Vol. 11, Special Issue 11 (2022)

Author(s):
Owais Bashir, Shabir Ahmad Bangroo, Nasir Bashir Naikoo, Sandeep Kumar, Rehana Rasool, Lareb Mir, Aamir Hassan Mir, Hafsa Abdullah and Omer Reshi

Abstract:
The geological, ecological, and biological ecosystems of the planet have changed as a result of global climate change, and this poses a serious threat to human civilization and the maintenance of agricultural productivity with regard to food security. Due to an increase in atmospheric CO₂ concentration, climate change has been linked in recent decades to irregular rainfall distribution and significant diurnal temperature changes. This study intends to evaluate the impact of land-use changes on NWH's soil characteristics and carbon storage capacity. In the NWH, samples were taken from two soil depths at intervals of 30 cm between 0 and 60 cm under four contiguous land uses, including fallow areas, horticulture, agricultural, and forest. Forest soils had significantly greater total SOM stocks in the 0-60 cm range when comparing SOM stock among various land uses in all locations. The SOM stock generally decreased with increasing soil depth according to the distribution pattern of SOM stock in soil profiles. Despite the fact that SOM stocks declined with depth, subsoil stocks contribute to longer-term carbon storage than topsoil stocks do because they are better stable by adsorption onto clay fraction in subsoil with finer textures than topsoil stocks are. As seen in some agricultural land uses in some locations of our study, agricultural operations, particularly applications of organic materials, such as cattle manure, could increase subsurface SOM stock. The usage of agricultural land in the uplands accelerated soil deterioration. Appropriate agronomic techniques, such as the application of organic soil amendments, the return of crop wastes, and a reduction in soil disturbance to raise and preserve SOM stock, should be used to restore the soil fertility of these agricultural lands.