~ 1599 ~ Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry 2018; 7(5): 1599-1605 E-ISSN: 2278-4136 P-ISSN: 2349-8234 JPP 2018; 7(5): 1599-1605 Received: 04-07-2018 Accepted: 06-08-2018 Sanjeev Kumar Chauhan CAZRI-Regional Research Station, Leh, Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, India Shawinder Singh Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India Sandeep Sharma Department of Soil Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India Bharat Bhushan Vashist Department of Soil Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India Rajni Sharma Department of Botant, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India Harmeet Singh Saralch Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India Correspondence Sanjeev Kumar Chauhan CAZRI-Regional Research Station, Leh, Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, India Soil health (physical, chemical and biological) status under short rotation tree plantations on riverain soils Sanjeev Kumar Chauhan, Shawinder Singh, Sandeep Sharma, Bharat Bhushan Vashist, Rajni Sharma and Harmeet Singh Saralch Abstract Soil health under four multipurpose tree plantation (Acacia catechu, Dalbergia sissoo, Melia azedarach and Terminalia arjuna) after ten years of growth was assessed on riverain soils. Data revealed higher nutritional level under canopy of Terminalia arjuna than other three tree species. However, soil health in terms of physical and chemical parameters showed improvement under all the tree species than the control (tree-less area). An enhanced enzymatic activity besides microbial biomass carbon was observed underneath soil of different species than tree-less area, which shows ameliorative potential of soil through plantations on degraded soils. Keywords: Plantation, soil amelioration, nutrients, microbial biomass carbon, water holding Introduction Agriculture in irrigated agro-ecosystem faces a very complex set of social and biophysical issues associated with the economic, social and environmental sustainability. Land degradation in the Indo-Gangatic plains occurred mainly due to human interference of the ecosystem not only to meet their actual demands but their greediness to harvest more crop yield by pumping out more underground irrigation water and making use of more inorganic fertilizers/agro- chemicals. The existing community/private land system has been excessively exploited for survival and realization of short-term objective without taking care of soil health for the posterity. The major cropland areas are depleted of nutrients very fast than the natural processes and degrading the soils. In farmers’ fields breakdown of nutrient cycling and the loss of soil fertility and structure has resulted in the loss of biodiversity, the breakdown of ecosystem functions and the loss of crop yield. In traditional agriculture, trees used to be the integral component of the cropped area but the due to commercialization of agriculture, trees were first to be axed to realize more crop yield. Tree species differ in their nutrient use efficiency for biomass production and recycling. Trees are known to maintain soil organic matter and nutrient cycling through the addition of litter, root residues into the soil, enzymatic reactions and ameliorating physical structure of the soil. Tree plantations, especially in the tropics, play an important role in carbon sequestration through the accumulation of carbon in the wood and increase in soil carbon storage. The availability of more wood biomass from plantations will facilitate in the exploitation of the potentials of using biofuels instead of fossil fuel in future and issue is gaining importance and a number of biomass based power plants have been commissioned to make use of agricultural residue judiciously, adding to income and generating carbon neutral power. Plantations also play an important role in meeting the biomass needs of local communities and industries thus helping in conserving the natural forest carbon pools, besides uplifting socio-economic status of adopters and sustainable environment for all. In recent past emphasis has been placed on the physical and chemical changes being realised in cultivated lands but soil biological life has least been recognised. It can be assumed that the soil fertility is primarily associated with soil microbial activity and soil biological parameters. Soil microbial biomass comprise about 1-5 per cent of organic carbon in soil. It acts as a source and sinks for the plant nutrients playing a crucial role in nutrient cycling and soil organic matter dynamics. It is the prime agent involved in plant residue decomposition, nutrient conservation and cycling processes in the soil [40, 43] . The microbial biomass has therefore been used as an index of soil fertility, which depends on nutrient fluxes [18] . The soil should be monitored regularly for nutrient deficiencies and/or other problems. There are