Assessment of soil characteristics in different land-use systems in Gandhinagar, Gujarat

摘要

Soil is a source of food and habitation for all terrestrial organisms and provides innumerable ecosystem services. However, it is a finite resource as it is not renewable on a human time scale. Land-use change drastically alters soil characteristics and increased soil carbon emissions. In this study, an effort has been made to assess soil characteristics in different land-use classes of Gandhinagar district, Gujarat. Land-use land cover classification was done using digital interpretation method and 9 classes were mapped. Stratified random sampling approach was adopted to obtain composite samples from 4 sites in 6 out of 9 land-use land cover classes from increasing depths of 0-10, 10-20 and 20-30 cm. Soil quality was assessed by testing pH, electrical conductivity, organic carbon, available phosphorous, potassium, and total nitrogen. It was found that vegetation class contained most fertile soil. The agriculture closely followed vegetation while urban showed least amount of soil organic carbon and other nutrients. Vegetation showed highest carbon and potassium levels while nitrogen and phosphorous were equally high in vegetation and agriculture class. Tree cover and the nature of land-use were crucial factors affecting soil health.