Mapping of Soil Properties under Different Land Uses in Lesser Karakoram Range, Pakistan

Abstract

The vulnerability to environmental changes requires appropriate management of mountainous soils to harmonize agriculture productivity and health of agro-ecosystem. Information on spatial analyses in land uses is important for site-specific nutrient management. The current study investigates and maps soil properties in two land use types (agriculture and orchard) through geostatistical analyses of selected parameters using Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW). Geo-referenced soil samples were collected at 0-15 cm depth. Overall, silty loam soils were observed with slightly alkaline pH, normal electrical conductivity and adequate organic carbon in both land use types. Macronutrient results indicated that nitrate-nitrogen was medium while phosphorus and potassium were higher in both land uses. The two-way ANOVA indicated that the EC (p<0.05), NO 3 -N, Av. P and Ex. K (p<0.001) differed significantly across the land use types. Whereas with respect to various study locations the EC and Av. P differed significantly (p<0.01), while pH, SOC, NO 3 -N, Ex. K and saturation did vary. Higher Soil quality index (SQI) in agriculture soil indicating better quality or health than the orchard. The findings provide useful insights for soil fertility management in mountainous agro-ecosystems.

Spatial Variability Portrayal of Soil Fertility Indicators in Apple Growing Area of Ziarat Balochistan Using Geostatistical Analysis

“…The remaining 8 orchard soils (16%) were in the category below 0.86%, expressed as low in organic matter content. Similar results were reported by Hussain et al (42) that in comparison to agriculture field, the orchards' soil indicated higher level of soil organic matter.…”

“…However, it was just one orchard which had electrical conductivity value of 1.85 dSm -1 . Similar results were reported by Hussain et al (42) who recorded electrical https://www.indjst.org/ conductivity between 1.15 and 1.60 dSm -1 in 77.42% orchards area in Karakoram Range while Zia-ul-Haque et al (46) studied the soil properties of apple orchard in Killa Saifullah Balochistan and noted EC below 4 dSm -1 that demonstrates that there is no salinity in the apple growing area. Soil pH is the main driving force in biogeochemical processes that occurs in soil system and is considered as master variable in soil fertility indicators responsible for affecting the soil properties, nutrient availability and crop productivity.…”

“…Khalid et al (47) reported that the calcareous nature of parent material and arid climatic conditions are the reasons of highly alkalinity. According to Hussain et al (42) that 62.9% orchard soil revealed pH in range of 7.63-7.81while in orchards 62.9% area fall in ranges of 7.63-7.81.…”

“…The low K in soil orchards might be due to parent materials and the other reason is high soaring cost of potassic fertilizer that farmers cannot afford to apply. A group of researchers studied the influence of land use on soil quality indicators in Karakoram region, Pakistan and found that in agriculture soil there was no difference in K concentration (50) . Contradicting results about AB-DTPA extractable K in apple orchards soil was noted by Zia Ul Haque et al (46) that only 3% orchards expressed low soil K level in Killa Saifullah district and varied with respect to soil depth and across different orchards.…”

Soil Quality Indicators under Different Smallholder Managed Cropping and Landuse Practices in Abuja, Nigeria

“…The term "soil quality" is used to refer to a soil's capacity to sustain human requirements, nourish plants, and maintain and improve soil air and water quality (Chandel et al, 2018;Gayan et al, 2020;Jiang et al, 2020). Increasing research evidences from around the world show that soil quality is declining under various CLUPs at a time when global efforts to achieve the SDGs are increasing (Kiflu & Beyene, 2013;Zajicová & Chuman, 2019;Adebo et al, 2020;Assefa et al, 2020;Laekemariam & Kibret, 2020;Hussain et al, 2021).…”