Land Capability Evaluation Based On Soil Parameters In Plateau Fringe Area Of West Bengal, India

Land resource provides basic human needs. Soil is the most important component of land resource. Physio-chemical properties of soil are analysed to determine the land quality. Puruliya is the western most district of West Bengal falling plateau fringe area. The main objective of the study is to determine the quality of land on the basis of soil parameters for sustainable land uses. Soil samples are collected in each block of the districts and analysed in laboratory. Different maps are generated using chemical properties of soil and land capability evaluation maps are prepared applying Azzi’s method in GIS environment. Four land classes are generated. Class-I & class-II land covers about 18% area and class-III & class- IV land covers nearly 82% area. Therefore 82% of the land fertility status is very low. So bio- fertiliser along with phosphorous and lime based fertiliser must be used for augmentation the soil fertility status.