Abstract
Various methods have been proposed for the improvement and maintenance of soil structure. In Ghana, the effects of agroforestry in the improvement of soil physical properties have not attracted much attention.
This study seeks to determine the effects of agroforestry on the chemical and physical properties of soils in the semi-deciduous ecological zone. Three plots under Alley cropping and one plot under Woodlot (Zeucaena
]eucocepfia]a) were used. The soil properties determined included organic carbon, Ca, flg, K, Na, bulk density, total porosity, particle size, saturated hydraulic conductivity and aggregate stability index. Organic carbon, total porosity and saturated hydraulic conductivity were found to be higher in the Woodlot than in the Alley plots. Bulk density was found to be higher in the Alley plots compared to the Woodlot plot.
Stability of soil aggregates in the Alley plots were significantly lower than that of soils under the Woodlot. Generally, soils under the woodlot showed better improvement in and conservation of chemical and physical properties than the soils under the Alley cropping
system.
