Sustainability assessment of sodic land reclamation using remote sensing and GIS

Abstract

Sodicland reclamation in the Indo-Gangetic plains is being done on a large scale in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana in India. However, in certain areas, the reclamation has been reported to be unsustainable and the soils are reverting back to sodicity condition. A study was conducted in one of the reclamation sites of Etawah district for sustainability assessment of sodic land reclamation using remote sensing, Geographic Information system (GIS) and ancillary ground information. Multitemporal satellite data were used for delineation of reclaimed sodiclands and reverted sodic land. Field survey was conducted to find out the various causative factors. Groundwater level information and detailed field survey data were analysed in GIS environment. Results showed that in the reclamation site covering 3,905 ha. in 57 villages of the district, about 27 per cent of reclaimed lands were reverted to sodicity. High water table condition, improper drainage, nearness to canal (within 500 m), and hard pan in the sub-soil were found to be the reasons for unsustainability of reclamation.

Managing soils and crops for sustainable agricultural intensification in coastal saline zones

“…First, uncertain improvement effects reduced the enthusiasm of farmers. For example, Yadav, Yadav, Yaduvanshi, Verma, and Singh (2010) reported that partially amended sodic lands in 1996 deteriorated again in 2000, and Chun, Nishiyama, and Matsumoto (2001) also indicated that the application of FGDG increased maize yield in the first and third year, and reduced maize yield in the second year. Second, the reduction of agricultural income year by year forced farmers to migrate to cities to find non‐agricultural work, which resulted in less labor force participating in agricultural work, resulting in low adoption of improved technology (Dai & Dong, 2014; Rozelle, Taylor, & deBrauw, 1999).…”

Quantitative Estimation of Saline-Soil Amelioration Using Remote-Sensing Indices in Arid Land for Better Management

“…There is an urgent need to increase the area of agricultural land to meet the increasing demand for food due to the rapid population growth [13][14][15]. Therefore, one of the effective ways to raise the efficiency of the agricultural unit is land reclamation processes [16].…”