Index for refining soil health assessment through multivariate approach under diverse agro-climatic zones in the Indo-Gangetic basin of Bihar
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View abstract on PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.Developing a soil health index (SHI) is crucial for sustainable agriculture. This study quantified SHI in Bihar, India, revealing key indicators like soil organic carbon and pH for rice-wheat systems.
Area Of Science
- Agricultural Science
- Soil Science
- Environmental Science
Background
- Sustainable crop production requires reliable soil health assessment techniques.
- Assessing soil health is complex due to dynamic indicator interactions across diverse agroecological contexts.
- The Indo Gangetic basin faces challenges in maintaining soil health for vital crop systems.
Purpose Of The Study
- To determine critical soil health variables for the rice-wheat cropping system.
- To quantify a soil health index (SHI) across four agro-climatic zones (ACZs) in Bihar, India.
- To validate the SHI against the productivity of the rice-wheat system.
Main Methods
- Collected 400 soil samples (0-15 cm) from four agro-climatic zones (ACZs).
- Analyzed 20 soil physical, chemical, and biological properties.
- Employed Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to identify key soil health indicators and compute the SHI.
Main Results
- Soil pH, soil organic carbon (SOC), available Zinc (Zn), and available water capacity (AWC) were identified as common indicators across ACZs.
- Agro-climatic zone IIIB exhibited the highest SHI (0.19-0.70) within the rice-wheat system.
- SHI in ACZ-IIIB was significantly influenced by SOC, available Phosphorus (P), clay content, pH, and soil respiration.
- A strong correlation (R² = 0.79) was found between SHI and the rice-wheat system's productivity.
Conclusions
- ACZ-specific SHIs are effective for evaluating and monitoring soil health.
- The identified soil health variables accurately represent good soil health and system productivity.
- This approach supports achieving the UN's Sustainable Development Goal of 'zero hunger'.
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