Soil fertility mapping of a cultivated area in Resunga Municipality, Gulmi, Nepal.

Soil fertility maps are crucial for sustainable soil and land use management system for predicting soil health status. However, many regions of Nepal lack updated or reliable soil fertility maps. This study aimed to develop the soil fertility map of agricultural areas in Resunga Municipality, Gulmi...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Prabin Ghimire, Santosh Shrestha, Ashok Acharya, Aayushma Wagle, Tri Dev Acharya
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2024-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0292181&type=printable
_version_ 1797324253918396416
author Prabin Ghimire
Santosh Shrestha
Ashok Acharya
Aayushma Wagle
Tri Dev Acharya
author_facet Prabin Ghimire
Santosh Shrestha
Ashok Acharya
Aayushma Wagle
Tri Dev Acharya
author_sort Prabin Ghimire
collection DOAJ
description Soil fertility maps are crucial for sustainable soil and land use management system for predicting soil health status. However, many regions of Nepal lack updated or reliable soil fertility maps. This study aimed to develop the soil fertility map of agricultural areas in Resunga Municipality, Gulmi district of Nepal using the geographical information system (GIS) technique. A total of 57 composite geo-referenced soil samples from the depth (0-20 cm) were taken from the agricultural land of an area of 52 km2. Soil samples were analyzed for their texture, pH, organic matter, total nitrogen, available phosphorous, available potassium, available boron, and available zinc. These parameters were modelled to develop a soil quality index (SQI). Using the kriging tool, obtained parameters were interpolated and digital maps were produced along with soil quality and nutrient indices. The result showed that the study area lies within the fair (0.4 to 0.6) and good (0.6 to 0.8) range of SQI representing 96% and 3% respectively. Soil organic matter and nitrogen showed moderate variability exhibiting a low status in 95% and 86% of the total study area. Phosphorous and potassium showed medium status in 88% and 75% of the study area, respectively. Zinc was low and boron status was medium in most of the area. To maintain soil fertility is by improving the rate of exogenous application of fertilizers and manures. The application of micronutrients like boron and zinc is highly recommended in the study area along with organic manures. The soil fertility map can be used as a baseline for soil and land use management in Resunga Municipality. We recommend further studies to validate the map and assess the factors affecting soil fertility in this region. Soil fertility maps provide researchers, farmers, students, and land use planners with easier decision-making tools for sustainable crop production systems and land use management systems.
first_indexed 2024-03-08T05:53:26Z
format Article
id doaj.art-36eef3ad1d6d465dbe3f86738365c265
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1932-6203
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-08T05:53:26Z
publishDate 2024-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS ONE
spelling doaj.art-36eef3ad1d6d465dbe3f86738365c2652024-02-05T05:30:45ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032024-01-01191e029218110.1371/journal.pone.0292181Soil fertility mapping of a cultivated area in Resunga Municipality, Gulmi, Nepal.Prabin GhimireSantosh ShresthaAshok AcharyaAayushma WagleTri Dev AcharyaSoil fertility maps are crucial for sustainable soil and land use management system for predicting soil health status. However, many regions of Nepal lack updated or reliable soil fertility maps. This study aimed to develop the soil fertility map of agricultural areas in Resunga Municipality, Gulmi district of Nepal using the geographical information system (GIS) technique. A total of 57 composite geo-referenced soil samples from the depth (0-20 cm) were taken from the agricultural land of an area of 52 km2. Soil samples were analyzed for their texture, pH, organic matter, total nitrogen, available phosphorous, available potassium, available boron, and available zinc. These parameters were modelled to develop a soil quality index (SQI). Using the kriging tool, obtained parameters were interpolated and digital maps were produced along with soil quality and nutrient indices. The result showed that the study area lies within the fair (0.4 to 0.6) and good (0.6 to 0.8) range of SQI representing 96% and 3% respectively. Soil organic matter and nitrogen showed moderate variability exhibiting a low status in 95% and 86% of the total study area. Phosphorous and potassium showed medium status in 88% and 75% of the study area, respectively. Zinc was low and boron status was medium in most of the area. To maintain soil fertility is by improving the rate of exogenous application of fertilizers and manures. The application of micronutrients like boron and zinc is highly recommended in the study area along with organic manures. The soil fertility map can be used as a baseline for soil and land use management in Resunga Municipality. We recommend further studies to validate the map and assess the factors affecting soil fertility in this region. Soil fertility maps provide researchers, farmers, students, and land use planners with easier decision-making tools for sustainable crop production systems and land use management systems.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0292181&type=printable
spellingShingle Prabin Ghimire
Santosh Shrestha
Ashok Acharya
Aayushma Wagle
Tri Dev Acharya
Soil fertility mapping of a cultivated area in Resunga Municipality, Gulmi, Nepal.
PLoS ONE
title Soil fertility mapping of a cultivated area in Resunga Municipality, Gulmi, Nepal.
title_full Soil fertility mapping of a cultivated area in Resunga Municipality, Gulmi, Nepal.
title_fullStr Soil fertility mapping of a cultivated area in Resunga Municipality, Gulmi, Nepal.
title_full_unstemmed Soil fertility mapping of a cultivated area in Resunga Municipality, Gulmi, Nepal.
title_short Soil fertility mapping of a cultivated area in Resunga Municipality, Gulmi, Nepal.
title_sort soil fertility mapping of a cultivated area in resunga municipality gulmi nepal
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0292181&type=printable
work_keys_str_mv AT prabinghimire soilfertilitymappingofacultivatedareainresungamunicipalitygulminepal
AT santoshshrestha soilfertilitymappingofacultivatedareainresungamunicipalitygulminepal
AT ashokacharya soilfertilitymappingofacultivatedareainresungamunicipalitygulminepal
AT aayushmawagle soilfertilitymappingofacultivatedareainresungamunicipalitygulminepal
AT tridevacharya soilfertilitymappingofacultivatedareainresungamunicipalitygulminepal