Leaf biomass from Multipurpose Trees and shrubs (MPTs) like Senna siamea, Senna spectabilis, Leucaena leucocephala, Gliricidia sepium and Albizia lebbeck, are known to provide enormous amount of nutrient for crops when used in rotations and/ or fallow to address the decline in soil fertility and yields and store Carbon and biomass and the soil. A study was conducted on soil of Kumasi-Ofin–Nta compound association of the Agroforestry plot belonging to the Natural Resources Faculty of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) at Gyinase in the Ashanti Region of Ghana to investigate the effect of five selected fallow species on some selected physical and chemical properties of the soils thirteen years after fallow. The field was a Randomized Complete Block Design made up of five MPTs species in three blocks with replications. The sampling depths were 0 – 10 cm, 10 – 20 cm and 20 – 30 cm. Soil samples were taken through physical and chemical laboratory analysis. Data collected were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA). The five MPTs species showed no significant influence on chemical properties of the soil (pH, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, Calcium, Magnesium and Carbon). However, there was significant influence of the MPTs on some soil physical properties (bulk density and porosity).
Keywords: Chemical Properties, Multipurpose Tree, Physical Properties, Shrubs, Soil Degradation
