Evaluating the effects of soil physicochemical properties under different land use types in the arid zones of Pakistan

Land use change has become a major issue since the turn of the twentieth century due to global warming, particularly the conversion of the natural forest area into agricultural land and bare land. Such changes in different land types are major threats to physiochemical soil features. However, the effects of soil physicochemical properties under different land use types were evaluated in the arid zones of Pakistan. The soil samples were taken from three depths 0–20 cm, 20–40 cm, and 40–60 cm into three land use types (forest, cultivated, and grazing land). To estimate the physiochemical properties of soil, the samples were tested in the laboratory through analytical procedures of the atomic absorption spectrometer. The results revealed that the fertility of the soil was classified into four major groups very low, low, medium, and high fertile soil. The findings indicated that 66.95% sand and 23.91% soil elements were analyzed in the forest layer and 36.8% clay elements in the subsurface layer of cultivated land. The outcomes of the survey also showed that high (58.29%) and low (49.14%) amounts of total potassium were measured in cultivated and forest land areas of arid regions of Pakistan, respectively. In addition, about 53% of all land types were categorized into low organic matter division areas. The high amount of total nitrogen nutrients (0.12%) was found in the cultivated land and the lowest (0.003%) in the forest land. Comparatively, high potassium (K) 93.15 mg kg-1 was noted in the cultivated land. Moreover, Mn > Fe > Cu > Zn order of the nutrient amount was assessed over arid climate for all land use types over arid regions of Pakistan. Conclusively, this study will help predict the soil potential for sustainable agriculture and a green economy that boosts land use planning and development.