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International Journal of Zoology and Applied Biosciences Research Article
Assessment of soil physicochemical characteristics and their correlation with earthworm diversity in major cropping systems of Mahendergarh, Haryana, India
Komal and Suresh Kumar
Year : 2026 | Volume: 11 | Issue: 5 | Pages: 288-292
Received on: 16/06/2026
Revised on: 22/07/2026
Accepted on: 10/08/2026
Published on: 05/10/2026
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Komal and Suresh Kumar( 2026).
Assessment of soil physicochemical characteristics and their correlation with earthworm diversity in major cropping systems of Mahendergarh, Haryana, India
. International Journal of Zoology and Applied Biosciences, 11( 5), 288-292.
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Abstract
This study evaluated soil physicochemical properties and their relationship with earthworm diversity across three major cropping systems in the semi-arid region of Mahendergarh, Haryana, India. A replicated field design compared Mustard–Gram–Barley, Wheat–Cotton, and Vegetable (Pearl/Cluster beans) systems. Soil parameters (pH, EC, moisture, organic carbon, N, P, K, Zn, Cu, Mn, Fe) were analyzed alongside diversity indices (Shannon–Wiener, Simpson, Evenness). Three species (Lampito mauritii, Metaphire posthuma, Drawida nepalensis) were recorded. Vegetable systems exhibited the highest diversity (H? = 1.08 ± 0.01; D = 0.66 ± 0.00). Pearson correlations showed strong positive relationships between earthworm abundance and organic carbon (r = 0.80), soil moisture (r = 0.69), Zn (r = 0.71), and Cu (r = 0.75), while pH (r = -0.58) and EC (r = -0.35) were negatively associated. PCA explained 75% of total variance, with PC1 (48%) driven by organic carbon and moisture and PC2 (27%) by nitrogen and phosphorus. Results highlight that organic inputs and moisture retention are primary drivers of soil biodiversity in semi-arid agroecosystems, emphasizing the need for sustainable management.
Keywords
Earthworms, Soil physicochemical properties, Cropping systems, Semi-arid agroecosystems, PCA.
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© The Author(s) 2026. This article is published by International Journal of Zoology and Applied Biosciences under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (creativecommons.org), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
