Syllabus: Cropping patterns in various parts of the country
About the Study
- Detailed study conducted by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) found unscientific use of fertilizers and climate change contributing to degradation of organic carbon in arable areas.
- Irrespective of crops and cropping patterns, temperature, rainfall, elevation are three important factors deciding organic carbon concentration.
- Carbon-Micronutrient Relationship
- If organic carbon low: deficiency of micronutrients in soil is high; if organic carbon high, deficiency is low showing inverse correlation.
- Elevation and Carbon Correlation
- Organic carbon highly correlated with elevation; if elevation high, organic carbon content high showing altitude dependence.
- Moving from hills to low land, organic carbon content becomes low demonstrating topographical impact on soil health.
- Temperature Impact
- Organic soil carbon negatively correlated with temperature; in Rajasthan and Telangana, temperature very high and organic carbon content low.
- Fertilizer Impact
- Wherever imbalanced fertilizer application: organic carbon in soil had declined showing direct correlation with practices.
- Haryana, Punjab, western Uttar Pradesh intensified fertilizer application skewed towards urea and phosphorus negatively impacting organic carbon.
- Mostly unscientific application has negatively impacted organic carbon in soil requiring corrective agricultural practices comprehensively.
- Climate Change Impact
- Climate change also has impact on organic carbon; if temperature rising, chances that soil organic carbon will decline.
- It will not only impact soil health but also affect carbon credit and heat emission from soil showing environmental consequences.
Q- Explain the impact of unscientific fertilizer use and climate change on soil organic carbon degradation in India. (10 Marks)