Parametric Land Capability Classification: A New Approach

An attempt was made to develop parametric land capability class (LCC) which could decide the quantum of management need for upgrading a LCC class. In the present study, a composite land improvement coefficient (LCI) value has been derived for the landforms and crops grown thereon. Considering the index equals to 100 in the scale of 0–100, the LCI of each of lands has been assigned. To assess the parametric LCC of an area, a field study was carried out in a micro- watershed (Surabardi) in Nagpur district of Maharashtra state and representative soils occurring on different physiographic units were considered. The major crops raised are soybean, sorghum, cotton and pigeonpea under rainfed agriculture. The results indicated that the composite LCI of the watershed is 48.1 at current land uses. The LCI were computed as 12, 260, 4, 3 and 2 for P1 and P2 (Lithic Ustorthents), P3 (Lithic Haplustepts), P4 (Typic Haplustepts) and P5 (Typic Haplusterts) soils of five pedons, respectively. The higher LCI Value of shallow Entisols and Inceptisols indicate high energy requirement for land improvement to the next higher capability class while the deep Vertisols require least energy. The index thus gives an opportunity to decide on which land should be used for capability improvement.