Soil quality assessment in gulmit and shiskat valley of upper hunza, district Hunza Nagar, Gilgit-Baltistan

Paper Details

Research Paper 01/10/2015
Views (373) Download (16)
current_issue_feature_image
publication_file

Soil quality assessment in gulmit and shiskat valley of upper hunza, district Hunza Nagar, Gilgit-Baltistan

Sultan Ishaq, Farida Begum, Kiramat Hussain, Yawar Abbas, Karamat Ali, Sher Ahmed, Roheela Amir, Rizwan Karim
J. Bio. Env. Sci.7( 4), 87-95, October 2015.
Certificate: JBES 2015 [Generate Certificate]

Abstract

The study was carried out in Upper Hunza to identify the soil quality assessment in Shiskat and Gulmit village. The examined soil properties were pH, Soil Organic Carbon (SOC), Nitrate-Nitrogen (NO3-N) Electrical Conductivity (EC), Available Phosphorus (P), Exchangeable Potassium (K), Silt, Sand and Clay content (texture). Stratified random sampling was done in Shiskat and Gulmit Valley form top soil 0-15 cm. Total 40 soil samples were collected from both valleys, 20 samples from Gulmit and 20 samples from Shiskat. Soil samples were taken to Laboratory for standard analysis of soil quality parameters. Independent T test was applied to determine the significant difference of soil properties with respect to location wise. Soil parameters like pH, NO3-N, lay, Sand and Silt differed significantly with respect to location, while SOC and P were non-significant according to location wise. Soil chemical properties like SOC and NO3-N was found higher in Shiskat valley, compared to Gulmit it may be because of higher inputs of animal dung and green manure. Continuous assessment and monitoring of soil quality is necessary in this area to maintain the soil quality, which will be beneficial for higher production of yield amount.

VIEWS 43

Atiku M, Noma SS. 2011. Physicochemical Properties of the Soils of Wassaniya Forest Reserve Tangaza Local Government, Sokoto State. Nigerian Journal of Basic and Applied Science 19(1), 93- 96.

Evans LJ, Kay BD, Thomas RL. 1987. Soil Science, 1987 – 2000: A Study Guide and Laboratory Exercise Manual. Department of Land Resource Sciences. University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

Emadi M, Baghernejad  M, Memarian  HR. 2009. Effect of land-use change on soil fertility characteristics within water-stable aggregates of two cultivated soils in northern Iran. Journal Land Use Policy 26(2), 452-457.

Gholami A, Kahkesh HA, Panahpour E. 2012. Influence of Land Use Changes on Some Soil Quality Indexes in AbbaharMasjedSoleiman Region. (2012). International Journal of Agriculture and Crop Sciences 4(17), 1251-1254. Available online at www.ijagcs.comIJACS/2012/4-17/1251-1254.

Grieve IC. 2001. Human impacts on soil properties and their implications for the sensitivity of soil systems in Scotland.Catena (42), 361–374.

Godsey CB. 2007. Change in Soil pH, Organic carbon, and Extractable Aluminum from Crop Rotation and tillage. Soil science society of american journal.

Guangyu C, Xin C, Yi S. 2010. Profile distribution of soil organic carbon under different land use type in Sanjing Plain. Chinese Academy of Sciences 183-185.

Holechek JL, Pieper RD, Herbel CH. 1995. Range management: Principles and Practices. 2nd Edition.

Jamala GY, Oke DO. 2013. Soil profile characteristics as affected by land use systems in the South eastern Adamawa state, Nigeria. IOSR journal of veternity science, volume 6, 04-11.

Khaledian Y, Kiani F, Ebrahimi S. 2012. The effect of land use change on soil and water quality in northern Iran. Journal of Mountain Science 9, 798-816.

Khan B, Hakeem RA. 2004. Pysio-chemical Caracteristics  and  FrtilitySatus  of  GlgitSils.J.Agrie. Res. 42, (3-4).

KizilKaya R, Bayrakli B. 2005. Effects of N-enriched sewage sludge on soil enzymes activities. Applied Soil Ecology 30, 192-202.

Li L, Li W, Yang X, Zhang D, Tong Y. 2008. The impact of land use change on quality evolution of soil genetic layers on the coastal plain of south Hangzhou Bay. Journal of Geographiacal Sciencs 18, 469-48.

Martin PM, Wattenbach M, Smith P, Meersmans J, Jolivat C, Boulonne L, Arrouays D. 2011. Spatial distribution of soil organic carbon stocks in France. Biogeosciences 8, 1053–1065.

Mckeague JA. 1978. Manual on soil sample and methods of analysis. Canadian Society of Soil Science 66-68.

Mclean EO. 1982. Soil pH and lime requirement. P. 199-224, In A.L. Page (ed.), Methods of soil analysis, Part 2: chemical and microbiological properties. Am. Soc.Agron. Madison. WL. USA.

Richards LA. 1954. Diagnosis and improvement of the Saline and Alkali soils. USDA Agric, Handbook 60. Washington, D.C.

Roukos C, Papanikolaou C, Mountousis I, Kandrelis S, Chatzitheodoridis F. 2011. Soil property variations in relation to plant community and altitudinal zone in the rangelands of Epirus, Greece. Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science 17, 806-815.

Santorufo L. 2013. Effects of land use transformation on micro arthropod community structure in Mediterranean area.

Sturtz AV, Christie BR. 2003. Rationale for holistic approach to soil quality and crop health. Soil and Tillage Research 72(2), 105-106.

Soltanpour PN, Schwab (ed.). 1977. A new soil test for simultaneous extraction of macro- and micronutrients in alkaline soils. Soil Sciences plant. Anal. 8, 195-207.

Walkley A. 1947. A critical examination of a repid method for determining organic carbon in soil –effect of variations in digestion conditions and of it inorganic soil constituents.soilsci 63, 251-264.

Yuksek T, Gol C, Yuksek F, Yuksel EE. 2009. The effects of land-use changes on soil properties: The conversion of alder coppice to tea plantations in the Humid Northern Blacksea Region. African Journal of Agricultural Research 4(7), 665-674.