Parent Rock : It refers to the original rock from which the soil is formed.

It is mainly used in the context of soil formation.

Humus : It is the organic matter present in the soil formed by the decomposition of plants and animals.

Humus (decomposed vegetal and animal remains) is the main constituent of soil. Silica, clay and sand are also other constituents of soil.

NPK : It is the abbreviation of Nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P) and Potassium (K) which is good for the fertility of the soil.

Bhangar soil : It is Older Alluvium Soil and is found above the flood levels of rivers.

Khadar soil : It is Newer Alluvium Soil and is found below the flood levels.

Residual soil : Residual soils are formed ‘in situ’ that is formed where they are found in their original position by the breaking up of parent rocks, e.g., Black soil, Red soil,
Laterite soil, etc.

Transported soil : Soil that is transported through various agents of soil erosion like water and wind. In-Situ: Formed in their orig. position by the breaking up of parent rocks,
Black, Red, Laterite, Desert

Soil is the uppermost thin layer of the earth’s crust, made up of organic matter, minerals and weathered rocks, covering the earth surface.

The process of the formation of soil is known as Pedogenesis.

Different sources of nature like changing temperature, running water and wind affect the formation of soil.

Soil is formed by a process called Weathering, where a parent rock material breaks down or wears and tears.

Soil fertility refers to the ability of soil to support plant life.

Soil Erosion: Removal or destruction of top soil is called Soil Erosion.

Gully Erosion: Removal of clayey soil along drainage lines by running water and making deep channels, eroding soil mostly in hillsides after Deforestation and Over grazing.

Leaching: Due to high rainfall, lime and silica are leached away from soil leaving Iron oxide and Aluminium compound in the soil making it acidic.

Sheet Erosion: It is the slow removal of a thin layer of soil over extensive areas due to less or no vegetation by rainwater washing it away.

Soil conservation: It is the effort made by man to prevent soil loss from erosion or reduced fertility caused by over usage

Shelter belts: Shelters are created by planting trees in a row to check the speed of the wind in order to reduce soil erosion.

Re-afforestation: It is planting of trees in lieu of the number of trees being cut adopting the ratio 2:1.

The important features of soil fertility is that it contains adequate amount of moisture, is rich in nutrients like Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium (NPK), contains organic
matter and has sufficient depth to enable the plants to grow roots.

Depending on the process of formation, soil can be categorised into- Residual or Sedentary soil and Transported soil.

Residual soil is formed ‘in situ’ that is formed where it is found in its original position by the breaking up of parent rocks, e.g., Black soil, Red soil, Laterite soil, etc.

Soil that are transported through various agents of soil erosion like wind and running water is called Transported soil, e.g., Alluvial soil.

Soil is classified into the following types- Alluvial soils, Black soils, Red soils and Laterite soils.

Soil erosion is the removal of the top layer of fertile soil by wind, water and human activities.

Soil erosion caused by running water are

(i) Sheet erosion- Large quantity of water flow in form of sheets that removes the thin layer of top soil along with vegetation covers or due to heavy rainfall and thus, erosion
of soil takes place over extensive areas. (ii) Rill erosion- Due to prolonged sheet erosion in the second stage, finger shaped grooves or rills are formed over a large area, which
is known as Rill erosion. (iii) Gully erosion- Removal of clayey soil along drainage lines by running water and making deep channels that erodes soil mostly in hillsides after
Deforestation and Over grazing. (iv) Stream Bank erosion- The streams and rivers change their course by cutting their banks, thereby, depositing the silt loads. (v) Shore
erosion- The powerful waves of the tidal waters of the sea damage and destroy the coastal areas. (vi) Slip erosion- During heavy rains, when the water is unable to penetrate
into the soil by the underlying impervious rocks, causes the heavy moisture-laden soil to come down from the steep land. This process is called the Slip erosion. Sometimes, it
results in a landslide.

Wind erosion takes place where there is less or no vegetation due to high velocity/a strong movement of winds.

When wind moves soil particles of 0.1-0.5 mm in size in bouncing or hopping way, it is known as Saltation while those which are greater than 0.5 mm and moves by rolling are
called Soil Creep.

In the process of Saltation, the particles less than 0.1 mm or the finer ones gets separated and transported to the long distances until the wind speed decreases. This is called
Suspension.

Large scale deforestation by man has been witnessed in the Outer Himalayas, the Western and Eastern Ghats for various land use like constructing railway lines, roads,
buildings etc.

The uncontrolled grazing of domestic animals is an important factor for causing Sheet, Gully and Rill erosion.

In India, soil erosion occurs due to the following causes(i) Increasing population (ii) Erratic nature of rainfall (iii) Overgrazing by domestic animals (iv) Faulty techniques of
farming (v) Topography of the region (vi) Deforestation
 The Indian states which are highly prone to soil erosion are Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Soil is an
essential resource for agriculture. It recycles organic wastes and provides nutrients to the vegetation grown. It also influences the global climate. Therefore, soil conservation is
required for the sustainable development of the country.

Soil conservation is the effort made by man to prevent loss of soil from erosion or reduced fertility caused by over usage.

Measures to prevent soil erosion:

(i) Afforestation and Re-afforestation-Afforestation means establishment of a forest or stand of trees in an area where there was no previous tree cover. Re-afforestation is
planting of trees in lieu of the number of trees being cut adopting the ratio 2:1. Because of this, the roots of trees and plants hold soil together, reducing speed of running
water, enabling water to get absorbed in the soil. Trees also reduces the force of winds, preventing the blowing away of soil particles.

(ii) Restricted grazing of animals-Animals should be spread out to different pastures and fodder crops should be grown in large quantity.

(iii) Construction of dams-Apart from checking the speed of river water and controlling river floods, construction of dams also saves soil erosion. (iv) Proper farming
techniques(a) Crop rotation-It is a system of farming in which farmers grow crops cyclically to minimise consumption of particular nutrients from the soil, thus maintaining
fertility of land. (b) Contour ploughing-Contours act like bunds. Ploughing along contours across the slope of the land prevents soil being washed away by rainwater or by
surface run-off. (c) Terrace farming-Hill slopes are cut into a number of terraces having horizontal top and steep slopes on the back and front. It is a very effective and one of
the oldest methods of soil conservation. (d) Strip cropping-In this system, large fields are divided in strips and grass is grown between the crops which reduces wind velocity
and protects the top soil from erosion. (e) Shelter belts-When trees are planted in rows to create shelters along sand dunes, these rows are called Shelter belts. They help
stabilizing sand dunes and prevent the desert to extend into land available for farming.

In India, the government has taken special measures for soil conservation(i) Scheme of Integrated Watershed Management. (ii) Scheme for Reclamation and development of
ravine areas. (iii) Scheme for Control of Shifting cultivation. (iv) National Project on Development and use of Bio-fertilizers and National Project on Quality Control
implemented. (v) Rainwater Harvesting.