Soil Erodibility Estimation for Soil Conservation in Dapoli Region of Maharashtra Nandgude Sachin1,*, Kambale Ashwini1, Shinde Sangita1, Mahale Dilip, Shinde Vipul2 1CAET, Dapoli; Dr. B. S. Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli, Maharashtra, India-415712 2College of Agriculture, NAU, Waghai-394 730, Gujarat (India) *Email: nandgudesachin@gmail.com
Online published on 24 December, 2014. Abstract Soil erosion associated with non-point source pollution is viewed as a process of land degradation in many terrestrial environments. Solutions to non point source solution problem invariably must address the problem of erosion and sediment control. Nonpoint source water pollution affects a water body from sources such as polluted runoff from agricultural areas draining into a river, or wind-borne debris blowing out to sea. Hilly coastal Konkan region of Maharashtra state is bestowed by world recognized by unique biodiversity but highly vulnerable to erosion. In natural resources conservation studies, soil erosion is highly dependent on degree of erodibility of particular soil along with the other factors. The erodibility is influenced by various soil characteristics mainly soil texture, structure, permeability and organic matter content. In one of the models Soil-Plant-Air-Water model (SPAW) Hydraulic conductivity was obtained from values of sand (%), silt (%), clay (%) and organic matter (%). Permeability code was derived from the information based on hydraulic conductivity of soil. The average values of percentage of sand, silt, clay were 20.59, 35.29 and 35.68 respectively. Textural classes in lateritic soils of these villages are loamy, clay, silty loam, and sandy loam. The permeability ranges between classes of moderate to rapid. Accordingly the soil erodibility of all villages was estimated in the range of 0.16 to 0.40 with mean erodibility of 0.30. It was also observed that erodibility is inversely linked to the organic matter content of the soil. This study is important because eroded soil subsequently becomes sediment, creating the potential for water degradation. Top Keywords Hydraulic conductivity, Permeability, SPAW model, Soil Erodibility. Top |