Distribution of Micronutrients and Fractionation of Organic Carbon in Some Bench Marked Soils of Kashmir at Different Altitudes

A study on some of the bench marked soils of Kashmir at different altitudes was Carried from March 2006-March 2008. The results revealed that by and large the total Zn, Cu, Fe, and Mn decreased with depth. Regardless of the soil groups, available Zn, status in all the soil profiles was in deficient range. The total and available micronutrients were influenced by soil properties viz., pH, organic carbon clay and calcium carbonate content. The micronutrients exists in various forms, the most available forms that plants take from the soil are Zn⁺², Cu⁺², Fe⁺² and Mn⁺². The results also revealed that there was a distinct effect of major environmental factors namely rainfall and altitude on the distribution of soil humus into humic and fulvic acids fraction as well as the HA:FA ratio. The soil humus fractions decreased with increasing depth of soil irrespective of the agro climatic zone studied.