Indicators

Key Specifications

Changes in soil quality – Soil Organic Carbon (SOC)

• The content of soil organic carbon is an indicator of soil productivity.
• It provides as a nutrient source for plants helps to aggregation due to binding, improves soil structure, aeration, improve water holding capacity and bulk density.
•Increased soil organic carbon provides for better root penetration helps to improve microbial activity and enhances biochemical interaction.

Changes in soil moisture – Water holding capacity

•Soil moisture is the percentage of water in a soil when all its pores both macro and micro or capillary are completely filled with water.
•This acts as a rough measure of the total pore space of the soil and also the water holding capacity of the soil.

Changes in erosion rates

•Soil erosion is the removal of top soil either by wind, water or ice, down a slope, under the influence of gravity leading to reduced soil productivity and thus reduced crop yields.

Changes in sedimentation downstream

• Runoff and eroded soil from different land use types mix with water in streams and these sediments settle out of the water in which they are entrained and come to rest against a barrier.

Sand-silt-clay

•Estimation of the percentages of sand-silt-clay is essential as it quantifies the content of soil separates.
• It gives insight into the physical, chemical and biological properties of soil and helps in proper management of soils.

Changes in crop diversity and crop yields

• Shifting from mono-cropping to diversified, multi-crop cultivation, decreases the risk of crop failure, increases food security and also improves land-soil quality.
• Increase in crop yields, increases annual incomes of households, directly improving their standard of living.

Changes in cropping intensity and cropping pattern

• Increase in cropping intensity, increases food security, thus intern improves an agricultural household’s standard of living.
• A change in cropping pattern depends on land productivity and irrigation water availability.

Extent of area cultivated

• Increase in the area cultivated is an indicator of increased productivity of lands in the region and also an increase in food security.