Improvement of soil moisture storage in clove plantation land using biopore technology and organic material litters

Abstract

The biopore infiltration hole with organic material litter can increase the soil capacity to accommodate and store soil moisture. This study was aimed to determine the effect of biopores and organic material litter on soil moisture storage and the relationship of climatic conditions on soil moisture storage. The experiment was carried out on clove plantations on Ternate Island, North Maluku from December 2018 to February 2019. This study used a factorial randomized block design. The first factor was the biopores with a depth of 50 cm and 90 cm, and the second factor was 4 types of organic material litters in the form of nutmeg leaves, clove leaves, Guinea grass leaves and a mixture of clove leaves and Guinea grass. The factors observed were total soil water storage and at depths of 0-20, 20-40, 40-60 and 60-80 cm; organic matter content; C/N ratio and soil total N. Data analysis used the GenStat program with analysis of variance test (ANOVA) and Duncan's Multiple Distance Test. Results of the study showed that evaporation and percolation are climatic factors that affect water loss. Increase in soil water storage at 20-40 cm soil depth of 107.56 mm was yielded by the treatment of 50 cm biopore and Guinea grass leaf litter but it was not significantly different from the 50 cm biopore and clove leaf litter + chicken manure treatment. The treatment of biopore and organic material litter also increased the organic matter and soil total N and decreased the soil C/N ratio, but it did not have a significant effect.

Soil Moisture Analysis and Rainwater Management at Clove Plantation to Meet the Water Requirement of Clove Plants During Dry Season

“…There are wet months (surplus) and dry months (deficit) in climatic conditions, so that rainwater harvesting technology is needed during a surplus period for water reserves during a deficit. As the research by Umasugi [22] biopore infiltration holes with a depth of 50 cm with clove leaf litter can reduce surface runoff to 0.1 mm / rain, increase soil organic matter by 4.28% and increase soil moisture storage by 304.9 mm. Plant litter as source of organic matter can meet the water requirements of plants in the dry season [25].…”

“…Andisols generally dominated the soil in the research site. The research by Umasugi [22], showed that the soil content weight in clove plantations was generally <0.9 g/cm 3 , the texture from clay to clay was dusty on the top layer, and sandy on the lower layer, which indicated that the soil was light and developed from pyroclastic and Volcanic ash of Mount Gamalama. Such soil characteristics will result in low available moisture in the soil and around the root area since water is easily lost due to evaporation and percolation.…”

“…This shows that, in the dry season, water availability is very low due to low rainfall and higher evapotranspiration, causing loss of soil and crops as well as lack of water, especially in July, August, and September. As according to [22], groundwater content (moisture content) for growth and production of cloves is less available from August to October due to low rainfall and large evapotranspiration.…”

“…Biopore infiltration holes and organic matter litter as vertical mulch from the soil surface to the subsoil layer to capture and absorb rainwater and surface runoff during the wet (surplus) period and store as water reserves during the dry period (deficit) in the dry season. As a result of research of Umasugi [22], biopores with clove leaf litter are installed during rain (surplus) in December and January to harvest rainwater and surface runoff and store them, increasing soil moisture storage by 304.93 mm when dry (deficit) in the month February and March.…”

Aplikasi Lubang Resapan Biopori Berkompos terhadap Peningkatan Fosfor pada Agroekosistem Kebun Kopi Robusta

“…Lubang Resapan Biopori Berkompos (LRBB) merupakan teknologi lubang resapan yang dibuat di permukaan tanah hingga kedalaman tertentu, dapat menampung runoff air hujan dan menjadi tempat untuk dekomposisi bahan organik (Permatasari 2015). Beberapa penelitian menunjukkan bahwa LRBB dapat diaplikasikan untuk mengurangi volume runoff (Landl et al 2018;Clunes et al 2021), meminimalkan kehilangan hara dan meningkatkan daya simpan air (Landl et al 2019), meningkatkan porositas tanah (Reck et al 2018), meningkatkan kapasitas air tersedia (Umasugi et al 2021) dan meningkatkan kapasitas infiltrasi (Widiya dan Krisnawati 2017;Santos et al 2018). Kompos yang terdapat pada LRBB diharapkan mampu membantu ketersediaan hara dalam tanah di sekitarnya.…”