Soil quality - Field soil description

Humping/hollowing and flipping are land development practices widely used on the West Coast to overcome waterlogging constraints to pasture production. However, there is very limited information about how the resulting "new" soils function and how their properties change over time following these extreme modifications. We hypothesised that soil quality will improve in response to organic matter inputs from plants and excreta, which will in turn increase nutrient availability. We tested this hypothesis by quantifying the soil organic matter and nutrient content of soils at different stages of development after modification. We observed improvements in soil quality with increasing time following soil modification under both land development practices. Total soil C and N values were very low following flipping, but over 8 years these values had increased nearly five-fold. Other indicators of organic matter quality such as hot water extractable C (HWC) and anaerobically mineralisable N (AMN) showed similar increases. With large capital applications of superphosphate fertiliser to flipped soils in the first year and regular applications of maintenance fertiliser, Olsen P levels also increased from values

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Physico-Chemical Properties of Soil Collected from Chandrabhaga River in Kalmeshwar, Nagpur, Maharashtra

Journal of Advanced Research in Alternative Energy Environment and Ecology ◽

10.24321/2455.3093.202006 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 07 (02) ◽

pp. 1-3

Author(s):

Amita M Watkar ◽

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Soil Quality ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Organic Matter Content ◽

Chemical Properties ◽

Matter Content ◽

Soil Attributes ◽

Essential Components ◽

Agricultural Land Management ◽

Physical And Chemical

Soil, itself means Soul of Infinite Life. Soil is the naturally occurring unconsolidated or loose covering on the earth’s surface. Physical properties depend upon the amount, size, shape, arrangement, and mineral composition of soil particles. It also depends on the organic matter content and pore spaces. Chemical properties depend on the Inorganic and organic matter present in the soil. Soils are the essential components of the environment and foundation resources for nearly all types of land use, besides being the most important component of sustainable agriculture. Therefore, assessment of soil quality and its direction of change with time is an ideal and primary indicator of sustainable agricultural land management. Soil quality indicators refer to measurable soil attributes that influence the capacity of a soil to function, within the limits imposed by the ecosystem, to preserve biological productivity and environmental quality and promote plant, animal and human health. The present study is to assess these soil attributes such as physical and chemical properties season-wise.

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