Land Use, Landform, and Soil Management as Determinants of Soil Physicochemical Properties and Microbial Abundance of Lower Brahmaputra Valley, India

Surabhi Hota, Vidyanand Mishra, Krishna Kumar Mourya, Krishna Giri, Dinesh Kumar, Prakash Kumar Jha, Uday Shankar Saikia, P. V. Vara Prasad and Sanjay Kumar Ray
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Surabhi Hota: ICAR-National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Jorhat 785004, AS, India
Vidyanand Mishra: Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur 492012, CT, India
Krishna Kumar Mourya: ICAR-National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Jorhat 785004, AS, India
Krishna Giri: Rain Forest Research Institute, Jorhat 785001, AS, India
Dinesh Kumar: Indian Institute of Soil Water Conservation, Datia 475661, MP, India
Prakash Kumar Jha: Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Sustainable Intensification, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
Uday Shankar Saikia: ICAR-National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Jorhat 785004, AS, India
P. V. Vara Prasad: Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Collaborative Research on Sustainable Intensification, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
Sanjay Kumar Ray: ICAR-National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Jorhat 785004, AS, India

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 4, 1-18

Abstract: Due to the shifting course of the Brahmaputra River, the fluvial landforms of the Brahmaputra Valley of Assam, India, are prone to changes in landform and land use. For sustainable soil management under such conditions, it is crucial to have information about soil physicochemical and biological properties for different land uses. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the soil physicochemical properties and soil microbial population across five major land uses under different landforms, such as paddy fields, banana systems, and arecanut cultivations in the alluvial plains; and rubber plantations and sal forests in the uplands, with varying slope gradients and soil depths (0–25 cm and 25–50 cm) in the lower Brahmaputra Valley. The results of the analysis of variance revealed that the effects of different landforms and land uses were found to be statistically significant on very labile soil organic carbon (VLSOC), available K, B, Fe, Mn, Zn, and Cu, and soil moisture content across two different soil depths. Paddy cultivated systems recorded the highest (1.23%) soil organic carbon (SOC), but these levels were statistically at par with other land use scenarios except for banana systems; whereas, forests and rubber plantations showed the highest VLSOC (0.38% and 0.34%, respectively,) and were significantly different from other land use scenarios. All soil microbial populations (bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes) studied varied significantly in different land uses across varying soil depths. Perennial land uses under arecanut, rubber, and forest cultivations showed significantly higher microbial populations than paddy and banana systems. The principal component analysis (PCA) identified SOC, VLSOC, Cu, K, B, P, and the bacteria count as the major soil quality parameters of the study area. The results showed that landforms, land use, and management practices collectively affect soil properties. Therefore, soil management choices should take into consideration the landforms and land use for maintaining soil health and its sustainability.

Keywords: land use; nutrient availability; physicochemical parameters; soil microbial population; soil depth; topography (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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