Soil and regional characteristics of paddy field in Ngoro Sub- district, Mojokerto, Indonesia: Understanding Land Use Change

Abstract

The Ngoro sub-district has an extensive and productive agricultural land. The rice production of the studied area formerly was 6.02 ton MDG/ha, but recently only 0.70 ton MDG/ha. The study aims to characterize the soil and regional aspects of the studied area. The study was conducted in three villages: Sedati, Kembangsri and Candiharjo. There were three sample points determined based on differences in depth used for physical and chemical analysis of soil. Based on the laboratory analysis, the soils were considered as fertile and there were no problems in terms of physics or soil chemistry. Problems that can be identified were regional aspects. Based on the analysis of the alignment of land use with the Regional Spatial Plan (RTRW) shows that 39.8% were aligned, 59.4% transitions, and 0.8% were out of alignment. Although inconsistency was very small, what needs to be considered is the transition. Transition is land whose use is still possible to be adjusted to the RTRW. The area of transitional land can be indicated as an opportunity for changes in current land use due to adjusting to the RTRW. The agricultural sector is the widest sector that has the opportunity to convert into industry and settlements. High land values due to adequate infrastructure also trigger changes in land use.