The Relationship between Differences of Slope Class with Soil Chemical Characteristics in Jolotigo Tea Plantation Scope of PTPN IX

Abstract

Tea plantations are mostly more suitable to be cultivated in areas with highland characteristics to get its’ subtropical climate which is great for the growth of tea. This requirement showed that tea plantations are also cultivated in areas with different ranges of slope and this condition could affect soil chemical properties such as soil nutrient content, including soil pH, soil organic carbon (SOC) and contents of N, Available P, K and Mg inside the soil. This study was conducted to analyze the correlation on different slope levels with soil nutrient contents by collecting the secondary data of land slope and soil chemical properties, analyzed statistically with a simple correlation method. The result showed there was no significant correlation between the slope levels and contents of soil chemical properties. Most of the soil chemical properties have a negative correlation to different slope gradients such as soil pH (r = -0.391), SOC (r = -0.348), total N ( r = -0.169), Available P (r = - 0.039), K content (r = -0.135), Mg content (r = -0.027). where the highest levels of nutrients were found at the lowest level of slope based on the site data. Soil chemical properties are needed to be considered in many tea plantations with different levels of slope and could be used as a recommendation in planning for conservation or restoration of degraded land or soil.