Soil Properties and Plant Diversity of Home Gardens in Song District, Phrae Province

Abstract

The soil fertility and plant diversity of 16 home gardens in Song district, Phrae province were studied. The ages of the home gardens studied ranged from 4 to 70 years and from 100 to 1,050 m² in area. In total, 168 plant species were recorded, with growth forms of tree, shrub, herb and climber species being 44.0, 25.0, 17.3 and 13.7 %, respectively. The largest group of plants was grown for food (32.1 %), followed by ornamentals (20.2 %) and fruits (15.5 %). Commonly occurring fruit species were: Mangifera indica, Musa sapientum, Tamarindus indica, Artocarpus heterophyllus and Dimocarpus longan. Food types consisted of Alpinia siamense, Tiliacora triandra, Solanum barbisetum and Acacia pennata. Musa sapientum and Alpinia siamense were found in all the home gardens studied. The growth forms of plants species found in home gardens near the river were mostly shrub, herb and climber used for food. Plant species found in home garden away from the river were trees such as Mangifera indica, Dimocarpus longan, Tamarindus indica, Artocarpus heterophyllus and Sandoricum koetjape. Most of the soils in the home gardens were sandy to sandy clay loam. Both surface and subsurface soils were slightly acidic and rich in nutrients. The cation exchange of soils saturated with exchangeable bases was predominated by the Ca capacity, In comparison with other land uses in northern Thailand, home gardens could be characterized by their high content of nutrients throughout the soil profile.

Keywords: Soil property, Plant diversity, Home gardens