Articles | Volume 6, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-6-325-2020
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-6-325-2020
Original research article
 | 
23 Jul 2020
Original research article |  | 23 Jul 2020

Soil fertility along toposequences of the East India Plateau and implications for productivity, fertiliser use, and sustainability

Peter S. Cornish, Ashok Kumar, and Sudipta Das

Data sets

Soil fertility along toposequence P. Cornish https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/UUEF6J

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Short summary
We evaluated soil fertility in seven watersheds on the East India Plateau, finding that soils are acid and infertile, with low chemical fertiliser use, and organic nutrient recycling is insufficient to maintain soil fertility. This leads to inefficient rainfall use and low yields. Fertiliser rates need to increase greatly, notably in P and K. This will challenge risk-averse subsistence farmers. Field-specific fertiliser regimes are needed despite consistent fertility trends along toposequences.