Characterization and Sustainability Assessment of Soils | A case of Western Chitwan, Nepal

Soil sustainability is of great concern nowadays because of elevated population in the globe. Thousand hectares of agricultural land has been occupied by the increased population. That’s why limited resources have to be utilized to the full extent to feed the increased stomachs. To increase the agricultural production soil characterization is a basic need. Soil characterization can be done in various soil parameters such as organic matter, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, pH etc. This study was carried out in Chitwan district where high intensity farming has been practiced for more than 20 years. The productivity of soil resources has declined due to soil fertility depletion, nutrient imbalance, decline in organic matter content and decline in physical and hydrological properties. It is therefore, increasing concern about soil resource inventory and its sustainability for the optimum use in the future. Geographical Information System (GIS) tool was used for generating distribution map of soil properties which provides information on resources which will be important to planners, decision makers and researchers.