Characterization and Classification of Alluvium derived Soils under different Land Uses in Varanasi district of Uttar Pradesh

摘要

Soil characterization provides the basic information of soil properties which are the outcome of several soil forming processes operating in a particular area. The type of the processes and their intensity is influenced by the basic soil forming factors as outlined by Jenny (1942). According to Wang et al. (2001), climate and geological history are the two important factors affecting soil properties on regional and continental scales while, land use may be the dominant factor of soil properties undersmall catchment scale. Land use system determines the type of vegetation and the soil management practices which in turn affect the processes of erosion, oxidation, mineralization and leaching. Maddonni et al. (1999) observed that land use affects basicprocesses such as erosion, soil structure and aggregate stability, nutrient cycling, leaching, carbon sequestration and other similar physical and biochemical processes. Soil properties are continuously influenced by land uses with profound influence onits productivity and sustainability. Hence, knowledge on the impact of land uses on soil property is indispensable for sustainable agricultural production and soil health maintenance.