EFFECT OF DIFFERENT LAND USE ON SOIL DETERIORATION IN BIKANER DISTRICT

To study the effect of different land uses on soil degradation in Bikaner district an experiment was conducted in which three land uses : cultivated, grazing and woodland respectively were selected from Gajner soil series. 20 soil samples were collected from the depth of 0-15 cm from each land use. These soil samples were analysed for soil physical and chemical properties. Soil deterioration index was calculated from the percent change in these soil properties. The experimental results revealed that woodland used indiscriminately for cultivation has 18% of soil deterioration index which shows moderate soil  deterioration whereas conversion of woodland for grazing land use has 6% of soil deterioration index which show low level of deterioration. Thus indiscriminate land use after conversion of woodland to cultivated and grazing land without proper management deteriorate the soil quality.