Relationships between important soil variables in moderately acidic soils (pH ≥5.5) in the highlands of Papua New Guinea and management implications for subsistence farmers

The fertility of farmed soils in parts of the Papua New Guinea (PNG) highlands reputedly has been declining for some time owing to population pressure. To assess the extent of the problem, a survey of sweet potato gardens was conducted across four of the highlands provinces and information on soil variables was obtained for gardens on soils of volcanic and non-volcanic origins. In the absence of fertilizer application, soil fertility in the humid tropics is largely a function of soil cation exchange capacity (CEC), and soils of low CEC had previously been reported in this region. In the present study, relationships between effective CEC (ECEC) and other soil properties in moderately acidic soils (pH 5.5-6.3) were investigated to see if there was scope for improving soil cation retention characteristics through management of key soil variables. For volcanic soils of varying allophane content. ECEC was, unexpectedly, negatively correlated with soil C and soil C/N, most probably because of the formation of humus-allophane complexes which had facilitated organic matter accumulation whilst dramatically reducing the free negative charges on the material. Given the latter outcome, the indigenous practice of heaping compost in the centre of soil mounds appeared to be one of the best strategies for circumventing the problem of low CEC, as nutrients in the compost are held in an environment virtually independent of the surrounding soil mineralogy. Although the positive correlation between soil pH and soil ECEC was weak for volcanic soils, it was concluded that liming might nevertheless be an effective means of enhancing the nutrient retention characteristics of these soils provided the practicalities and costs were not prohibitive.