Browsing by Author "Mandal, Agniva"
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ThesisItem Restricted Assessment of carbon pools as affected by agricultural land-uses in soils of south-western Punjab(Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2017) Mandal, Agniva; Toor, A.S.The present investigation was aimed to study the effect of agricultural land-uses on organic carbon (OC) content and carbon (C) pools in the south-western plains of Punjab. Three sites were selected in and around Dhanaula (Site 1) in district Barnala; Bhucho (Site 2) and Phul (Site 3) in district Bathinda. Three land-uses viz. cropland, horticultural land and uncultivated land were selected. On an average, all land-uses were more than ten years old. In all sites, soil pH varied from slightly alkaline to moderately alkaline. Higher EC was observed in uncultivated and cropland whereas slightly moderate salinity hazard reported particularly from site 2. Samples were mostly of sandy loam to loamy sand in texture. Uncultivated and cropland had higher bulk density in all sites. Mostly horticultural land contained higher available N while available P and K were recorded high in cropland. Zn, Fe and Mn contents were rated high in horticulture where Cu content was sufficient in almost all sites irrespective of land-uses. Both water stable aggregates (WSA) and mean weight diameter (MWD) were recorded highest in horticultural land in all three sites. Horticultural land (9.73 g kg-1) had highest SOC content. Macro-aggregates (0.25 - > 2 mm) were found to be main carrier of organic carbon and highest OC was associated with 1-2 mm sized aggregates. At site 1, horticultural land-use was recorded with highest amount of total particulate organic carbon (TPOC) (5154.25 mg kg-1), KMnO4-oxidizable C (1295.39 mg kg-1) and cropland was observed with highest inorganic carbon (IC) (1520 mg kg-1). At site 2, horticultural land was found to be associated with highest TPOC (4180.34 mg kg-1), KMnO4-C (1442.39 mg kg-1), mineralizable carbon (MC) (442.8 mg kg-1) and uncultivated land with highest IC (1790 mg kg-1). Similar to site 2, at site 3, TPOC (3537.01 mg kg-1), KMnO4-C (1805.33 mg kg-1) and MC (865.6 mg kg-1) were highest in horticultural land whereas IC (1100 mg kg-1) was noted maximum in cropland at site 3. Significant differences among different land-uses were more pronounced in surface layer than deeper layers regarding different C fractions. Positive correlation was reported among different C pools. The potential for C sequestration was found high in horticultural land-use than other two land-uses.