I would like to develop a hypothesis for my project where i study the difference of soil phenolic content between two different land use types (Primary forest and Oil palm plantation). I want to know if there will be significant difference between them. If yes, which land use will have more phenolics ?
Hi Mathavan,
Significance of the difference may relate to the time (years) since the vegetation-shift (from Primary forest to Oil palm plantation) has happened, differences in the quality of organic matter returned to the soil (under primary forest vs. Oil palm plantation), and the rate of organic matter loss since vegetation-shift. Rate of soil organic matter decomposition likely to be accelerated once the primary forest was cleared, potentially leading to relatively more recalcitrant organic molecules (e.g. lignin-derived phenols) accumulating in the soil. See in the paper (in the link) below, which might be further helpful in developing a sound research hypothesis.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0146638013001393
-SJ
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