Water Retention Characteristics of Some Soil Profiles of North-West India in Relation to Soil Properties under Different Bio- and Climo-sequences

Eighteen soil profiles developed under different agro-climatic zones of north-west Himalayas were studied for their water retention characteristics in relation to different physicochemical and mineralogical properties. Organic carbon, silt + clay and cation exchange capacity (CEC) were the factors having significant and positive role. Greater water retention under grass and forest lands in comparison to cultivated soils could be ascribed to their higher content of organic carbon, silt+clay and CEC values. Similarly, increased water retention under sub-alpine and moist alpine, and warm per-humid wet mountainous climo-sequences in comparison with hot and less dry foot hills, hot and sub-humid low Shiwaliks and warm and wet mountainous climo-sequences could also be attributed to the same three soil properties. The high water retention of grasslands, especially in B horizons was presumably due to more of amorphous clays. Clay content alone however, did not have significant effect on water retention in any of the sequences studied.