Influence of forest type, altitude and NDVI on soil properties in forests of North Western Himalaya, India
2019
Banday, Muneesa | Bhardwaj, D.R. | Pala, Nazir A.
The present study has reported the influence of forest types, altitude and NDVI (normalized differential vegetation index) on the soil properties. The study area covered four districts viz., Hamirpur, Bilaspur, Sirmaur and Solan of Himachal Pradesh state of India. To carry out this study, five forest types at three different altitudes (600–900 m); (900–1200 m) and (1200–1500 m) above sea level having NDVI values of N1 (0.0–0.1), N2 (0.1–0.2), N3 (0.2–0.3), N4 (0.3–0.4) and N4 (0.4–0.5) were taken into consideration. Among the forest types, northern mixed dry deciduous forest was largest reservoirs of soil organic carbon (SOC) (4.46, 1.52 and 1.46% in humus, 0–20 and 21–40 cm soil layers respectively). The lowest values for SOC were found in dry shiwalik sal forests (2.60, 0.79 and 0.62% in humus, 0–20 and 21–40 cm soil layers respectively). The values of SOC decreased with increase in soil depth. The results showed a positive correlation between SOC, available N, P, K, Ca, S with the altitude and NDVI. However a negative correlation between altitude and NDVI was observed with the bulk density, available Mg and soil pH. Soil pH had a negative influence on SOC whereas SOC had a positive influence on the availability of Nitrogen (N), Sulphur (S) and Potassium (K). The availability of competing cations like Potassium (K) and Calcium (Ca) had a negative effect on the availability of less competitive cations like Magnesium (Mg). The results of the present study can be pivotal in future climate change studies, soil carbon stock assessment and land use planning along the lines of REDD+ initiatives in North Western Himalayan ecosystem.
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