IMPACT OF AGRICULTURAL LAND USE ON SOIL QUALITY, A CASE STUDY IN NAN PROVINCE, THAILAND BY CHAWANRUT TAMIKANON A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ENGINEERING (ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY) SIRINDHORN INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY ACADEMIC YEAR 2017 Ref. code: 25615922040356HEM IMPACT OF AGRICULTURAL LAND USE ON SOIL QUALITY, A CASE STUDY IN NAN PROVINCE, THAILAND BY CHAWANRUT TAMIKANON A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ENGINEERING (ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY) SIRINDHORN INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY ACADEMIC YEAR 2017 Ref. code: 25615922040356HEM Abstract IMPACT OF AGRICULTURAL LAND USE ON SOIL QUALITY, A CASE STUDY IN NAN PROVINCE, THAILAND by CHAWANRUT TAMIKANON Bachelor of Science (Gemology), Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, 2016 Master of Engineering (Engineering Technology), Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology, Thammasat University, 2018 Changing land use practices are a current theme of scientific research. The recent report studying in Global forest resources assessment shows that the environment has been greatly changed from the past. Currently, Southeast Asian countries are facing geo-ecological problems from the environmental change. One of the most important problems in SEA is deforestation. However, the problem still exists in some regions of Thailand. The problem was found arisen rapidly in northern region where most area is containing of mountains, forested hills, dense jungle, and river valleys with fertile natural resources. The improper land use management can lead to plenty of problems such as deforestation, loss of wildlife habitat and environmental pollution. The soil degradation is also one of main problems. In this study focuses on soil quality changing by agricultural activities which proceeded to the mountainous area. The methods were used for this study are soil properties investigation; soil chemical properties and soil physical properties, another method is questionnaires to survey data of farming activities. All data analyzed and study of related effect. The examined result showed soil properties still suitable for planting when compared the result with the optimum standard except the abandoned field. The second part is survey study about agricultural activities in sample areas. The investigation found three improper farming activities which impact on soil quality; adding chemical fertilizer, adding chemical enhancer and planting in drought condition. However, the further study suggest a recommendation to manage problems ii Ref. code: 25615922040356HEM are control fertilizer addition follows crop requirement, applying alternative crops, adopting terrace method, creating more water storage, replacing burning crop residue activity by tillage or burying. Keywords: Land use, Agricultural land use, Soil qualities iii Ref. code: 25615922040356HEM Acknowledgements I would first like to thank my thesis advisor Assoc. Prof. Dr. Alice Sharp for her assistance, motivation, knowledge guidance, valuable recommendation. This thesis would not be succeeded without attentive support. I would also like to express my appreciation to my thesis committee, Prof. Dr. Sandhya Babel, and Dr. Alisa Kongthon for their valuable suggestion and guidance. In addition, I would like to extend my appreciation to Sirindhorn International Institute of technology, Thammasat University and Tokyo Institute of Technology (TAIST- Tokyo Tech) for financial support. Finally, my special thank are including to the staff of Pid Thong Lung Phra and Mae Fah Luang foundation in Nan province for the assistance in the field work, local knowledge, and accommodation in Chaloem Phra Kiat district. iv Ref. code: 25615922040356HEM Table of Contents Chapter Title Page Signature Page i Acknowledgements ii Abstract iii Table of Contents iv List of Figures v List of Tables vi 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Objective of the study 3 1.3 Scope of the study 3 2 Literature Review 5 2.1 Land use 5 2.1.1 Land use change 5 2.1.2 Agricultural land 6 2.2 Soil quality 9 2.2.1 Soil properties 9 2.2.1.1 Soil physical properties 9 2.2.1.2 Soil chemical properties 11 2.3 Information of Nan 17 2.3.1 Location 17 2.3.2 Topography 17 2.3.3 Population 18 2.3.4 Occupation 18 2.3.5 Climate 18 v Ref. code: 25615922040356HEM 2.3.6 Agricultural production and market. 19 2.3.7 Current land use in Nan 21 2.4 Major crops planting in Chaloem Phra Kiat district 25 2.4.1 Maize 25 2.4.2 Rice 26 2.4.3 Banana 26 2.4.4 Coffee 27 2.4.5 Cashew 28 3 Methodology 30 3.1 Research framework 30 3.2 Study site 32 3.2.1 Sample area 32 3.3 Experiment preparation 34 3.3.1 Soil sample collection 34 3.4 Soil sample analysis 36 3.4.1 Soil physical properties 36 3.4.1.1 Soil texture 36 3.4.1.2 Water holding capacity 37 3.4.1.3 Soil temperature 37 3.4.2 Soil chemical properties 38 3.4.2.1 Soil pH 37 3.4.2.2 Soil organic carbon 38 3.4.2.3 Soil cation exchange capacity 39 3.4.2.4 Soil nutrients 40 3.5 Cultivation activities surveys 42 4 Result and discussion 43 4.1 The result of investigation of soil properties from sample area 43 4.1.1 Soil investigation round 1 43 vi Ref. code: 25615922040356HEM 4.1.2 Soil investigation round 2 46 4.2 The comparison between optimal range and soil properties 49 4.2.1 Maize field 49 4.2.2 Hilly rice field 51 4.2.3 Lowland rice paddy filed 53 4.2.4 Old-aged rice terrace 55 4.2.5 New-aged rice terrace 57 4.2.6 Economic crops 59 4.3 The current situation of land use in Chaloem Phra Kiat 61 4.3.1 The data of agricultural activities in Chaloem Phra Kiat 62 4.3.2 Cost and income of cultivation 64 4.4 The activities affect soil quality and recommendations 66 4.4.1 Maize 67 4.4.2 Hilly rice paddy field 68 4.4.3 Lowland rice paddy field 69 4.4.4 Old-aged rice terrace 70 4.4.5 New-aged rice terrace 71 4.4.6 Economic crops 72 5 Conclusion and Recommendation 76 5.1 Conclusion 76 5.2 Recommendation 77 5.3 Limitation of study 78 References 79 Appendix 84 Appendix A 85 vii Ref. code: 25615922040356HEM List of Tables Tables Page 2.1 Size of sand particle 10 2.2 Soil classification based on pH value 12 2.3 Rating of OM value in soil 13 2.4 The data of average yield from major crop of Nan province 21 3.1 The description of study areas 34 3.2 Comparison of pressure and pF 37 4.1 The soil investigation result in September 2017 45 4.2 The soil investigation result in January 2018 48 4.3 The comparison examined result of soil from maize field 50 4.4 The comparison examined result of soil from hilly rice paddy field 52 4.5 The comparison examined result of soil from lowland rice paddy field 54 4.6 The comparison examined result of soil from old-aged rice terrace 56 4.7 The comparison examined result of soil from new-aged rice terrace 58 4.8 The comparison examined result of soil from economic crops 60 4.9 The survey data of agricultural activities. 62 4.10 The timeline of agricultural activities in planting season 63 4.11 The table shows the cost and benefit of cultivation 65 4.12 The comparison between average yield crop and gaining yield 66 4.13 Fertilizer suggestion for maize field 67 4.14 Fertilizer suggestion for hilly rice paddy field 69 4.15 Fertilizer suggestion for lowland rice paddy field 70 4.16 Fertilizer suggestion for old-aged rice terrace 71 4.17 Fertilizer suggestion for banana plantation 73 4.18 Fertilizer suggestion for coffee plantation 73 4.19 Fertilizer suggestion for cashew plantation 74 4.20 Alternative crops recommendation 75 viii Ref. code: 25615922040356HEM List of Figures Figures Page 2.1 Pattern of typical bench terraces 7 2.2 Back-sloping bench terraces 8 2.3 Stone bund terraces 8 2.4 Fanya juu terraces 9 2.5 Size of sand, silt, and particle relative to each other 10 2.6 Nitrogen cycle 14 2.7 Phosphorus cycle 15 2.8 Potassium cycle 16 2.9 The location of Nan province 17 2.10 The average monthly temperature 19 2.11 The average monthly rainfall 19 2.12 Agricultural patterns in the past 20 2.13 Agricultural patterns in 2014 20 2.14 Land covers structure change in Nan province between 1995–2012 23 2.15 The latest map of land use situation in Nan province 24 3.1 Framework of the study 31 3.2 Map shows overall view of Chaloem Phra Kiat district 33 3.3 Random sampling soil method 35 3.4 The V shapes of soil hold 35 3.5 All soil is contained in the same plastic bag 35 3.6 Soil texture separation step 36 3.7 Soil texture triangle 36 3.8 Procedure of OM examination 38 3.9 Procudure of CEC inspection 39 3.10 Procedure of nitrogen inspection 40 ix Ref. code: 25615922040356HEM Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Introduction Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) defined land use as "the total of arrangements, activities, and inputs that people undertake in a certain land cover type‖(IPCC, 2000). Land use is categorized according to the utility; agriculture, community, transportation, infrastructure and industry. Improper land use management will lead to environmental degradation, for example, deforestation, loss of wildlife habitat and environmental pollution.