soil nutrients status in prominent agro-ecosystems of east ... · where chemical fertilizers and...

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES Volume 3, No 6, 2013

© Copyright by the authors - Licensee IPA- Under Creative Commons license 3.0

Research article ISSN 0976 – 4402

Received on March 2013Published on June 2013 1957

Soil nutrients status in prominent agro-ecosystems of East Siang district,

Arunachal Pradesh Bhuyan.S.I

1, Tripathi. O.P

2, Khan. M.L

3

1- School of Biological Sciences, University of Science & Technology, Meghalaya, 9th

Mile, Ri-Bhoi, Meghalaya-793101

2,3- Department of Forestry, North Eastern Regional Institute of Science and Technology,

Nirjuli-791109, Arunachal Pradesh, India

[email protected]

doi: 10.6088/ijes.2013030600017

ABSTRACT

This study was conducted with an aim to analyze the spatial and temporal variability of soil C,

N, P under four prominent land use pattern viz., Jhum, Agro-forestry, Forest garden and

Vegetable agro-ecosystem of East Siang district, Arunachal Pradesh. Study was conducted

during the year 2010-11 following standard methodology. Soil samples were collected on

monthly basis from 8-10 places of every selected system from two depths (0-15 cm and 15-

30 cm) in replicates. Statistical analysis revealed significant variation in soil nutrients along

the sites, depth and seasons. Minimum SOC was recorded during the rainy season in all the

systems while maximum in winter (Agro-forestry and Vegetable AES) and spring season

(Jhum and Forest garden). Surface soil layer had significantly greater SOC and TKN

concentration than the subsurface soil depth. However, available phosphorus resulted reverse

trend during spring season in agro-forestry and vegetable AES. The C/N ratio ranges from 1.8

to10 among the systems. Soil nutrients like C, N and P and other physico-chemical

characteristics of soil can be used as a tool for further ecological assessment and monitoring

of these land use systems to ensure food security program in Eastern Himalayan region of

Arunachal Pradesh.

Keywords: Climatic variables, Conventional farming, Crop productivity, Mineralization,

Management techniques, Soil acidification.

1. Introduction

Spatial and temporal variability of soil characteristics and their effects on the environment is

becoming increasingly essential in land use systems as well as productivity of the crops.

Quantification of stocks and flows of nutrients in agricultural fields assists in developing the

sustainable land use systems especially on low-fertile soils of humid tropics (Hartemink,

2005). Nutrient transformation in land use systems is mainly affected by the climatic

conditions and management practices (Liu et al. 2006). Climatic variables like temperature

and precipitation affect the soil microbial activities and release of nitrogen and other nutrients

from soil organic matter through mineralization-immobilization processes (Orlandini et al.

2008; Stoate et al. 2009). It also facilitate in determining whether soil organic carbon is

sequestrated or depleted (Fansler et al. 2005).

Changes in the land use scenario and greediness of getting high return through intensive

cultivation by the resource-rich farmers have resulted in changes in soil quality and leading to

declined soil fertility (Singh and Singh 2005). Different agricultural practices such as slash-

and-burn agriculture on hill slopes and settled cultivations in the foothills and valleys were

Soil nutrients status in prominent agro-ecosystems of East Siang district, Arunachal Pradesh

Bhuyan.S.I, Tripathi. O.P, Khan. M.L

International Journal of Environmental Sciences Volume 3 No.6, 2013 1958

most common practices in Arunachal Pradesh. These systems are managed under low to no-

input conditions. However, conventional farming has also been introduced in some areas,

where chemical fertilizers and pesticides are being used for the better crop productivity. Land

use practices may have significant effect on the soil quality especially on the amount and

distribution of nutrients and sometime it may lead to the soil degradation (Reganold et al.

1987). Soil erosion in agricultural systems may also leads to high runoff, sizeable loss of soil

and nutrients. All these are primarily responsible for low crop productivity and poor

economic status of the local farmers (Gupta et al. 2010). In the present study, changes in soil

carbon and related nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus at different depths and months

from different land use pattern prevailing in East Siang district, Arunachal Pradesh have been

analyzed and discussed. The result of this study can be utilized for developing policies related

with the better management of soil for promoting sustainable crop productivity.

2. Material and methods

Study site

East Siang district, Arunachal Pradesh (27030′ to 29

020′ N latitude and 94

042′ to 95

035′ E

longitude) forms a part of Eastern Himalaya where the present study was conducted. The

topography is variable and the elevation ranges from 130 to 752 m asl. The climatic

conditions in the district vary from place to place due to mountainous nature of the terrain. It

is hot and humid at the lower altitudes and in the valleys wrapped by marshy thick frost,

while it becomes colder in the higher altitudes. The rainfall of the district is 618.7 mm in Jan-

May and 2334 mm in June-July (Bhuyan, 2012). The study was conducted for an annual

cycle (June, 2010 to May, 2011) in four major land use pattern widespread in the district viz.,

Jhum, Agro-forestry, Forest garden and Vegetable agro-ecosystem.

Soil sampling and laboratory analysis

Soil samples were collected (using a steel corer, 5 cm inner diameter) on a monthly interval

from 8-10 places of the respective study sites from two depths (0-15 cm and 15-30 cm) in

replicates. Samples were brought to the laboratory to analyze their physico-chemical

characteristics. Soil samples were air-dried, grinded and sieved (<150mm) prior to the

samples used for physico-chemical analysis. Soil texture was determined by Boyoucous

hydrometric method given by Allen et al. (1974). Water holding capacity, porosity, total

nitrogen, available phosphorus, available potassium, Ca and Mg were determined following

the method outlined by Allen et al. (1974). Bulk density, soil moisture content, soil pH,

ammonium-N and nitrate-N were determined by method as outlined by Anderson and Ingram

(1993). SOC was determined by rapid titration method (Walkley and Black, 1934). All the

data collected were statistically analyzed to compare seasonal and annual mean and related

characters. The data on soil were analyzed using ANOVA to study the various systems,

sampling period and soil depth on different properties of soils and their changes. Correlation

analysis was completed following Zar (1974) to study the relationship between soil

characteristics.

3. Result and conclusion

The soil textures were sandy loam and sandy clay loam in nature and it was found almost

similar in the entire land use pattern (LUP). Clay contents in Jhum were higher in subsurface

layer while other systems recorded lower concentration in this layer. Maximum and

minimum value of sand content found in different land use pattern was 74.6%, 71.8%




respectively (Table 1). Percentage of silt is very low in all the sites and ranges between

1.22% and 2.5%. Even though, difference in the mean values was observed but statistically,

no significant difference in texture between the sites was found. SMC varies significantly

between the seasons and sites (P<0.05). Soils of vegetable cultivated land have the lesser

amount of moisture content as compared to the forest garden. There was not much difference

in the soil moisture content in the soils of Jhum and Agro-forestry system. Bulk density

ranges between 0.72 and 1.04 g cm-3

. Statistical analysis reveals that difference in bulk

density vary significantly between the sites. Nevertheless, the bulk density of sites differs

among sites but it was not found vast variations during the seasons. Porosity ranges between

60.23% and 72.3% (Table 1). Porosity decreases with increase in soil depth except in agro-

forestry system. The soils of agro-forestry and Jhum land had slightly higher values of

porosity as compared to those of conventionally managed vegetable agro-ecosystem. WHC of

the soil ranges from 58.66% to 77.26% in different LUP (Table 1) and maximum value was

found in Forest garden while minimum in Vegetable AES. It showed significant variation

among the sites (P<0.05). WHC of surface soil layer was found to be greater than the

subsurface layer.

Table 1: Soil physico-chemical properties under selected land use pattern (values are the

means of four seasons across 1 year).

Properties Land use pattern/Depth (cm)

Jhum Agro-forestry Forest garden Vegetable AES

0-15 15-30 0-15 15-30 0-15 15-30 0-15 15-30

Sand (%) 74.8

±2.83

74.6

±1.10

73.8

±0.80

74.2

±0.32

71.8

±0.43

72.2

±0.55

74.6

±0.10

74

±0.5

Clay (%) 23.98

±1.56

24

±0.32

24.1

±0.27

23.4

±0.13

25.7

±0.22

25.3

±0.2

24

±0.03

24.2

±0.04

Silt (%) 1.22

±0.71

1.4

±0.02

2.1

±0.11

2.4

±0.12

2.5

±0.03

2.3

±0.3

1.4

±0.05

1.8

±0.06

Textural Class Sandy loam Sandy loam Sandy clay loam Sandy loam

WHC (%) 72.06

±11.6

70.15

±10.86

66.06

±2.73

65.12

±9.91

77.26

±6.86

72.5

±1.19

64.44

±7.69

58.66

±5.91

BD (g cm-3

) 0.94

±0.02

1.04

±0.04

1.04

±0.03

0.96

±0.02

0.72

±0.09

0.8

±0.04

0.94

±0.07

0.87

±0.16

Porosity (%) 67.7

±0.97

61.54

±0.13

60.23

±0.44

63.54

±0.36

72.3

±1.10

69.23

±1.26

61

±1.53

63.5

±1.49

SMC (%) 22.2

±1.12

21.2

±2.01

22.1

±0.87

21.65

±0.12

24.7

±1.02

25.15

±0.82

19.6

±0.73

19.8

±1.03

Ava. K (kg ha-

1)

355.71

±50.19

232.51

±76.39

145.15

±13.29

180.99

±38.37

268.35

±29.18

267.9

±49.29

989.12

±151.19

873.38

±87.83

Ca (C mol/Kg) 1.95

±0.14

1.77

±0.21

1.98

±0.26

1.88

±0.22

2.32

±0.35

2.11

±0.31

1.17

±0.06

1.19

±0.03

Mg (C mol/Kg) 1.05

±0.02

1.11

±0.03

1.03

±0.02

1.01

±0.02

0.93

±0.02

0.9

±0.01

1.12

±0.02

1.07

±0.03

NH4-N (µg g-1

) 12.77

±0.75

11.21

±0.47

11.28

±0.48

10.38

±0.54

12.66

±0.21

11.28

±0.38

7.2

±0.15

6.92

±0.45

NO3-N (µg g-1

) 3.12

±0.03

2.88

±0.04

2.16

±0.10

2.77

±0.01

3.16

±0.03

2.88

±0.12

2.87

±0.12

2.34

±0.01

±SE (n=10)

The soil was acidic in nature and pH ranges between 4.75 and 6.23 among the sites (Table 3).

It showed significant variations between the sites and seasons. Among the land use pattern,




agro-forestry system soils were less acidic which might be due to availability of greater

nutrients and organic matter present in the soils. However, more acidic was recorded in the

conventional farming practice (Vegetable AES) where chemical fertilizers such as urea, DAP

etc. are commonly used. Low soil pH was associated to the penetration and percolation of

surface material to the subsurface soil depths due to heavy rain during the monsoon season. A

Leaching and runoff loss of nitrate nitrogen, cations such as Ca, Mg and K from the surface

soil further minimizes the pH. Soil acidification often leads severe problems to the

maintenance of slash-and-burn agricultural fields in humid tropics area.

The range of calcium was between 1.17 and 2.32 Cmol/kg and significant variation was

observed among the sites (P<0.05). Mg showed significant variation among the sites

(P<0.001). Different agricultural practices decrease the soil organic matter with stored carbon

in soils as well as global carbon balance (Sellers et al. 1997, Lal 2001; Santra 2012). Soil

carbon and nitrogen losses are associated with decreased plant organic matter inputs and high

decomposition rate and erosion which are mainly associated with agricultural lands.

Table 2: Temporal and spatial variations in soil organic carbon (%) and total nitrogen under

selected land use pattern.

LUP Depth

(cm)

Season/properties

rainy autumn winter spring

SOC TKN SOC TKN SOC TKN SOC TKN

Jhum 0-15 1.55

±0.03

0.27

±0.02

1.68

±0.02

0.37

±0.04

1.83

±0.02

0.35

±0.07

1.85

±0.06

0.22

±0.01

15-30 1.33

±0.43

0.32

±0.01

1.63

±0.08

0.43

±0.03

1.72

±0.04

0.44

±0.01

1.48

±0.02

0.19

±0.08

Agro-forestry 0-15 1.40

±0.02

0.40

±0.05

1.68

±0.02

0.43

±0.02

1.85

±0.02

5.60

±0.02

1.70

±0.05

0.26

±0.01

15-30 1.27

±0.01

0.24

±0.01

1.65

±0.01

0.40

±0.04

1.74

±0.01

0.40

±0.02

1.57

±0.03

0.21

±0.06

Forest-garden 0-15 1.51

±0.05

0.23

±0.01

2.10

±0.03

0.70

±0.02

2.12

±0.03

0.43

±0.03

2.38

±0.04

0.23

±0.03

15-30 1.40

±0.04

0.25

±0.01

1.78

±0.02

0.71

±0.01

2.02

±0.03

0.40

±0.03

2.10

±0.03

0.23

±0.02

Vegetable AES 0-15 0.70

±0.1

0.27

±0.01

0.70

±0.01

0.33

±0.04

0.82

±0.09

0.65

±0.01

0.82

±0.03

0.08

±0.02

15-30 0.59

±0.04

0.27

±0.02

0.73

±0.11

0.34

±0.02

0.79

±0.02

0.67

±0.01

0.76

±0.08

0.11

±0.07

±SE (n=8)

Soil physico-chemical characteristics varied significantly both during different seasons and at

different sites. SOC varied significantly (P<0.001) across the sites, depths and seasons (Table

1). Among the LUP, minimum SOC was recorded in Vegetable AES and maximum in the

Forest garden (Table 3). Minimum SOC was recorded during the rainy season in all the LUP

while maximum during the spring (Jhum and Forest garden) and winter (Agro-forestry and

Vegetable AES) season (Table 2). Surface soil layer had significantly greater concentration

than the subsurface soil depth. Soil organic carbon ranged between 0.59% and 2.38% in the

present study, which is higher than the values (0.8-1.24%) reported by Manuwa (2009) and

1.42-1.74% by Arunachalam (2002) from the Jhum lands in north east India. However, the

result of the present study was within the range (0.2-2.9%) as reported by Allotey et al.




(2008) from the Lower Volta Basin, Ghana. Soil organic C pool and its distribution were

largely affected by management practices through various processes like quality of litter

inputs, degree of decomposition, recalcitrance and turnover rate in agricultural lands (Ghani

et al. 2003). Significant variation in SOC among the sites might be mainly due to the

differences in the plant species composition as it was also reported by Arunachalam and

Arunachalam (2000). Different soil fertility management of the indigenous people and site

productivity has a direct control on biomass accumulation and differences in the soil carbon

pool (Sun et al. 2004). Comparatively lower amounts of SOC was found in Vegetable

agricultural sites which could be associated to the continuous tillage practices and low inputs

of organic manures in these fields. Conventional tillage in Vegetable AES brought high

erosion and faster decomposition of crop residues and also leads to long time exposure to sun.

Different LUP resulted significant variations during the seasons. Low microbial activities

during the winter season reduce the decomposition rate and may increase the storage of SOC

in the agricultural lands. Minimum SOC concentration during rainy and autumn season might

be due to warm and humid conditions present in the study area which favours the soil organic

matter decomposition and rapid loss of C and N through mineralization as was reported from

the agricultural lands by several workers (Guo and Gifford 2002, Vesterdal et al. 2002). High

rate of CO2 emission and decreased carbon sequestration also minimizes the SOC in the

fields. Minimum value in the rainy in forest garden could be due to runoff as well as leaching

effect in the presence of heavy rain during this period. Soil microclimate of a particular area

has an important role in spatial variability of SOC dynamics.

TKN varied significantly between the seasons, depths and LUP (Table 2). It ranges between

0.15% and 0.85% in all the agro-ecosystems. The greater concentration of TKN was found in

the forest garden and minimum in Vegetable AES. Among four selected LUP, maximum

concentration (12.77 µg g-1

) of ammonium nitrogen (NH4-N) was recorded from Jhum and

the minimum (6.92 µg g-1

) in Vegetable AES (Table 1). On the other hand, higher and lower

concentration of NO3-N was found in forest garden (3.16 µg g-1

) and agro-forestry (2.16 µg g-

1) system. However, extractable NH4

+-N was higher than the extractable NO3

-N in all the

LUP (Table 1). Concentration of soil nitrogen was lower during the spring (Jhum, Forest

garden and Vegetable AES) and rainy season (Agro-forestry) while greater during the autumn

(Jhum, Forest garden) and winter season (Agro-forestry and Vegetable AES). Depth wise

variations resulted similar trend to that of SOC in all the LUP.

Table 3: Temporal and spatial variations in available phosphorus (µg g-1

) and soil pH under

selected land use pattern.

LUP Depth

(cm)

Season/properties


Ava. P pH Ava. P pH Ava. P pH Ava. P pH

Jhum 0-15 8.35

±0.84

5.50

±0.06

7.58

±0.55

5.69

±0.04

3.50

±0.44

6.15

±0.05

4.75

±0.55

5.66

±0.07

15-30 14.65

±0.49

5.55

±0.10

7.20

±0.32

5.69

±0.02

2.81

±0.26

6.10

±0.07

7.91

±0.32

5.58

±0.24

Agro-forestry 0-15 9.88

±0.84

5.58

±0.10

9.12

±0.55

5.96

±0.14

5.03

±0.44

6.23

±0.14

6.28

±0.55

5.75

±0.36

15-30 16.18

±0.39

5.62

±0.22

8.73

±0.25

5.91

±0.04

4.34

±0.20

6.16

±0.08

9.44

±0.25

5.65

±0.16

Forest-garden 0-15 5.22

±0.30

5.62

±0.07

4.86

±0.20

6.16

±0.04

6.36

±0.16

5.96

±0.06

2.89

±0.20

5.68

±0.61




15-30 5.12

±0.24

5.60

±0.05

4.21

±0.16

6.15

±0.04

5.92

±0.13

5.96

±0.06

5.21

±0.16

5.70

±0.23

Vegetable AES 0-15 10.85

±0.24

5.17

±0.10

8.43

±0.16

5.24

±0.07

3.73

±0.13

5.44

±0.04

5.06

±0.16

4.80

±0.17

15-30 9.59

±0.18

5.17

±0.14

7.24

±0.11

5.30

±0.05

2.63

±0.09

5.45

±0.07

5.98

±0.11

4.75

±0.20

±SE (n=8)

Total nitrogen concentration (0.15% and 0.85%) of the present study were slightly higher

than the values (0.3-.6%) obtained by Maithani et al. (1998) and 0.1-0.27% by Tripathi et al.

(2009) from different agro-forestry systems in Meghalaya, north east India. Higher amount of

N content might be due to the addition of different organic manure and long fallow period

which may restore the nutrients in the soil. Cultivation of leguminous crop like Soybean

increases the soil nitrogen through N-fixation in the agricultural fields. N transformations

takes place through different biological processes and are affected largely by the quality and

quantity of organic matter input and environmental conditions (Grenon et al. 2004). These

factors are consecutively influenced by land-use and residue management (Burton et al.

2007). In Vegetable agro-ecosystems, low level of N might be due to tillage practices, which

initiate to rupture of mineralization of organic N substrates and also enhance the nitrous oxide

(N2O) efflux. Constant decline in soil nitrogen content could be coupled through two

microbial processes such as nitrification and denitrification, affected by temperature, SOM,

water content and oxygen content (Schjonning et al. 2003, Dalal et al. 2003). Due to optimum

temperature and moisture conditions as well as higher substrate availability during the spring

and autumn nitrification achieved its highest rate (Paul and Clark 1996, Gilliam et al. 2001,

Xu et al. 2007, Zhang et al. 2008, Zhang et al. 2012). In most of the LUP, minimum values

were found during the rainy days for which leaching of nitrate can be important cause of loss

of N during this period. Di and Cameron (2004) have reported that about 75% of NO3- may

be leached during this period.

Soil available phosphorus varied significantly (P<0.0001) across the agro-ecosystems, depths

and seasons (Table 3). It ranges between 1.8 µg g-1

and 13.82 µg g-1

in the systems. Among

the agro-ecosystems, maximum amount of soil P was recorded from Vegetable AES and

minimum from Forest garden. Available phosphorus found to be higher in subsurface soil

layer as compared to the surface layer during spring season in agro-forestry and Vegetable

AES (Table 3). Its availability is lower during the winter season in all the LUP while upper

limit reaches during the rainy season (Agro-forestry) and spring season (Jhum, Forest garden

and Vegetable AES). P concentration of present study was higher than the values (0.8-7.11

µg g-1

) of Manuwa (2009) but lower than the range (3-132 µg g-1

) as reported by Tripathi et

al. (2009) from different agro-forestry systems. Soil P concentration in agricultural soil

mainly depends on the on-farm recycling of organic materials such as compost, green

manures, mulches and farmyard manure with minimal inputs. It is also controlled by both

geochemical and biological phenomena. Higher content of soil P in Jhum during the rainy

season might be due to the effect of burning of plants materials and release of P from ash

after rainfall (Tawnenga et al. 1997, Giardina et al. 2000, Arunachalam 2002). This is further

supported with the results of Olson et al. (1996) that there will be decline in P in plants

biomass but a huge increase of soil P in the most available and Ca bond pool during the post

burning period. Minimum values during the rainy season could be due to the peak time of

vegetative growth of farm grown crop plants. Vitousek (2004) has reported that loss of soil P

(both inorganic and organic forms) by leaching is negligible in strongly-weathered soils even

in tropical forest. Phosphorus deficiency is a prevalent constraint in maintaining good crop

productivity in tropical and subtropical agricultural soils (Fairhust et al. 1999, Hinsinger 2001,




Yong-fu et al. 2006). Therefore, for the sustainable management of hill agro-ecosystems, it is

very important to understand the P dynamics in the soil–plant system in relation to different

management practices by the farmers.

The C/N ratio ranges between 1.8 (forest garden) and 10 (Jhum) (Table 4). However,

maximum N/P ratio were found during the winter season (Jhum, Agro-forestry and Vegetable

AES) and autumn season (forest garden) while minimum values were recorded during the

spring season (Jhum, Forest garden and Vegetable AES) and rainy season (Agro-forestry)

(Table 4). The ratio between C and N is very important for the ecosystem productivity and

the terrestrial C cycle. Soil texture had a great impact on the C/N ratio (Franzmeier et al.

1985; Burke et al. 1989; Nianpeng et al. 2012). Comparatively higher value in the surface soil

layer than the subsurface might be due to high resolution and separation rates (Sakin et al.

2010). Cultivation practices also affect the carbon-nitrogen ratio among the agro-ecosystems.

Comparatively higher values were recorded in Jhum and agro-forestry system, where either

very minimum or no-tillage was practiced while conventional practices in Vegetable AES

resulting lower ratio.

A

B

C




Figure 1: Monthly variations in soil organic carbon (A), total nitrogen (B) and

available phosphorus (C) in selected LUP.

Table 4: Variations in soil C/N and N/P under selected LUP

LUP Depth

(cm)

Season/ratio


C/N N/P C/N N/P C/N N/P C/N N/P

Jhum 0-15 5.49 404.00 4.67 472.99 5.31 1126.38 9.76 552.96

15-30 4.04 416.73 3.72 617.06 4.27 1550.86 8.57 385.41

Agro-forestry 0-15 4.99 300.13 4.00 487.12 5.03 795.46 7.78 428.96

15-30 4.76 226.31 4.39 464.69 4.79 900.65 8.42 320.12

Forest-garden 0-15 5.26 611.13 3.16 1422.49 5.38 1516.49 10.65 372.33

15-30 4.47 582.93 2.62 1707.06 5.29 1051.13 9.48 430.60

Vegetable AES 0-15 2.36 263.93 1.08 802.57 2.77 889.412 11.03 157.65

15-30 1.98 322.68 1.10 1048.40 2.82 1278.00 8.50 191.37

Table 5: Three way ANOVA showing the effects of depth, land use patter (LUP) and season

on SOC, TKN and available P

Variable SOC TKN Available P

df F P df F P df F P

Depth 1 376.1 0.0001 1 12.89 0.001 1 210.61 0.0001

LUP 7 4764.1 0.0001 7 139.92 0.0001 7 810.33 0.0001

Month 11 1007.4 0.0001 11 1466.55 0.0001 11 692.82 0.0001

Depth X LUP 7 15.1 0.0001 7 10.39 0.0001 7 24.77 0.0001

Depth X Month 11 10.8 0.0001 11 3.27 0.001 11 63.08 0.0001

LUP X Month 77 92.0 0.0001 77 46.45 0.0001 77 122.49 0.0001

Depth X LUP X

Month 77 13.8 0.0001 77 5.12 0.0001 77 27.94 0.0001

df- degree of freedom, P- significant level, SOC-Soil organic carbon, TKN-total kjedhal

Organic matter input, continuous cultivation, tillage etc. have impact on soil surface

and may cause the nutrient differences in different land use pattern. The present baseline

information of the soil macro nutrients like C, N and P and other physico-chemical

characteristics of soil can be used as a tool for further ecological assessment and monitoring

of these land use systems to ensure food security program in Eastern Himalayan region of

Arunachal Pradesh.

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soil nutrients status in prominent agro-ecosystems of east ... · where chemical fertilizers and...

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