A GIS Based Study of the Effects of Groundwater, Soil Quality and Rainfall on Agriculture in Bagh River Basin, India

In this paper, we investigated the geostatistical assessment of soil health, fertility, and quality, as well as groundwater and rainfall, and their impact on agriculture in the Bagh River Basin (BRB) of India. All physical, chemical, and biological components of rivers can be studied using the model. With the use of GIS and the Water Quality Index (WQI), several complex mathematical algorithms employ models to model and analyze groundwater and soil data. Physical and chemical properties of water were analyzed by Gibbs diagram as determined by Bureau of Indian Standards. The Analytical hierarchical process (AHP) weight EC < TDC < TH < Cl− < SO42− < pH < NO3− < F− < Fe. Overall, fertility levels in the BRB range from low to moderate with respect to nitrogen, low to very low with respect to phosphorus, and high to very high with respect to phosphorus. The soil fertility index shows a steady decline from 1980 to 2005. When 1 kg of nutrients (nitrogen + phosphorus + potassium) is added to the soil, only 6 kg of food grains are produced per hectare. 25 years ago, the same land produced 16 kg per hectare. This means that the fertility of the soil has decreased by about 62%. Soil fertility is generally 6.5–8.0, salinity is 0.10–0.50, while lime content is less than 10%. This paper can be helpful for better river basin management and research.