Soil Structural Stability and Water Retention Characteristics Under Different Land uses of Degraded Lower Himalayas of North‐West India

Abstract

The lower Himalayan regions of north-west India experienced a severe land-use change in the recent past. A study was thus conducted to assess the effect of grassland, forest, agricultural and eroded land uses on soil aggregation, bulk density, pore size distribution and water retention and transmission characteristics. The soil samples were analysed for aggregate stability by shaking under water and water drop stability by using single simulated raindrop technique. The water-stable aggregates (WSA) >2 mm were highest (17Á3 per cent) in the surface layers of grassland, whereas the micro-aggregates (WSA < 0Á25 mm) were highest in eroded soils. The water drop stability followed the similar trend. It decreased with the increase in aggregate size. Being lowest in eroded soils, the soil organic carbon also showed an adverse effect of past land-use change. The bulk density was highest in eroded lands, being significantly higher for the individual aggregates than that of the bulk soils. The macroporosity (>150 mm) of eroded soils was significantly (p < 0Á05) lower than that of grassland and forest soils. The grassland soils retained the highest amount of water. Significant (p < 0Á05) effects of land use, soil depth and their interaction were observed in water retention at different soil water suctions. Eroded soils had significantly (p < 0Á05) lower water retention than grassland and forest soils. The saturated hydraulic conductivity and maximum water-holding capacity of eroded soils were sufficiently lower than those of forest and grassland soils. These indicated a degradation of soil physical attributes due to the conversion of natural ecosystems to farming system and increased erosion hazards in the lower Himalayan region of north-west India.

Effects of Different Land-Use Systems on Soil Aggregates: A Case Study of the Loess Plateau (Northern China)

“…Root biomass and SOM were observed as supporting material for the formation of aggregates (Figure 3). In many studies, it has been revealed that GL and AAO have the annual mean maximum root biomass, and an estimated annual root biomass was noted in grassland at 1360 kg and 6803 kg hac −1 year −1 [59][60][61]. The findings of this study showed that the surface soil at 0-20 cm in GL and AAO contained the highest amounts of root biomass and SOM (Figure 3) while that in CAO contained the lowest root biomass and Clw contained a greater amount than Clm.…”

sUAS and their application in observing geomorphological processes

“…Soil genesis and soil degradation comprise a worldwide issue that is researched by different strategies (Laudicina et al, 2015;Parras-Alcántara et al, 2015;Saha and Kukal, 2015;Srinivasarao et al, 2014). There is a need for research that will contribute to sustainable soil management (Bisantino et al, 2015;Mekonnen et al, 2015;Ndah et al, 2015;Wildemeersch et al, 2015) and that will assist policy makers in finding a way to apply the findings and achieve the sustainability .…”

Investigation of the relationship between landform classes and electrical conductivity (EC) of water and soil using a fuzzy model in a GIS environment

“…The results provided an insight into the significance for land use and farming water management in this area. Saha and Kukal (2015) found that there is a relationship between soil structural stability and land use. The results indicated the degradation of soil physical attributes due to the conversion of natural ecosystems to farming system and increased erosion hazards.…”