Plant nutritional potency of recent volcanic materials from the southern flank of mt. Merapi, Indonesia

Lis Noer Aini1, Bambang Hendro Soenarminto2, Eko Hanudin2, Junun Sartohadi2
1 Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Agrotechnology, Yogyakarta 55183, Indonesia
2 Universitas Gadjah Mada, Department of Soil Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Yogyakarta 55281,  Indonesia

Abstract

Aini, L., Soenarminto, B., Hanudin, E. & Sartohadi, J. (2019).Plant nutritional potency of recent volcanic materials from the southern flank of mt. Merapi, Indonesia. Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science, 25(3), 527–533

The explanation of the vegetation growth rate on land buried by volcanic eruption material has not been done from the point of view of nutrient supply. The main objective of the research was to find out the distribution of pyroclastic material bearing weatherable minerals potentially as nutrient resources for plant growth. The field survey method was applied for landscape characterizations and soil sampling. The map and imageries interpretation was done to determine the slope units at the southern flank of Merapi into: cone, upper slope, middle slope, lower slope, and foot slope. The samples distribution were not covering the cone area. Samples of surface materials and the developed soils underneath were collected and measured the minerals, macronutrients and micronutrients content. The results revealed that the recent volcanic material contained primary minerals such as volcanic glass, plagioclase, hornblende, quartz and opaque with proportion of 50, 30, 10, 6 and 4%, respectively. While in the soil observed was plagioclase, pyroxene, and hornblende with proportion at range of 90.7-95.2, 2.5-4.1, and 1.04-3.88%, respectively. The highest total nutrient content was Fe, and followed by Ca > Mg > P > K > Na > Zn. The three primary minerals were categorized as weatherable minerals. The geomorphological unit had a very important role in nutrient distribution where the nutrient content for each unit was in sequence as upper slope > foot slope > lower slope > middle slope. Weatherable mineral in volcanic material was quite potential as nutrient resources for plant growth.

Keywords: nutritional potency; plagioclase; hornblende; pyroxene; macro-micronutrients

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