Soil erosion in Punjab

Abstract

Soil erosion map of Punjab highlights the degree of soil erosion caused by water in the state. The values of soil loss per annum from each grid location were quantified using universal soil loss equation (USLE) and used in GIS for preparing the soil erosion map of Punjab state. About 87% of the total geographical area of Punjab has annual soil loss below 5 Mg ha-1 and does not require specific soil conservation measures. About 4.02% of the area is affected by annual soil loss of >15 Mg ha-1, which includes moderately severe (0.88%), severe (1.72%) and very severe (1.42%) soil loss @ 15 to 20, 20 to 40 and 40 to 80 Mg ha-1 respectively. This necessitates the development of improved technologies (conservation agricultural practices, contour bunding, contour cultivation, etc.), which need to be adopted for improving the productivity on a sustainable basis.