Georeferenced soil information system: assessment of database

Abstract

Landuse planning is a decisionmaking process that facilitates the allocation of land to different uses that provide optimal and sustainable benefit. As landuse is shaped by society–nature interaction, in landuse planning different components/facets play a significant role involving soil, water, climate, animal (ruminant/ nonruminant) and others, including forestry and the environment needed for survival of mankind. At times these components are moderated by human interference. Thus landuse planning being a dynamic phenomenon is not guided by a single factor, but by a complex system working simultaneously,which largely affects the sustainability. To address such issues a National Agricultural Innovation Project (NAIP) on ‘Georeferenced soil information system for landuse planning and monitoring soil and land quality for agriculture’ was undertaken to develop threshold values of land quality parameters for landuse planning through quantitative land evaluation and crop modelling for dominant cropping systems in major agroecological subregions (AESRs) representing rice–wheat cropping system in the IndoGangetic Plains (IGP) and deeprooted crops in the black soil regions (BSR). To assess the impact of landuse change, threshold land quality indicator values are used. A modified AESR map for agricultural landuse planning is generated for effective landuse planning.