Assessment of Land use System and its impact on Soil Properties of Indian Solonetz Soils

Land use system has a great impact on soil properties. The effect of land use on soil chemical, microbiological properties and soil moisture of salt-affected soils was investigated in India. Soil samples were collected from Solonetz soils under different land uses such as arable land (SnA), bare land (SnB) and pasture land (SnP). Results of the study showed that the chemical and microbiological properties of all three sites were statistically different from each other. The principal components (PC1 and PC2) retained for the analysis accounted for 86.26% of the total variance. The values of microbiological properties were the highest in SnA, intermediate in SnP and the lowest in case of SnB. Discriminant analysis of microbiological properties showed that 93.64% of variation and can be determined by MBC. The primary objective of our study was to ascertain how farmers' perceptions and decisions regarding land use systems, which are based on their experiences rather than laboratory results, align with soil physical, chemical and microbiological properties, and how they contribute to preserving soil quality. Overall, it was concluded that arable land (SnA) had more favorable chemical properties and it has been microbiologically more active in investigated salt affected (Solonetz) soils. Moreover, soil conservation and amelioration practices are suggested in bare land and pasture land to prevent further degradation and to improve the soil quality of the investigated salt affected areas. Also, it is important to educate and transfer knowledge to the farmers about the consequences of soil degradation and advocate good soil management practices (gypsum application, nutrient management, crop cover, tillage etc.).. KEYWORDS :Salt-affected soils, Arable land, Pasture land, Bare land, Farmers decision, Land use system, Soil properties.