Land Capability Analysis Based on Hydrology and Soil Characteristics for Watershed Rehabilitation

The growing population in Indonesia impacts on increasing of human needs which influences on the larger area of land degradation. To reduce area of land degradation, land rehabilitation is a key to achieve sustainable development.In identifying area to be rehabilitated, land capability analysis is required. The objectives of this research are: a) to examine soil characteristics as a data base for rehabilitating critical area, b) to study water balance, and c) to analyze land capability. Moreover, this study applies data collection, both primary and secondary for its method. Primary data includes soil characteristics were collected by taking several soil samples at several types of land uses to be analyzed in laboratory includes: soil pH or acidity, organic matter, NPK contents and soil permeability. Secondary data such as, rainfall and temperature data were collected for evapotranspiration and total available water for runoff analysis.This research results that soil pH mostly is very low (< 4.5) and 3 areas have the low soil pH of 4.5 – 5.5. Major soil organic matters are classified as high (3.1 – 5%) to very high (> 5.5%). Nitrogen content varies from low to very low, whereas the Phosphor content is very low at all location. Furthermore, K contents of soil ranges from low to moderate, whereas the CEC is classified as moderate. The soil permeability varies from very slow, slow, moderate to very fast. The water balance analysis shows that along the year there is surplus of the water, except during July to September.The study area has 4 land capability types.Based on the research result, it can be concluded that the critical land that capable to be rehabilitated includes: open area, shrubs and grassland, with an area of 612.03 ha; 117.75 ha and 27.57 ha, respectively. The soil fertility level is low; the deficit period is July to September. It was recommended that to rehabilitate the area, the lime and fertilizer should be applied. Regarding the climatologically analysis, the best time to plant the trees for rehabilitation is in the period of September to June.