Available Macronutrient Status of Soil under Different Land Use Systems of District Ganderbal, Jammu and Kashmir, India

Assessment of land use-induced changes in soil properties is essential for addressing issues of agroecosystem transformation and sustainable land productivity. In view of this, a study was conducted to assess the impact of land use on the physicochemical properties and macronutrient status of soils in Ganderbal, district of Jammu and Kashmir. Seven land use types, namely forest, horticulture, pastures, wastelands, agri-horticulture, agriculture (irrigated and unirrigated) were taken for the study. A total of 252 random soil samples (0–20 cm depth) on the bases of different land use systems were collected from three tehsils (locations) namely, Ganderbal, Kangan, and Lar. Each location comprised of three sites having four replications in each selected site. The results of the study, on one hand, revealed that soil organic carbon (OC), available nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K) and sulphur (S) contents of the cultivated land was significantly (P < 0.001) lower than the adjacent forest land. The exchangeable cations (Ca, Mg), pH, electrical conductivity (EC) and CaCO3 contents of the wastelands were significantly (P < 0.001) higher than the other land use systems. Significant and positive correlation was found between pH, CaCO3 with Ca, Mg, and OC with available N and P. The soil quality and health were maintained relatively under the forest, followed by pastures whereas the influence on most parameters were negative on the soils of the cultivated land, indicating the need for employing integrated soil fertility management in sustainable manner to optimize and maintain the favourable soil physicochemical properties and nutrient status.