Effects of Litter Quality and Decomposition Rate of Some Agroforestry Species on Soil Properties in Rivers State University Campus

The effect of litter quality and decomposition rate of some agroforestry species on soil properties found in the main campus of Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, Nigeria was investigated. Litters from Masquerade tree, gmelina and teak were collected and their chemical composition determined. Twenty-five grams (25 g) of each leaf litter was placed in a nylon litter bag and buried shallowly within 687 g soil in a container. At the end of the research, findings revealed that teak litter (C:N ratio = 23.14) was fairly of higher quality because the C:N ratio was the narrowest whereas the masquerade tree (C:N ratio = 25.39) had the lowest quality. Teak litter decomposed significantly higher than those of gmelina and masquerade tree. The decomposition of the different litters in the soil had no significant effect on soil texture, pH, available P, base saturation, exchangeable acidity, ECEC, Na and K but, soil organic matter, total N, Ca, Mg, K and electrical conductivity were significantly affected by decomposition of the agroforestry species in the soil. Building agroforestry into farming systems, particularly in the tropics is necessary in order to ensure land use sustainability.