How does land use affect soil quality and biological fertility in the arid ecosystem of Kutch, India?

Arid regions cover a large part of the Earth's surface and are at risk of increased agricultural activity and expected shifts in climate. Unfortunately, there is still a lack of comprehensive knowledge about the impact of land use on soil quality in these soils. Using a state factor approach, we studied the effects of different land use types on soil physico-chemical and biological characteristics in the Bhuj region of Kutch, Gujarat (India). Our analysis identified six key land uses: barren land (BL), natural forest (NF), grazing land (GL), and cultivated land under monocropping (MC), intercropping (IC), and crop rotation (CR). Our findings demonstrated significantly higher levels of soil organic carbon (SOC), calcium carbonate (CaCO3), plant-available nutrients (nitrogen, potassium, sodium, calcium, and magnesium), and enzyme activities in NF and GL (P < 0.05) than cultivated land and BL. For instance, SOC content in NF and GL exceeded that in cultivated land by 130% and 73.33%, respectively. Conversely, soil pH and plant-available phosphorus were higher in cultivated land. A strong correlation was observed between SOC and soil enzymes (P < 0.05), highlighting the importance of preserving SOC for optimal soil biological health in arid regions. Our study provides crucial baseline data on various soil quality indicators for an arid region, informing the development of landscape-scale models and guiding effective land management strategies.