Soil erodibility assessment under various conservation measures at Babina watershed in Bundelkhand region

The study was conducted in Operational Research Project, Babina watershed Jhansi district of Bundelkhand region for resource conservation on sustained yield basis. Soils of the watershed consists of black and red soils; former represents Bedaura (Mar) and Chamraua (Kabar) soil series which were richer in water stable aggregate and less erodible as compared to red soil represents Imilia (Parwa) and Amarpur (Rakar) soil series and followed the erodibility order as: Bedaura < Chamraua < Imilia < Amarpur. The results showed that erodibility in project area varies according to soil conservation measures adopted. Ravines lands with conventional up and down cultivated soils are more erodible in comparison to land treated by various soil conservation practices. On the basis of erosion ratio, erosion index and water stable aggregate as principle indices of erodibility, soil under various soil conservation practices may be arranged in the order of: conventional method > sowing across the slope > sunken structure > submerged bund with vegetation > check dam > contour bunding > land levelling and field bunding > vegetative barriers. Significant positive correlation has been observed between erosion ratio with suspension percentage, clay ratio, dispersion ratio and erosion index while significant negative correlations have been observed between erosion ratio and WHC, ME, WSA (>0.25 mm), clay/ME ratio, OC, exchangeable Ca⁺⁺ and Mg⁺⁺. Among established eight soil conservation practices, soil erodibility decreased with increasing clay content. In view of above facts, soils of Babina watershed were found erosive in nature and require immediate attention for implementing appropriate soil and water conservation measures in the watershed area to reduce soil erosion and sustained crop productivity. We found that socio-economic conditions have also been uplifted considerably due to diversified agriculture and judicious use of natural resources in the watershed area.