Vol. 11, Issue 2 (2022)

Author(s):
Mehvish Mansoor, Farida Akhter, Zahoor A Baba, Raihana Habib Kant, Showket Maqbool and Farooq A Sheikh

Abstract:
To study the effect of land-use systems on the physicochemical properties of soils from different land-use systems, viz., forestry, horticulture, Agri-horti and agriculture, in the district of Baramulla, J & K. 105 surface and sub-surface samples were collected from five different locations and were studied for physico-chemical properties like pH, EC, OC, CaCO₃, CEC, bulk density, particle density, porosity, and moisture content. All the soil samples in the studied land-use system were medium to moderately fine in texture and slightly acidic to slightly alkaline in nature, but normal in electrical conductivity. Bulk density and particle density were low in forest soils and high in cultivated lands, and organic carbon was slightly low to high in the soils under investigation. pH, electrical conductivity, organic carbon, and cation exchange capacity showed a definite pattern with depth, whereas calcium carbonate showed an irregular trend with depth.