India losing 5,334 million tonnes of soil annually due to erosion: Gov ( source : hind , November 26, 2010)

India is losing 5,334 million tonnes of soil every year due to soil erosion because of indiscreet and excess use of fertilisers, insecticides and pesticides over the years, Parliament was told today. About one millimetre of top soil is being lost each year with a total loss of 5,334 million tonnes annually due to soil erosion, Minister of State for Agriculture K. V. Thomas said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.

The rate of loss is 16.4 tonnes per hectare every year, the minister said while quoting from a study conducted by Central Soil Water Conservation Research and Training Institute (CSWCRTI), Dehradun.Experiments conducted by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) indicated that non-judicious and imbalanced use of inorganic fertilisers (NPK) over years may result in deterioration of soil fertility/nutrient deficiencies, Mr. Thomas said.

Assessment of permissible soil loss in India employing a quantitative

bio-physical model by  Debashis Mandaland V. N. Sharda

Soil degradation in all its nefarious forms has serious repercussions on crop and biomass productivity.Assessment of soil loss tolerance limits (SLTLs) (permissible

soil loss) serves as a tool to gauge the potential erosion risk in a given area with regard to longterm sustainability. In this communication, SLTLs in different states of India and at the national level have been quantitatively estimated by employing a biophysical model based upon integration of relevant attributes. The analysis has indicated that soil loss tolerance or T-value varies from 2.5 to 12.5 Mg ha–1 yr–1 depending upon soil quality governing soil resistibility to erosion and depth at a particular location. About 57% area in the country has permissible soil loss of

less than 10.0 Mg ha–1 yr–1, which needs to be treated with appropriate conservation measures. Highest priority needs to be accorded to about 7.5% area where the T-value is only 2.5 Mg ha–1 yr–1 due to soil quality constraints. The methodology and framework developed for estimating T-values has the potential to be applied in different regions or countries of the world. The relative efficacy of the present method was tested with productivity index-based approach. Case study evidences in different watersheds revealed that soil productivity can be maintained at sustainable levels by bringing the erosion rate within tolerance limit.PDF enclosed for further reading...

India losing 5,334 million tonnes of soil annually due to erosion: Gov ( source : hind , November 26, 2010)

India is losing 5,334 million tonnes of soil every year due to soil erosion because of indiscreet and excess use of fertilisers, insecticides and pesticides over the years, Parliament was told today. About one millimetre of top soil is being lost each year with a total loss of 5,334 million tonnes annually due to soil erosion, Minister of State for Agriculture K. V. Thomas said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.

The rate of loss is 16.4 tonnes per hectare every year, the minister said while quoting from a study conducted by Central Soil Water Conservation Research and Training Institute (CSWCRTI), Dehradun.Experiments conducted by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) indicated that non-judicious and imbalanced use of inorganic fertilisers (NPK) over years may result in deterioration of soil fertility/nutrient deficiencies, Mr. Thomas said.

Assessment of permissible soil loss in India employing a quantitative

bio-physical model by  Debashis Mandaland V. N. Sharda

Soil degradation in all its nefarious forms has serious repercussions on crop and biomass productivity.Assessment of soil loss tolerance limits (SLTLs) (permissible

soil loss) serves as a tool to gauge the potential erosion risk in a given area with regard to longterm sustainability. In this communication, SLTLs in different states of India and at the national level have been quantitatively estimated by employing a biophysical model based upon integration of relevant attributes. The analysis has indicated that soil loss tolerance or T-value varies from 2.5 to 12.5 Mg ha–1 yr–1 depending upon soil quality governing soil resistibility to erosion and depth at a particular location. About 57% area in the country has permissible soil loss of

less than 10.0 Mg ha–1 yr–1, which needs to be treated with appropriate conservation measures. Highest priority needs to be accorded to about 7.5% area where the T-value is only 2.5 Mg ha–1 yr–1 due to soil quality constraints. The methodology and framework developed for estimating T-values has the potential to be applied in different regions or countries of the world. The relative efficacy of the present method was tested with productivity index-based approach. Case study evidences in different watersheds revealed that soil productivity can be maintained at sustainable levels by bringing the erosion rate within tolerance limit.PDF enclosed for further reading...

Dr. Srivastava,

Thank you so much for your guidance. While the article does provide stats for spatial variation in soil erosion across India, I'm more interested in temporal/year-wise variation in top soil loss. I was wondering if you could kindly guide me towards such kind of information.

Also the article gives different ranges for soil carbon content. In your expert opinion what should be the average organic content (%age) across India. If possible, kindly provide a reference corresponding to that percentage.

Thanks again,

Mustafa

Dr. Anoop has provided valid information. Apart from it Govt of India started very successful programs on sand dune stablization in Rajasthan and Gujarat.