REHABILITATION OF SOME CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF SOILS AND CLOUD FOREST AT VERACRUZ, MEXICO WITH EXPERIMENTAL ASSEMBLAGES OF NATIVE WOODY SPECIES AND Casuarina equisetifolia L, Amoen

Abstract

On the rehabilitation of a severely degraded site formerly occupied by cloud forest, the impact of five experimental tree species assemblages on some soil chemical properties and plant performance was explored. Seedlings of ten native cloud forest succession tree species and the exotic species Casuarina were combined in five assemblages of different composition and richness. Their effect was noticeable on five out of eight soil properties analyzed The one that included Casuarina stood out on height, and had the highest levels of most of the nutrients, particularly nitrogen. More than half of the trees sown remained alive after the initial two years of the experiment (1999 and 2001). Assemblages affected individual survival time as well as growth variables. Plant cover was most rapid and extensively formed by the native species assemblages

those that included oaks, showed high levels of some nutrients. The richest assemblage displayed intermediate levels in soil and plant variables. The inclusion of the rapid growth species Casuarina was validated to enhance nutrient accumulation on degraded soils. The results suggest that initial rehabilitation can be achieved by the assemblage establishment.