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Crop residue burning is a common practice worldwide as well as in India. However, recent studies have identified a number of negative impacts on environment, agriculture and human health. However, the impact of crop residue burning on soil quality was poorly studied in the previous studies. The present study was carried out to explore the effect of wheat crop residue burning on physico-chemical properties of soil. Therefore, for study purpose, five study sites were identified on the basis of type of crop cultivated and history of burning practices. Three replicates of soil samples were taken from each site for both before and after crop residue burning and the analysis of pH, electrical conductivity, soil organic carbon, N, P, K, Cu, Zn, Fe and Mn content was carried out. Standard procedure was followed for assessment of physico-chemical properties of soil samples. Result of the present study clearly indicates the increased value of pH, soil organic carbon and potassium content in soil samples of after crop residue burning than before crop residue burning samples. On the other hand, electrical conductivity, moisture content, nitrogen, copper and zinc showed a decreased value for soil samples collected after crop residue burning than before crop residue burning. Although insignificant differences were observed at P<0.05 in almost all of the physical and chemical parameters of the soil after crop residue burning for most of the sites, the decreasing level of these important parameters will significantly deplete the quality of soil. As a result, the fertilizer requirement for the next crop will increase which will lead to add financial burden to the farmers. Further, due to the increase in temperature, the number of beneficial microbes and fauna get decreased, which will further add to the requirements of fertilizers. Therefore, we suggest the development of new and environment friendly strategies for the management of crop wastes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aimed to determine the above-ground biomass (AGB) of tropical deciduous forests in Central India using field-based techniques and spaceborne quad-pol ALOS PALSAR-2 L-band and dual-pol Sentinel 1A C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR). Field sampling based on 73 forested grids exhibited a diverse forest composition in the Satpura Tiger Reserve (STR) with a total of 54 tree species of which 31.48% species were IUCN Red-Listed. The forests were highly diverse (H′=3.22) with a low concentration of dominance (CD = 0.06) and a quite high species evenness (E = 0.81). The sensitivity and correlation between field-based AGB and SAR backscatter in STR were highest in cross-polarization due to its higher sensitivity to the vegetation structure in both L- and C-band SAR, where L-VH based AGB estimates were found more accurate (RMSE:5.17%). The study provided vital information for setting up strategies for biodiversity conservation, enhancing forest productivity, and restoring wildlife habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]