Available sulphur status of Soils under different land use systems in Nandurbar district

Abstract

The present study was conducted with the objective of characterizing, classifying, and assessing soil fertility under four major land-use categories: Agriculture, Horticulture, Forest, and Pasture lands of Nandurbar district. Two representative sites were selected under each system. Soils were examined for morphological characteristics following standard soil survey procedures, and depth-wise samples (20 cm intervals) were collected up to bedrock. Soils from agriculture, horticulture, and forest lands were identified as Vertisols and classified as Typic Haplusterts, whereas soils under pasture land belonged to Inceptisols and were classified as Vertic Haplustepts. Available sulphur across land use systems ranged from 10.71 to 20.68 mg kg⁻¹, indicating medium to high sulphur availability. Agriculture soils showed values from 12.13 to 20.36 mg kg⁻¹, horticulture soils 11.5 to 20.18 mg kg⁻¹, forest soils 11.66 to 20.68 mg kg⁻¹, and pasture soils 11.05 to 18.95 mg kg⁻¹. The lowest sulphur content (10.71 mg kg⁻¹) appeared at 60–80 cm in agriculture land, while the highest (20.68 mg kg⁻¹) occurred at 0–20 cm depth in forest soils. All systems showed a decline in sulphur content with increasing depth.