Planning agroforestry and fuelwood production on the basis of soil taxonomy.

Whether an environment is suitable for tree crop production can be predicted on the basis of soil taxonomic names.These names imply certain attributes such as the general nutrient status of the soils, relative amounts and kinds of clay and clay minerals, and the range of soil moisture and soil temperature.In the tropics, soil information on land available for tree crop or fuelwood production is generally insufficient because many detailed soil surveys are usually concentrated on the level or nearly level arable lands, which are traditionally planted to food crops.Thus, on hillsides, rocklands, and swamps, the marginal lands which are available for tree crops, soil surveys are usually of the reconnaissance type or do not exist at all.If fuelwood production is to take place on a regional and global scale, some policy directions by governments are needed to classify these areas in greater detail.Matching a crop to the soil and climate depends on the crop's specific growth requirements.Like other legume crops, leguminous fuelwood trees have high requirements for soil-derived elements, such as calcium, phosphorus, and sulfur.Therefore, in evaluating land for growing leguminous trees, careful consideration must be made to select soils that are supplied with these nutrients since fertilizer applications to supplement these nutrients might not be economical.Soil Taxonomy provides a tool for planners and decision makers to assess the capability of a soil to support the establishment of tree species.