Indigenous knowledge of soil fertility management in the humid tropics of Arunachal Pradesh

Traditional ecological knowledge has been established to have a bearing on natural resource management by the indigenous communities living in biodiversity rich North eastern hill region. The present study correlates the indigenous knowledge and scientific knowledge in assessing the nutrient availability status of the agricultural soil as practiced by the ‘Nyishi’ tribes who use visual properties such as colour, texture and topographic positioning of land/terrain. The physico-chemical analysis of the soil samples for soil characterization and appropriate land use thereof is in concordance with the working model of the indigenous soil knowledge of the ‘Nyishis’. Thus, there arises a need to document the traditional knowledge base and include the same for validation and scientific application for better management of soil and other resources.