India: Soil Types, Problems & Conservation: Dr. Supriya
India: Soil Types, Problems & Conservation: Dr. Supriya
Problems &
Conservation
Dr. Supriya
Assistant Professor (Guest)
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Department of Geography
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Patna University, Patna
Alluvial soils are by far the largest and the most important soil group of Ind
ia. Covering about 15 lakh sq km or about 45.6 per cent of the total land ar
ea of the country. These soils contribute the largest share of our agricultu
ral wealth and support the bulk of India’s population.
Being one of the most important and fertile soils of India they support grow
th of wide variety of crops such as Rice, wheat, sugarcane, cotton, jute, potato
and vegetables, but they are deficient in nitrogen, phosphorous and Humus.
Alluvium are finer particles of rock materials carried in suspension and late
r deposited by the river in its bed and bank. The soils which is composed of al
luvium is called alluvial soil.
Most of the alluvial soils are derived from the sediments deposited by rivers
as in the Indo-Gangetic plain although some alluvial soils in the coastal areas
have been formed by the sea waves. Thus the parent material of these soils is
all of transported origin.
The flood plains of Satluj-Ganga and Bhrahmaputra from Punjab to Assam, the
valleys and plains of river Narmada, Tapti, Mahanadi, Godhavari, Krishna and Cauv
ery covering about 23.40% of the total soil cover in India.
Occurrence & Types of Alluvial Soil
These are generally reddish to brownish in color obtained from weathering of granit
es, gneisses, and crystalline rocks and grade from poor, thin and light colored soils o
n the uplands to that of fertile deep dark color soils of plains and valley.
Red soils in India occupying 29.08% of the total soil cover of India extending extens
ively over parts of Tamil Nadu, Southern Karnataka , South-East Maharashtra, parts
of Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Kerala, Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Eastern
Parts of Rajasthan, Assam, Manipur, Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland.
These soils are ideal for cultivation of Ragi, Ground-nuts, millets, Tobacco and potat
o. They are rich in Iron, containing small amount of Humus as they about retain mois
ture and are slightly acidic with poor quantity of phosphorous, nitrogen and organic c
ontents. Though they can be used for variety of crop cultivation provided the fields ar
e having good irrigation facilities.
Red to yellow in color due to coatings of ferric oxides on the soil particles. Texture o
f these soils is highly variable from loam to clayey loam texture. They are poor in nitr
ogen, phosphorous and humus there by soil depth varies from shallow to very deep in
nature.
4. Laterite soil
Laterite is a formation that is only found in tropical countries like India with alterna
tive wet and dry climatic conditions. The heavy rainfall conditions and high temperat
ure makes the soil rich in oxides of Iron and Aluminum depleting in completely from
Silica. The remnants of such oxides are known as laterites which are characterized by
compact to vesicular structure occupying 4.30% of India’s soil cover.
They are mainly found on the summits of Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats along w
ith Vindhyas and Satpura’s found in States of Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, M
aharashtra, Orissa, Assam and Tamil Nadu.
Since they are very poor in calcium and magnesium and are well drained and porou
s. They are useful for both rice cultivation as well as plantation crops like cashew, rub
ber, tea and coffee.
They are acidic in elevated areas and poor in retaining moisture but essentially heav
y loam to clayey on the plains.
5.Desert soil
The arid and the desert soil are found in semi
-arid and arid condtional regions of India,
namely the western Rajasthan, the Southern Har
yana, and South-West Punjab. These are area lyi
ng between Indus river and the aravali-hill coveri
ng an area of about 29 million Hectares i.e., 1.
42 lakh Sq Km.
These soils contain soluble salts whose concentr
ation is just below the toxic level as they are poor
in nitrogen, Humus, and quite rich in phosphates
and nitrates, there by not suitable for many crops
except for few that to grown with the help of
irrigation.
They are find sandy to loamy, pale brown to yell
owish brown in color. Structure less to
sub-angular blocky in structure, poor in nutrient
and water holding capacity there by moisture is
deficient making the pH of the soil, vary from 7.2
-9.2under generally high in salt content but not i
n toxic amounts.
6. Mountain soil
Soils which are found all along the slopes of mountains and hills are termed as
mountain soils.
They are found from decomposition of organic matter from the forest. The characte
ristics of these soils differ from region to region depending on climates, vegetation
and topography which contribute to the development of soil profile.
They are dark brown in color with clayey silt to loamy texture and slightly acidic to
moderate acidic in nature as they are rich in humus.
Being the most fertile soil they are useful for the growth of plantation crops such as
tea, coffee, spices and tropical fruits.
In India they are largely seen in Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, W
estern Ghats in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu covering a total area of 2.85 lakh S
q Km.
7. Alkaline and Saline Soils
These soils are seen in Saline, arid and Semi-arid parts of Rajasthan, Punjab,
Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
These soils are infertile, and uncultivable generally grading in texture from sandy
to loamy sand with deficiency in nitrogen and highly pervious there by having low
water retain capacity.
They are estimated to occupy 7 million hectares in India of which 50% is in Indo-
Gangetic alluvial plain 30% amo0ng black cotton soils and the rest 20% in arid
and coastal regions of India.
Saline and alkaline soils: Moderate to strongly acidic in nature with high organic
matter but deficient in phosphorous.
8. Peaty Soils
These types of soils occur in hot humid conditions as a result of large amount of org
anic matter getting accumulated, essentially they are black, heavy and highly acidic w
ith large amount of soluble salts. These types of soils are mainly found in Orissa, the s
under-bans in West Bengal, parts of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Kottayam, Alleppey,
districts of Kerala.
They are dark almost black in color with abundant organic matter. Fine in texture w
ith moderate accumulation of ferrous and aluminum sulphates resulting in pH below
3.5 or 4 there by strongly acidic. This is due to decomposition of organic matter under
anaerobic conditions.
Problems of Indian soils
Table: Types of Degraded Land
Categories of Degraded land Area in
million h Degradation of the soil is the most p
ectare roblematic problem of the India soil. Her
Gullied lands 2.05 e, degradation refers to variety of factor
Land with/ Without scrub 19.40
s which leads to loss in the quality of the
soil which includes lateritisation,
Water logged and marshy lands 1.66
alkalization and Salinization of the
Land affected with salinity & alkalinity 2.05 soil along with soil erosion i.e., loss of
Shifting cultivation area 3.51 top soil.
Under utilised/ degraded forest 14.06 The process of Soil degradation is the r
esult of natural forces and human
Degraded pastures and grazing lands 2.60
activities.
Degraded land under plantation crops 0.58 The torrential rains, flowing rive
Sand (Inland/coastal) 5.00 rs, glaciers, wind etc are the natural a
Mining/ Industrial wasteland 0.12 gents for soil erosion leading to the soil b
ecoming useless for cultivation.
Barren rock / strong waste sheet rock ar 6.42
ea They main causes of soil erosion are de
Steep sloping area 0.77
forestation, over-grazing, shifting
cultivation, faulty methods of culti
Snow covered glaciated area 5.58
vation, rivers and removal of top
Total degraded land 63.84 soil for industrial purposes.
Effect of soil erosion
According to one estimate about 180 Million hectare ( 60 % of total area of the coun
try) is adversely affected through the soil erosion
The adverse effect of soil erosion in India agriculture where in 45.7 million hectares
of land is facing this effect.
This renders vast area of cultivable land useless as their fertility is reduced due to er
osion by rivers causing rapid run-off change in the course of rivers and floods, with ra
pid decrease in quantity of ground water perculation.
They problem of soil erosion is common on the steeper slopes with heavy rainfall in
states such as Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram and the Western Ghats
.
It also occurs in parts of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka , Tamil Nadu, a
nd Andhra Pradesh.
The government of India has taken measures to prevent soil erosion via setting a ce
ntral soil conservation board to study and solve the problems.
Soil Conservation
The protection of soil from erosion and deterioration along with its management is
called soil conservation.
All such measures can be divided into 2 types:
1) Biological measure and
2) Mechanical measures
1) Biological measures:Contour farming, mulching, dense growing crops, strip
cropping, afforestation and reforestation along with control grazing are some of the
biological measures.
Contour farming involves practice of forming across the slopes in the hills reduci
ng surface run-off thus conserving soil and moisture thus increasing crop-yield. Mulc
hing on the other hand is spreading of materials like straw leaves, paddy husk, grass,
over the soil surface to prevent erosion and evaporation.
Dense growing crops involves method of providing cover for cultivated crops by
growing legumes.
Strip cropping is cultivation of crop in alternate strips which is very effective in c
ontrolling run-off and thus erosion.
Afforestation and reforestation is a method of planting a new forest in areas w
here previously trees did not exist or where destroyed. Both help in checking soil eros
ion all along the hill slopes in and around the water bodies and base lands.
Control grazing is a method by where in proper control on excessive grazing is m
aintained to prevent soil erosion.
Soil Conservation
2) Mechanical Measures: It includes basin listing,sub-soil contour bundng, channel tre
nching, bench terracing and gully control.
Basin listing consist of making small interrupted basins along contours which helps in col
lecting and retaining rain water.
Sub soil is another method in which hard impermeable sub soil is broken in order to allow m
ore rain water thus improving the physical condition of the soil.
Contour bunding consists of building narrow embankments at regular intervals across the
slopes to prevent rapid flow of water.
Channel trenching is a method in which series of deep pits are dug across the slopes at suit
able distances. Bench terracing involves a series of platforms which run across the contour th
us retaining water and controlling soil erosion.
Gully control on the other hand is a method use to prevent erosion by using gully plugs such
as boulders, sand bags, and plant hedges as materials to control soil erosion.
Soil management:
The method of improving soil fertility and productive capacity of the soil termed as soil manag
ement.
There are several measures such as judicially use of manure and fertilizers, rotation of crops, c
ultivation of leguminous crops for certain periods of time.
However the more essential step for soil management involves educating and motivating farm
ers regarding the importance, suitability of soil for a particular crops and its conservation
Methods of Soil Conservation
Model questions
Q1. Examine the classifications of soil in India & discuss major soil
groups of India. ( long type)
Q2. What is soil degradation? Discuss the causes and impact of soil
degradation and soil conservation methods in India?
Q3. Represent the Major Soil Groups on the given Map of India:
Q4.Write short notes on them:
a. Black Cotton soil
b. Soil Degradation & Soil Erosion in In
dia
c. Methods of soil conservation
d. Multi cropping & Intercropping
e. Aforestation & Deforestations
f. Strip cropping & Counter Ploughing
References
India: A Regional Geography: R.L. Singh;
India: A Comprehensive Geography: D. R. Khullar;
Geography of India: Majid Hussain;
Advance Geography of India, S. C. Bansal;
India: A General geography : A. Ahmad
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/soils_of_India#
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