Study the Soil Health in Rural Agricultural Areas in Sri Lanka

Soil is one of the essential and dynamic natural resource on Earth. All living beings and eco system depend on the soil. Soil health is a measure of soil functions. Consequently, it is the optimum status of the soil's biological, physical and chemical functions. Healthy soils can sustain plant and animal productivity and soil biodiversity. It is the foundation of agriculture and an essential resource to ensure human needs. Furthermore, recently soil health is declining due to the several agricultural patterns in the world. Agriculture is the dominant economic practice in Sri Lanka. Hence soil health is very important to increase the food production in Sri Lanka. The main objective of this research is identify the soil health in rural agricultural areas in Sri Lanka. To achieve the target divided selected study area in to seven land use patterns and obtain soil samples in each sites. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a key indicator of soil health. Hence test the SOC percentage in the study area to identify the soil health of rural areas according to the several land use patterns in the area. The results have revealed that depletion of SOC due to the various land use patterns in the study area. Consequently, these changes have resulted in negatively affecting agricultural productivity and provision of ecosystem services in rural agricultural areas in Sri Lanka. Conservation agriculture, land use conservation, use of organic amendment, weed control methods are some dominant management practices to increase SOC in the soil. Additionally, public awareness is very important in rural agricultural areas in Sri Lanka to increase the soil health and agricultural productivity.