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Soil, Landscape and Nutrient Management of Ravine Areas for Enhancing Crop Productivity and Livelihood Security

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Ravine Lands: Greening for Livelihood and Environmental Security

Abstract

Ravine formed from intricate network of gullies because of localized physical degradation due to surface runoff affecting the friable unconsolidated material in the formation of perceptible channels resulting in undulating terrain with fragile ecosystem. Over-exploitation of this vast tract of existing ravine lands coupled with improper management practices has led to deterioration of soil health and poses threat to adjoining productive agricultural lands. Under ravine landscapes, soil undergoes various changes due to accelerated erosional processes. With rapidly shrinking per capita availability of land, there is a growing need for restoration of these areas for productive land uses. Maintenance of soil organic carbon is one of the most important factors for aggregate stability, soil structural durability and nutrient availability in ravine areas. Deficiency of nutrients and poor water retention are two major causative factors of stagnation in crop productivity in ravine lands. In this chapter, an attempt has been made to consolidate various best nutrient management practices for soils under ravine region for increasing crop productivity and improving soil health. Also, there is a need to harness and manage the indigenous technical knowledge and fine-tune them to suit the modern needs. Overall, the twin aspect of devising strategies for leveraging resources to tackle the challenge of enhancing soil health and carbon sequestration will help in combating climate change without compromising economic development in ravine areas. The future R&D strategies for maintaining soil health, crop productivity and environmental sustainability in degraded ravine land have also been included.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil Science, Nabibagh, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India

    P. Dey, K. Ramesh, J. Somasundaram & M. Vassanda Coumar

  2. Department of Soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry, RVSKVV, Vishwa Vidyalaya, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India

    S. K. Verma

Authors
  1. P. Dey
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  2. S. K. Verma
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  3. K. Ramesh
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  4. J. Somasundaram
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  5. M. Vassanda Coumar
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Indian Council of Agricultural Sciences, New Delhi, India

    Jagdish Chander Dagar

  2. RVS Krishi Vishwa Vidayalaya, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India

    Anil Kumar Singh

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Dey, P., Verma, S.K., Ramesh, K., Somasundaram, J., Vassanda Coumar, M. (2018). Soil, Landscape and Nutrient Management of Ravine Areas for Enhancing Crop Productivity and Livelihood Security. In: Dagar, J., Singh, A. (eds) Ravine Lands: Greening for Livelihood and Environmental Security. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8043-2_6

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