Soil biochemical properties of various land use under rainfed conditions in Shiwalik foothills of Punjab, India

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.

KEYWORDS:

• Soil quality
• phosphates
• dehydrogenase
• glomalin and urease

Acknowledgements

We sincerely thank Directorate of Research, Head Department of Soil Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana and Director, Regional Research Station, Ballowal Saunkhri, Punjab for their financial assistance and technical guidance. The views expressed in this paper are those of individual scientists and do not necessarily reflect the views of the donor or the authors’ institution.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.