ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Mapping of Soil Properties under Different Land
Uses in Lesser Karakoram Range, Pakistan
More details
Hide details
1
Jianshui Research Station, School of Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
2
Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration on Soil and Water Conservation,
Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
3
Department of Environmental Sciences, Karakoram International University, Gilgit 15100, Pakistan
4
Department of Agriculture and Food Technology, Karakoram International University, Gilgit 15100, Pakistan
5
Forest, Wildlife and Environment Department of Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan
Submission date: 2020-01-28
Final revision date: 2020-05-11
Acceptance date: 2020-05-14
Online publication date: 2020-10-28
Publication date: 2021-01-20
Corresponding author
Jinxing Zhou
Jianshui Research Station, School of Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, 100083, Beijing, China
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2021;30(2):1181-1189
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
The vulnerability to environmental changes requires appropriate management of mountainous soils
to harmonize agriculture productivity and health of agro-ecosystem. Information on spatial analyses in
land uses is important for site-specific nutrient management. The current study investigates and maps
soil properties in two land use types (agriculture and orchard) through geostatistical analyses of selected
parameters using Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW). Geo-referenced soil samples were collected at
0-15 cm depth. Overall, silty loam soils were observed with slightly alkaline pH, normal electrical
conductivity and adequate organic carbon in both land use types. Macronutrient results indicated
that nitrate-nitrogen was medium while phosphorus and potassium were higher in both land uses.
The two-way ANOVA indicated that the EC (p<0.05), NO3-N, Av. P and Ex. K (p<0.001) differed
significantly across the land use types. Whereas with respect to various study locations the EC and Av.
P differed significantly (p<0.01), while pH, SOC, NO3-N, Ex. K and saturation did vary. Higher Soil
quality index (SQI) in agriculture soil indicating better quality or health than the orchard. The findings
provide useful insights for soil fertility management in mountainous agro-ecosystems.