant Professor (Soil Science)
College of Agriculture, Balaghat
Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Jabalpur (M.P.)

◼ Multipurpose trees are deliberately grown and managed
for more than one output.
◼ They may supply food in the form of fruit, nuts, leaves
etc; while at the same time supplying firewood,
add nitrogen to the soil, or supply some other
combination of multiple outputs.
◼ Multipurpose tree is a term common to agro-forestry,
particularly when speaking of tropical agro-forestry
where the tree owner is a subsistence farmer.
Introduction :-

Tree species can be multipurpose in two ways :-
1. A single tree can yield more than one product : For
example, farmers in South India grow Gliricidia sepium
as live fence that provide fuel, fodder, and green
manure for agricultural crops - all at the same time.
2. Trees of the same species, when managed differently,
can yield different product : for example, Leucaena
leucocephala is managed so that some trees will
principally yield wood while others principally produce
leaf meal.

▪ Gliricidia sepium – the most common tree used for
living fences in Central America, firewood, fodder, fixing
nitrogen into the soil.
▪ Moringa (Moringa oleifera) – edible leaves, pods and
beans, commonly used for animal forage and shade (it
does not fix nitrogen as is commonly believed)
▪ Coconut palm – used for food, purified water (juice
from inside the coconut), roof thatching, firewood,
shade.
▪ Neem (Azadirachta indica) – limited use as insect
repellent, antibiotic, adding nitrogen to the soil,
windbreaks, biomass production for use as mulch,
firewood.
Common multipurpose trees of the tropics include :-

▪ Have good organic content and nutrients in foliage.
▪ Roots are deep with good soil binding properties.
▪ Can be grown in problem soils.
▪ Reduce losses from the soil by the check runoff and soil
erosion.
▪ Improve soil physical, chemical and biological
conditions.
▪ Increase nutrient inputs, through nitrogen fixation and
uptake from deep soil horizons.
▪ Promote more closed nutrient cycling.
Features of good MPT species :-

▪ Arid Zone : Prosopis cineraria (Khejri), P. juliflora (Mesquite
tree), Tecomella indulala (Rohida), Zizyphus spp. (Ber),
Azadirachta indica (Neem), Eucalyptus camaeldulensis
(River red gum), Acacia tortilis (Israeli babul).
▪ Semi-arid Zone : Acacia nilotica (Gum Arabic tree / Babul),
Acacia tortilis (Israeli babul), Albizia lebbek (Sirish /
Women’s tongue), Albizia amara (Krishna Siris), Prosopis
juliflora (Mesquite tree), Azadirachta indica (Neem),
Eucalyptus hybrids (Hybrid Eucalyptus), Leucaena
leucocephala (Subabul).
▪ Humid Zone : Albizia lebbek (Sirish/ Women’s tongue),
Albizia procera (Safed Sirish), Paraserianthes falcataria
(Moluccan albizia), Leucaena leucocephala (Subabul), Acacia
mangium (Australian Sag).
Some MPTs adopted by farmers :-

▪ Central Indian Plateau : Albizia amara, Albizia lebbek, Acacia
nilotica, Butea monosperma (Palash), Prosopis juliflora.
▪ Eastern and Western Coastal Region : Casuarina equisetifolia
(Saru), Leucaena leucocephala, Prosopis juliflora.
▪ Temperate Himalayan Region : Ficus spp., Alnus spp., Salis
spp.
▪ Sub-temperate Lower Hills and Gangetic Plain : Acacia
nilotica, Albizia lebbek, Azadirachta indica, Melia azedarach
(Pride of India), Leucaena leucocephala.
▪ Eastern Himalayan Zone : Acacia mangium, Acacia
auriculiformis (Akashmani), Paraserianthes falcataria,
Albizia lebbek, Albizia procera.
Some MPTs adopted by farmers :-

▪ Remediate means to solve a problem and bio-
remediation means to use biological organisms/ agent
to solve an environmental problem such as
contaminated / problem soils or contaminated ground
water.
▪ Bioremediation is the use of microbes to clean up
contaminated soil and groundwater.
▪ Bioremediation stimulates the growth of certain
microbes that use contaminants as a source of food and
energy.
▪ Contaminants treated using bioremediation include oil
and other petroleum products, solvents, and pesticides
Bio-remediation of problem soils :-

▪ Problematic soils are these soils which are not suitable
for arable forming because of specific limitations.
▪ In general, problem soils are two types i.e. physical
problem and chemical problems.
▪ Agro-forestry systems have the potential tool to make
use of marginal and degraded lands through the soil
improving effect of trees.
▪ It proves to be one of the cheapest and best modes for
the reclamation of all problematic soils.
▪ Agro-forestry systems like silviculture, silvi-pasture etc.
can improve the physical and chemical properties of the
soil along with additional return on long-term basis.
Bio-remediation of problem soils :-

▪ For the bioremediation of physical problems of soil like
sandy soils, subsoil hardening or hardpan, surface
crusting, water logged soils, peat and marshy soils etc.
▪ Tree species i.e.
Eucalyptus robusta (Swamp mahogany)
Syzygium cumunii (Jamun)
Terminalia arjuna (arjuna)
Salix tetrasperma (Indian willow)
Dalbergia latifolia (Shisham)
Eucalyptus camaeldulensis (River red gum)
Eucalyptus grandis (Rose gum)
Bio-remediation of physical problems soils :-

▪ Some grasses like
Bracharia mutica (Para grass)
Cynodon dactylon (Bermuda grass)
▪ Dichanthium caricosum, Brachiaria decumbens etc. are
commonly used for the physical problems of the soils.
Bio-remediation of physical problems soils :-

▪ The different chemical problems of soils i.e. salt affected
soils (saline, sodic and saline – sodic) etc also reclaimed
or managed by the following tree and grass species.
▪ Saline Soils :
o Salvadora persica (mustard tree)
o Prosopis juliflora (mesquite tree)
o Acacia nilotica (Babul)
o Butea monosperma (Palash)
o Terminalia arjuna (Arjuna)
o Salix sp. (Indian willow)
o Dalbergia sissoo (Sissoo)
o Casurina equisetifolia (Saru)
Bio-remediation of chemical problems soils :-

▪ Prosopis juliflora (mesquite tree) and Dichanthium
annulatum (Karnal grass) improves the soil conditions
to such an extent that after some time or year.
▪ Some fodder species can be grown under trees such as –
o Berseem (Trifolium alexandricum)
o Senji (Melilotus parviflora)
o Shaftal (Trifolium resupinatum)
Sodic soils :-

Relative tolerance of fruit trees to sodicity :-
Exchangeable Sodium
Percentage (ESP) for
Sodicity tolerance
Trees
Sensitive : < 20 Mangifera indica (Mango)
Artocarpus heterophyllus (Jack fruit)
Musa paradisiaca (Banana)
Low : 20 – 30 Psidium guajava (Guava)
Citrus limon (Lemon)
Vitis vinifera (Grapes)
Medium : 30 – 40 Punica granatum (Pomegranate)
High : 40 – 50 Ziziphus jujube (Ber)
Tamarindus indica (Tamarind)
Manilkara zapota (Sapota)
Limonia acidissima (Wood apple)
Phoenix dactylifera (Date palm)

▪ Acacia auriculiformis (Akashmoni)
▪ Azadirachta indica (Neem)
▪ Casurina equisetifoia (Saru)
▪ Dalbergia sissoo (Sissoo)
▪ Ailanthus excels (tree of heaven)
▪ Prosopis cineraria (Khejri)
▪ Acacia tortilis (Israeli babul)
▪ Acacia nilotica (Babul)
Saline – Sodic soils :-

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