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VOL. 7, ISSUE 6 (2025)
Comparative evaluation of soil health across forest and wasteland soils in subtropical region of Chhattisgarh, India
Authors
Kumar Satyam, Gunjan Patil, Abhishek Maitry, Raju Sahu
Abstract
The present study was conducted to evaluate
the physicochemical properties of contrasting soil categories namely the forest
soil and the wasteland soil in and around the Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh
which potentially represents the subtropical zone. The aim of the study
includes gathering data from contrasting locations and analyzing their physical
and chemical properties to understand the soil characteristics, nutrient
availability, and functioning patterns of such soil categories and to compare them
based on the parameters at different depths. In this study, soil samples were
taken from five distinct sites with two different sampling plots in each site
and at two different depths of 0-15 cm and 15-30 cm. Findings of the study
indicated that the wasteland soils had higher bulk density with highest reading
of 1.89 ± 0.508 g/cm³ in Birkona at 15-30cm depth and lowest in GGV Campus
(1.33 ± 0.332 g/cm³) at 0-15cm depth in forest soil, also the wasteland soils
had lower moisture content with lowest reading of 5.26
± 0.099% at 0-15cm depth in Bilaspur City and highest in Sendri (12.2 ± 2.669%)
at 15-30cm depth in forest soil. Similarly, lowest nutrient
levels i.e., 3.63 ± 0.781% in Birkona, 0.371 ± 0.012% in Sendri, 0.462 ± 0.048% in
Sendri and 0.025 ± 0.00102% in Lokhandi for Nitrogen, Carbon, Hydrogen and
Sulfur respectively were seen in the same when compared to the
forest soils which hindered the new germination and plant growth. Higher
moisture content and higher bulk density were found at higher depths whereas, a
decrease in nutrient content (C, H, N, and S) was observed. The outcomes of
this study are expected to benefit the local environmental community and
ecological researchers for the restoration of wasteland soils by understanding
their characteristics, as healthy soils are essential for plant growth.
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Pages:20-26
How to cite this article:
Kumar Satyam, Gunjan Patil, Abhishek Maitry, Raju Sahu "Comparative evaluation of soil health across forest and wasteland soils in subtropical region of Chhattisgarh, India". International Journal of Agriculture and Plant Science, Vol 7, Issue 6, 2025, Pages 20-26
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