Assessment of Land Use Systems on for Soil Quality in the Semi-A Arid Region, of Bengaluru, India
Karan Sathish *
Department of Environmental Sciences, College of Basic Science & Humanities, G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand-263 145, India.
A. S. Devakumar
Department of Forestry and Environment Science, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka-560 065, India.
A. Kokila
Department of Forestry and Environment Science, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka-560 065, India.
C. Vairavan
Department of Soil Science, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri, Maharastra-413 722, India.
Thrilekha D.
Department of Sericulture, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka-560 065, India.
Chethan Kumar K. B.
Department of Plant Genetic Resources, ICAR-IARI, New Delhi, 110012, India.
Shankar M.
Department of Plant Genetic Resources, ICAR-IARI, New Delhi, 110012, India.
Narayanaswamy Jeevan
Department of Agronomy, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore-641003, India.
Saleemali Kannihalli
Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, Karnataka-560 005, India.
Moorthy A. V.
Department of Entomology, G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand-263 145, India.
V. Kousalya
Department of Forestry and Environment Science, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka-560 065, India.
Shruthi G. S.
Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka-560 065, India.
Shweta Saraswat
Department of Environmental Sciences, College of Basic Science & Humanities, G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand-263 145, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Understanding the impact of diverse land-use systems (LUS) on soil quality is crucial for sustainable land management practices. This study was conducted in Bengaluru, India, to estimate the soil quality index (SQI) under different LUSs. Twenty-four sampling sites were identified in four different LUSs across the Bangaluru, and soil samples were collected monthly over five months during the Rabi cropping season of 2020-2021. The soil quality assessment involved selecting the minimum data set (MDS) via principal component analysis (PCA) and correlation, scoring soil indicators, and combining these scores to create the soil quality index (SQI). PCA was used to identify key soil properties, which included soil organic carbon (SOC), pH, dehydrogenase, nitrogen (N), and urease, for different LUSs derived from the MDS. The SQI was highest in the horticulture cropping system (0.58), followed by the agro + horticulture cropping system (0.53) and the vegetable cropping system (0.49), and lowest in the pulse cropping system (0.44). These findings emphasize the importance of sustainable land management practices to preserve and boost soil quality across cropping systems.
Keywords: Soil quality index, land-use systems, principal component analysis, horticulture cropping system, pulse cropping system