Soil Properties as Influenced by Different Land Use Systems Under Subtropical Region of Jammu
D. Mamta *
Division of Soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry, Faculty of Agriculture, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Jammu, India.
K. R. Sharma
Division of Soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry, Faculty of Agriculture, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Jammu, India.
S. Vikas
Division of Soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry, Faculty of Agriculture, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Jammu, India.
P. Ramphool
Division of Agronomy ,Faculty of Agriculture, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Jammu, India.
A. Samanta
Division of Soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry, Faculty of Agriculture, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Jammu, India.
N. S. Raina
Division of Soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry, Faculty of Agriculture, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Jammu, India.
Naresh Kumar Yadav
Division of Soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry, Faculty of Agriculture, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Jammu, India.
Davinder Paul Singh
Division of Soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry, Faculty of Agriculture, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Jammu, India.
Sheikh Amjid
Division of Soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry, Faculty of Agriculture, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Jammu, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The purpose of this work was to investigate the impact of various land use systems on physical and chemical changes in soil. Soil samples were taken from five different land use systems: agriculture, horticulture, forest, agroforestry, and grasslands. Soil bulk density, mean weight diameter, maximum water holding capacity, pH, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium levels were measured. Forest land use had the lowest bulk density and pH in surface and sub-surface soil layers when compared to all other land uses, but it had the highest mean weight diameter, maximum water holding capacity, nitrogen, and potassium in surface and sub-surface soil layers when compared to all other land uses. Agriculture land use had the highest available phosphorous. The forest land use is best for soil bulk density, mean weight diameter, water holding capacity, pH, nitrogen, phosphorous over all other land uses.
Keywords: Bulk density, land uses, water holding capacity.