Soil biochemical properties of various land use under rainfed conditions in Shiwalik foothills of Punjab, India. Issue 5 (16th April 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Maini, Asima; Sharma, Vivek; Sharma, Sandeep; Arora, Raavi; Dhaliwal, SS
• Is Part Of: Archives of agronomy and soil science. Volume 68:Issue 5(2022)
• Page Start: 688
• Page End: 703
• Publication Date: 2022-04-16
• Subjects: Soil quality -- phosphates -- dehydrogenase -- glomalin and urease; Horticulture -- Periodicals; Soils -- Periodicals; 630.5
• DOI: 10.1080/03650340.2020.1851683
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0365-0340

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Soil microbial and enzymatic activities are sensitive to environmental change. To assess variations in soil properties, six prominent rainfed land-use systems were undertaken in Shiwalik foothills of Punjab, India. In soil samples (0–0.15 m), pH, EC, SOC, available nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, DTPA-Zn, DTPA-Fe, DTPA-Mn and DTPA-Cu varied from 7.3–7.9, 0.31–0.61 ds m −1, 0.20–0.63%, 110–381 kg ha −1, 29.8–32.6 kg ha −1, 99–196 kg ha −1, 9.5–15.1 mg kg −1, 9.0–25.2 mg kg −1, 0.31–1.02 mg kg −1 and 0.71–0.96 mg kg −1, respectively. In soil biochemical properties, dehydrogenase activity varied from 5.4–10.9 µg TPF g −1 h −1, acid and alkaline phosphatase from 17.0–36.5 µg pNP g −1 h −1 and 36.3–61.3 µg pNP g −1 h −1, urease from 4.05 to 4.80 µg NH4 -N g −1 soil min −1, basal soil respiration from 0.13–0.27 µg CO2 g −1 soil h −1, MBC from 34.9 to 184.5 µg g −1 soil, total and easily extractable glomalin from 4.19 to 8.80 g kg −1 and 1.70 to 8.32 g kg −1, respectively. PCA identified SOC, EC, total extractable glomalin, DTPA-Zn and available potassium as most sensitive and reliable indicators for soil quality. Agri-horticulture and forestry system are considered as sustainable ecosystem in Shiwalik foothills of Punjab.