Changes in soil exchangeable nutrients across different land uses in steep slopes of Mizoram, North-east India
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Abstract
Land use change resulting from anthropogenic pressure on land has led to degraded soil quality, especially in the hilly tropical regions where ecosystems are generally fragile and susceptible to soil degradation from cultivation. Hence, sustainable land uses and management practices are crucial for agricultural production and ecological balance, particularly in these regions. The present study investigates the impact of various hill land uses (Natural forest-NAF, Jhum fallow-JF, Home garden-HG, Acacia pennata plantation-AP and Current Jhum-CJ) on soil exchangeable nutrients in steeply sloping agro-ecosystems of Mizoram, North-east India. Soil samples were collected from three different depths (0-10, 10-20 & 20-30 cm) and analyzed for pH, Pavail, Na, K, Mg, Mn and Ca. Our results indicated that land use and soil depths had a significant impact on soil pH, Pavail and soil exchangeable cations (p<0.05). Conversion of native forests for cultivation negatively affected soil properties as indicated by the reduced soil exchangeable cations in cultivated lands (AP & CJ) in relation to the natural forest (NAF) and Jhum fallow (JF). Soils under longer periods of fallow (>12 years) led to increases in soil available nutrients indicating the role of vegetation cover in conserving and enhancing soil available nutrients and vice-versa. In addition, Home garden (HG) showed moderately higher available soil nutrients signifying the role of sustainable management practices such as the addition of organic amendments and mixed cropping, leading to increased soil available nutrient content.
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Keywords
Anthropogenic pressure, Exchangeable nutrients, Land use change, Sustainability
References
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Fesha, I.G., Shaw, J.N., Reeves, D.W., Wood, C.W., Feng, Y., Norfleet, M.L. & Van Santen, E. (2002). Land use effects on soil quality parameters for identical soil taxa. Making conservation tillage conventional: Building a future on, 25, 233-238.
Gregory, A.S., Ritz, K., McGrath, S.P., Quinton, J.N., Goulding, K.W.T., Jones, R.J.A. & Whitmore, A.P. (2015). A review of the impacts of degradation threats on soil propertiesin the UK. Soil Use and Management. 31, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1111/sum.12212
Grogan, P., Lalnunmawia, F. & Tripathi, S.K. (2012). Shifting cultivation in steeply sloped regions: a review of management options and research priorities for Mizoram state, Northeast India. Agroforestry Systems, 84(2), 163-177. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-011-9469-1
Hauchhum, R. & Tripathi, S. K. (2017). Rhizosphere Effects of Melocanna baccifera on Soil Microbial Properties under Different Fallow Phases Following Shifting Cultivation. International Journal of Plant & Soil Science 17(1): 1-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.9734/IJPSS/2017/34493
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Kiflu, A. & Beyene, S. (2013). Effects of different land use systems on selected soil properties in South Ethiopia. Journal of Soil Science and Environment Management, 4(5): 100-107. http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JSSEM12.20
Lal, R. (2001). Soil degradation by erosion. Land Degradation. Dev. 12, 519–539.
Lal R (2009) Soils and world food security. Soil Tillage Research. 102, 1–4. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2008.08.001
Lalnunzira, C. & Tripathi, S.K. (2018). Leaf and root production, decomposition and fluxes of carbon and nitrogen during stand development in tropical moist forests, northeast India. Soil Research, 56: 306-317. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/SR16265
Lumbanraja, J., Syam, T., Nishide, H., Mahi, A.K., Utomo, M., Kimura, S. & Kimura, M. (1998). Deterioration of soil fertility by land use changes in South Sumatra, Indonesia: from 1970 to 1990. Hydrological Processes, 12, 2003–2013.
Lungmuana, Singh, S.B., Vanthawmliana, Saha, S., Dutta, S.K., Rambuatsaiha, Singh, A.R. & Boopathi, T. (2017). Impact of secondary forest fallow period on soil microbial biomass carbon and enzyme activity dynamics under shifting cultivation in north eastern hill region, India. Catena, 156:10-17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2017.03.017
Moraes, J.F.L., Volkoff, B., Cerri, C.C. & Bernoux, M. (1996). Soil properties under Amazon forest and changes due to pasture installation in Rondoˆnia, Brazil. Geoderma, 70 (1), 63–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7061(95)00072-0
Nega, E. & Heluf, G. (2009). Influence of land use changes and soil depth on cation exchange capacity and contents of exchangeable bases in the soils of Senbete watershed, Western Ethiopia. Ethiopian Journal of Natural Resources, 11(2), 195-206.
Pacheco, F.A.L., Sanches Fernandes, L.F., Valle Junior, R.F., Pissarra, T.C.T. and Valera, C.A. (2018). Land degradation: multiple environmental consequences and routes to neutrality.Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health, 5, 79–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coesh.2018.07.002
Peech, M. (1965). Hydrogen-ion activity. In:In: Black, C.A. (Ed.), Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 2, Chemical and Microbiological Properties Vol 9. American Society for Microbiology, Agron, Madison, Wisconsin, pp. 914–925.
Pricope, N.G., Husak, G., Lopez-Carr, D., Funk, C. & Michaelsen, J. (2013). The climate population nexus in the East African Horn: emerging degradation trends in rangeland and pastoral livelihood zones. Global Environmental Change, 23, 1525–1541. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2013.10.002
Ramakrishnan, P.S. & Kushwaha, S.P.S. (2001). Secondary forests of the Himalaya with emphasis on the north-eastern hill region of India. Journal of Tropical Forest Science, 13(4), 727-747.
Sarkar, U.K., Saha, B.K., Goswami, C. & Chowdhury, M.A.H. (2010). Leaf litter amendment in forest soil and their effect on the yield quality of red amaranth. Journal of Bangladesh Agriculture Univeristy, 8(2): 221226.
Singh, S.B., Mishra, B.P. & Tripathi, S.K. (2015). Recovery of plant diversity and soil nutrients during stand development in subtropical forests of Mizoram. Northeast India, Biodiversitas, 16(2), 205-212. https://doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d160216
Singha, D. & Tripathi, S.K. (2017). Variations in fine root growth during age chronosequence of moist tropical forest following shifting cultivation in Mizoram, northeast India. Tropical Ecology, 58(4), 769-779.
Tekalign, M., Richter, C. & Heiligtag, B. (2002). Phosphorus availability studies on ten Ethiopian Vertisols. Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Tropics and Subtropics, 103(2), 177-183.
Tripathi, S.K., Kushwaha, C.P. & Basu, S.K. (2012). Application of fractal theory in assessing soil aggregates in Indian tropical ecosystems. Journal of Forestry Research 23: 355-364. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-012-0271-3
Tripathi, S.K., Vanlalfakawma, D.C. & Lalnunmawia, F. (2017). Shifting cultivation on steep slopes of Mizoram, India: Impact of policy reforms. In: Cairns M. (ed.), Shifting Cultivation Policies: Balancing Environmental and Social Sustainability: CABI International Publishing, London. pp 393-413. https://doi.org/10.1079/9781786391797.0393
Tully, K., Sullivan, C., Weil, R. & Sanchez, P. (2015). The state of soil degradation in Sub-Saharan Africa: baselines, trajectories, and solutions. Sustainability, 7, 6523–6552. https://doi.org/10.3390/su7066523
Ufot, U.O., Iren, O.B. & Chikere Njoku, C.U. (2016). Effects of land use on soil physical and chemical properties in Akokwa area of Imo State, Nigeria. International Journal of Life Sciences Scientific Research, 2(3), 273-278.
Valera, C.A., Valle Junior, R.F., Varandas, S.G.P., Sanches Fernandes, L.F. & Pacheco, F.A.L. (2016). The role of environmental land use conflicts in soil fertility: a study onthe Uberaba River basin, Brazil. Science of the Total Environment, 562, 463–473. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.04.046
Valle Junior, R.F., Varandas, S.G.P., Sanches Fernandes, L.F. & Pacheco, F.A.L. (2014). Environmental land use conflicts: a threat to soil conservation. Land Use Policy, 41,172–185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2014.05.012
Voundi Nkana, J.C. (1998). Use of wood industry wastes for improving chemical fertility in tropical acid soils.
Wapongnungsang, Hauchhum. R., Tripathi, S.K. (2017). Litter decomposition Vis-a-Vis carbon and nitrogen dynamics of Tephrosia candida components in different fallow periods following shifting cultivation in Mizoram. Indian Journal of Ecology, 44(4), 791-796.
Wapongnungsang, Adangnaro, & Tripathi, S.K. (2018). Effects of Different land use systems on Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics in Zunheboto District of Nagaland, Northeast India. Indian Journal of Ecology (2018) 45(4), 831-834.
Wu, Q. (2011). Environmental edaphology [M]. Beijing: Chinese Agricultural Press: 82-83.
Yihenew, G. & Getachew, A. (2013). Effects of different land use systems on selected physicochemical properties of soils in Northwestern Ethiopia. Journal of Agricultural Science, 5(4), 112-120. https://doi.org/10.5539/jas.v5n4p112
Yimer, F., Ledin, S. & Abdelkadir, A. (2008). Concentrations of exchangeable bases and cation exchange capacity in soils of cropland, grazing and forest in the Bale Mountains, Ethiopia, Forest Ecology and Management, vol. 256, no. 6, pp.1298–1302. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2008.06.047
Aytenew, M. & Kibret, K. (2016). Assessment of soil fertility status at dawja watershed in Enebse Sar Midir district, Northwestern Ethiopia. International Journal of Plant & Soil Science 11(2): 1-13. https://doi.org/10.9734/IJPSS/2016/21646
Colney, L & Nautiyal, B.P. (2013). Characterization and evaluation of soils of Aizawl district, Mizoram, India using remote sensing and GIS techniques. Journal of Geomatics, 7, 83-91.
Cottenie, A. (1980). Soil and plant testing as a basis of fertilizer recommendations. FAO soil bulletin 38/2. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy.
Fesha, I.G., Shaw, J.N., Reeves, D.W., Wood, C.W., Feng, Y., Norfleet, M.L. & Van Santen, E. (2002). Land use effects on soil quality parameters for identical soil taxa. Making conservation tillage conventional: Building a future on, 25, 233-238.
Gregory, A.S., Ritz, K., McGrath, S.P., Quinton, J.N., Goulding, K.W.T., Jones, R.J.A. & Whitmore, A.P. (2015). A review of the impacts of degradation threats on soil propertiesin the UK. Soil Use and Management. 31, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1111/sum.12212
Grogan, P., Lalnunmawia, F. & Tripathi, S.K. (2012). Shifting cultivation in steeply sloped regions: a review of management options and research priorities for Mizoram state, Northeast India. Agroforestry Systems, 84(2), 163-177. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-011-9469-1
Hauchhum, R. & Tripathi, S. K. (2017). Rhizosphere Effects of Melocanna baccifera on Soil Microbial Properties under Different Fallow Phases Following Shifting Cultivation. International Journal of Plant & Soil Science 17(1): 1-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.9734/IJPSS/2017/34493
ISFR. (2019). India State of Forest Report. http://fsi.nic.in/isfr2019/mizoram-isfr-2019.pdf.
Kiflu, A. & Beyene, S. (2013). Effects of different land use systems on selected soil properties in South Ethiopia. Journal of Soil Science and Environment Management, 4(5): 100-107. http://dx.doi.org/10.5897/JSSEM12.20
Lal, R. (2001). Soil degradation by erosion. Land Degradation. Dev. 12, 519–539.
Lal R (2009) Soils and world food security. Soil Tillage Research. 102, 1–4. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2008.08.001
Lalnunzira, C. & Tripathi, S.K. (2018). Leaf and root production, decomposition and fluxes of carbon and nitrogen during stand development in tropical moist forests, northeast India. Soil Research, 56: 306-317. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/SR16265
Lumbanraja, J., Syam, T., Nishide, H., Mahi, A.K., Utomo, M., Kimura, S. & Kimura, M. (1998). Deterioration of soil fertility by land use changes in South Sumatra, Indonesia: from 1970 to 1990. Hydrological Processes, 12, 2003–2013.
Lungmuana, Singh, S.B., Vanthawmliana, Saha, S., Dutta, S.K., Rambuatsaiha, Singh, A.R. & Boopathi, T. (2017). Impact of secondary forest fallow period on soil microbial biomass carbon and enzyme activity dynamics under shifting cultivation in north eastern hill region, India. Catena, 156:10-17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2017.03.017
Moraes, J.F.L., Volkoff, B., Cerri, C.C. & Bernoux, M. (1996). Soil properties under Amazon forest and changes due to pasture installation in Rondoˆnia, Brazil. Geoderma, 70 (1), 63–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7061(95)00072-0
Nega, E. & Heluf, G. (2009). Influence of land use changes and soil depth on cation exchange capacity and contents of exchangeable bases in the soils of Senbete watershed, Western Ethiopia. Ethiopian Journal of Natural Resources, 11(2), 195-206.
Pacheco, F.A.L., Sanches Fernandes, L.F., Valle Junior, R.F., Pissarra, T.C.T. and Valera, C.A. (2018). Land degradation: multiple environmental consequences and routes to neutrality.Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health, 5, 79–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coesh.2018.07.002
Peech, M. (1965). Hydrogen-ion activity. In:In: Black, C.A. (Ed.), Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 2, Chemical and Microbiological Properties Vol 9. American Society for Microbiology, Agron, Madison, Wisconsin, pp. 914–925.
Pricope, N.G., Husak, G., Lopez-Carr, D., Funk, C. & Michaelsen, J. (2013). The climate population nexus in the East African Horn: emerging degradation trends in rangeland and pastoral livelihood zones. Global Environmental Change, 23, 1525–1541. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2013.10.002
Ramakrishnan, P.S. & Kushwaha, S.P.S. (2001). Secondary forests of the Himalaya with emphasis on the north-eastern hill region of India. Journal of Tropical Forest Science, 13(4), 727-747.
Sarkar, U.K., Saha, B.K., Goswami, C. & Chowdhury, M.A.H. (2010). Leaf litter amendment in forest soil and their effect on the yield quality of red amaranth. Journal of Bangladesh Agriculture Univeristy, 8(2): 221226.
Singh, S.B., Mishra, B.P. & Tripathi, S.K. (2015). Recovery of plant diversity and soil nutrients during stand development in subtropical forests of Mizoram. Northeast India, Biodiversitas, 16(2), 205-212. https://doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d160216
Singha, D. & Tripathi, S.K. (2017). Variations in fine root growth during age chronosequence of moist tropical forest following shifting cultivation in Mizoram, northeast India. Tropical Ecology, 58(4), 769-779.
Tekalign, M., Richter, C. & Heiligtag, B. (2002). Phosphorus availability studies on ten Ethiopian Vertisols. Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Tropics and Subtropics, 103(2), 177-183.
Tripathi, S.K., Kushwaha, C.P. & Basu, S.K. (2012). Application of fractal theory in assessing soil aggregates in Indian tropical ecosystems. Journal of Forestry Research 23: 355-364. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-012-0271-3
Tripathi, S.K., Vanlalfakawma, D.C. & Lalnunmawia, F. (2017). Shifting cultivation on steep slopes of Mizoram, India: Impact of policy reforms. In: Cairns M. (ed.), Shifting Cultivation Policies: Balancing Environmental and Social Sustainability: CABI International Publishing, London. pp 393-413. https://doi.org/10.1079/9781786391797.0393
Tully, K., Sullivan, C., Weil, R. & Sanchez, P. (2015). The state of soil degradation in Sub-Saharan Africa: baselines, trajectories, and solutions. Sustainability, 7, 6523–6552. https://doi.org/10.3390/su7066523
Ufot, U.O., Iren, O.B. & Chikere Njoku, C.U. (2016). Effects of land use on soil physical and chemical properties in Akokwa area of Imo State, Nigeria. International Journal of Life Sciences Scientific Research, 2(3), 273-278.
Valera, C.A., Valle Junior, R.F., Varandas, S.G.P., Sanches Fernandes, L.F. & Pacheco, F.A.L. (2016). The role of environmental land use conflicts in soil fertility: a study onthe Uberaba River basin, Brazil. Science of the Total Environment, 562, 463–473. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.04.046
Valle Junior, R.F., Varandas, S.G.P., Sanches Fernandes, L.F. & Pacheco, F.A.L. (2014). Environmental land use conflicts: a threat to soil conservation. Land Use Policy, 41,172–185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2014.05.012
Voundi Nkana, J.C. (1998). Use of wood industry wastes for improving chemical fertility in tropical acid soils.
Wapongnungsang, Hauchhum. R., Tripathi, S.K. (2017). Litter decomposition Vis-a-Vis carbon and nitrogen dynamics of Tephrosia candida components in different fallow periods following shifting cultivation in Mizoram. Indian Journal of Ecology, 44(4), 791-796.
Wapongnungsang, Adangnaro, & Tripathi, S.K. (2018). Effects of Different land use systems on Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics in Zunheboto District of Nagaland, Northeast India. Indian Journal of Ecology (2018) 45(4), 831-834.
Wu, Q. (2011). Environmental edaphology [M]. Beijing: Chinese Agricultural Press: 82-83.
Yihenew, G. & Getachew, A. (2013). Effects of different land use systems on selected physicochemical properties of soils in Northwestern Ethiopia. Journal of Agricultural Science, 5(4), 112-120. https://doi.org/10.5539/jas.v5n4p112
Yimer, F., Ledin, S. & Abdelkadir, A. (2008). Concentrations of exchangeable bases and cation exchange capacity in soils of cropland, grazing and forest in the Bale Mountains, Ethiopia, Forest Ecology and Management, vol. 256, no. 6, pp.1298–1302. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2008.06.047
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Changes in soil exchangeable nutrients across different land uses in steep slopes of Mizoram, North-east India. (2021). Journal of Applied and Natural Science, 13(3), 929-936. https://doi.org/10.31018/jans.v13i3.2795
