Impact of soil and water conservation measures on soil organic carbon and soil aggregate stability in the watershed

Abstract

Soil aggregate stability and soil organic carbon is a critical indicator of soil health and useful for climate change mitigation. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of soil and water conservation (SWC) measures on soil aggregate stability. This research was conducted at the “Central MPKV Campus Watershed” located in the Rahuri tahsil of Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra, India. The watershed was categorized into seven primary land use land cover (LULC) classes: Natural Vegetation, Horticulture, Agriculture, Current Fallow, Barren, Settlement, and Waterbody. The study analyzed the impact of SWC measures on soil organic carbon, bulk density and soil aggregate stability under different land use land cover. The soil aggregate stability was found higher in treated areas than untreated areas. The average Mean Weight Diameter (MWD) in the untreated area of the watershed was 0.58 mm at a depth of 0-15 cm, and 0.41 mm at a depth of 15-30 cm. Similarly, the average MWD in the treated area of the watershed was 0.69 mm at a depth of 0-15 cm, and 0.53 mm at a depth of 15-30 cm. In untreated areas, MWD were 0.26 mm at the 0-15 cm depth and 0.23 mm at the 15-30 cm depth and in treated areas, MWD were 0.42 mm at the 0-15 cm depth and 0.27 mm at the 15-30 cm depth.