SOIL

Types of soil

Alluvial Soil Black Soil Red Soil Laterite Soil

Alluvial Soil:
Origin Colour Texture Composition Distribution Crops
Ex situ soils Colour varies Texture varies Rich in potash, lime, In North India, Best agricultural
Formed by from light from sandy potassium and have located in the vast soil.
silt brought brown or and coarse to humus except in the track of riverline Suitable for wheat,
by the rivers grey to dark clayey and fine alluvium of Ganga alluvium of Satluj, sugarcane, rice,
grey Deltaic region. Ganga and cotton, oilseeds and
depending on Generally Alkaline Brahmaputra plains. in delta region,
new or old in reaction In South India, suitable for jute
alluvium located in the
Deccan coastal strip
occupyomg the
deltas of Godavari,
Krishna, Kaveri,
Narmada and Tapi

Classification of Alluvial Soil:

 Khadar Soil:
 Light brown in colour
 Coarse in texture
 Very fertile
  New alluvium
 Located close to rivers on floodplains
 Frequently replenished by floods
 Bhangar Soil:
 Dark grey in colour
 Clayey and generally infertile
 Characterized by massive beds and concretions of calcium carbonate(lime) called Kankars
 Old alluvium
 Located 30m above the flood level of rivers
 Found away from the river, on patches and strips of higher grounds called river terraces
 Inland Alluvial Soil:
 Covers the plains of Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra river
 Sandy and coarse texture
 Tend to be dry as porous
 Found extensively in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar from the Ganga river north up to the foothills of Himalayas
 Deltaic Alluvial Soil:
 Formed on fine silt and clay deposited by rivers on their mouth
 Fine texture
 Compact, clayey and retain moisture
 Found extensively over West Bengal
 The Ganga and the Brahmaputra rivers draining the Himalayas and the northern plains have deposited light
colored silt and silty clay soil
 Also found in deltas on Mahanadi, Krishna, Godavari and Kaveri
 Coastal Alluvial Soil:
 Occurs along coasts of Gujarat to Kerela and Odisha to TamilNadu
 Sandy and very coarse
 Light grey to light brown
 The aaluvial soil in the valleys and delta of rivers like Godavari and Krishna are dark in colour as they drain
the Deccan Trap region and transport blacksoil which gets mixed with alluvial soil

Red, Black and Laterite soil:

Soil Name Origin Colour Texture Composition Distribution Crop Grown
Black Soil* Weathing of Varies from Fine grained Rich in iron, Extensively Black sails are
basalt, a rock deep black to with 60% clay potash, lime, found over the fertile in plant
of volcanic chestnut Do not contain calcium, Deccan Trap nutrients thus,
nature brown, gravel or sand magnesium and region, suited for
This soil is medium black Retain alumina Bundelkhand ccultivation of
also called or even moisture and Deficient in and Madura soil-exhausting
Regur or mixture of red becomes sticky phosphates, Plateau plants like
Black Cotton and black when wet sulphur, cotton and
soil Black coclour nitrogen and sugarcane.
In situ soil may be organic matter Wheat, millets,
Originated observed from soyabean and
form black pigeon pea are
solidification crystalline also cultivated
of lava spread schists and
over Deccan basic gneisses
Plateau.
Therefore, are
essentially
weathering of
Deccan Trap
 Red Soil** In situ soil. These are red They have Red Soil lack In North India, With use of
Formed due in cflour due texture ranging Lime, Magnesia, they extend to proper
to weathering to presence of from loamy Phosphate, parts of Bihar, fertilizers and
of ancient ferric oxide sand to heavy Nitrogen and West Bengal and irrigation they
crystalline The color clays Humus eastern give excellent
(such as varies from red They are They are rich in Rajasthan, also yield of wheat,
granite) and to brown porous and potash and in parts of rice, cotton,
metamorphic chocolate and friable (easily become fertile Assam, sugarcane,
rocks (such as yellow get crumbled) with use of Meghalaya,Tripu pulses, millets,
gneisses and and cannot proper fertilizers r, Mizoram, tobacco, ragi,
schists of retain moisture Manipur and nuts, maize,
Archean Nagaland tea and
period) In South India oilseeds
they extend over
whole of Tamil
Nadu, large parts
of Karnataka,
Goa, north-east
Andhra Pradesh,
Odisha, south-
east Maharashtra
and Chotanagpur
Plateau
Laterite Formed under These would These are They lose Generally found They are
Soil*** conditions of are red in color generally calcium, in the highland suitable for
high due to coarse in magnesium, areas of the tea, coffee,
temperature presence of texture, friable sodium, peninsula plateau rubber, cocoa,
and heavy ferric oxides and porous potassium and that is, the coconut,
rainfall with They undergo silica from its summits of cashew, paddy,
alternate wet leaching and top soil due to Western Ghats etc.
and dry hence lack in leaching(caused and Eastern
periods. They fertility but due to monsoon Ghats and also in
develop over regains it on conditions the plateaus of
a variety of application of during its Odisha
parent fertilizers. formation)
material like They cannot They are rich in
basic igneous retain moisture iron
rocks or They lack in
sedimentary lime,
rocks magnesium,
phosphoric acid,
and potash

*Black Soil is also called self ploughing or self manuring soil. This is due to severe shrinkage caused by deep fissures or
cracks during dry season. The surface soil particles fall into the cracks resulting in the churning of the top soil and sub-soil
**Red Soils have less water retaining capacity. These soils are extremely vulnerable to soul erosion and surface run-off.
Only with proper fertilization and irrigation, these soils are workable. This is a reason why they are not suitable for
cultivation naturally.
***Laterite soils have a unique property of being used as building materials as they harden like iron when exposed to air
Soil Erosion:
 It is the process of wearing off of the topsoil, which contains the most organic, nutrient-rich material
Causes of Erosion:
 Slope: Over flat land there will be negligible soil erosion, whereas, over steep slopes rain water will remove soil
particles and the slopes will be kept bare of soil. The scarp slopes marking the edges of plateaus undergo intense
erosion
 Running water: The prime factor of soil erosion in running water. There are several ways by which soil erosion
occurs through running water:
 Sheet Erosion: Large quantity of water flow in form of sheets that removes the thin layer of topsoil along
with small vegetations or due to heavy rainfall and thus, eerosion of soil takes place over extensive areas
 Rill erosion: Due to prolonged sheet erosion, in stage two, finger shaped grooves or rills are formed over a
large area, which is known as Rill erosion
 Gully Erosion: Removal of clayey soil along the drainage lines due to heavy run-off of water and creating
deep channels mostly in hillsides. A gully is a deep groove or channel with steep walls and canyon like
trenches.
 Stream erosion: The streams and rivers change their course by cutting their banks, thereby depositing large
silt loads
 Wave erosion: tidal waves of the sea move up the coast, and erode the coasts made up of sedimentary rocks,
alluvium and sand easily
 Landslide: When mass of soil and underlying bedrock movesdownslope under gravity, a landslide occurs.
During rain, the water seeps down the soil and get collected over the unweathered bedrock. This acts as
lubricating agent and hence, landslides occur
 Wind: Soil erosion by winds occur on extensive flat lands with very less obstruction in between and dry type of
season for a part of year. The soil becomes light due to lack of moisture, thus, wind carries it away.
 Moisture retaining quality of soil: The soil which hols more moisture is less susceptible to erosion that those which
hold less moisture
 Overgrazing: Due to overgrazing, wind erosion occurs as the soil lacks vegetation that hold up the soil particles, thus,
the soil becomes loose and friable
 Vegetation: In areas of natural vegetation like forests and grasslands, soil erosion is protected. The roots of the trees
and plants bind the soil, foilage of the trees reduce the velocity of the wind and rain drops, the fallen leaves of the
trees absorb the rain water and prevent run-off.
 Faulty agricultural practice: Shifting agriculture in various places cause abandoning of land and thus making it prone
to eroion. Lack of crop rotation makes the land barren and infertile. Hence, by these types of agriculture a large
fraction of land is wasted and thus, becomes prone to erosion

Read the methods of conservation of soil from books