Advertisements
Advertisements
प्रश्न
State any five types of soil in India and explain the characteristics and distribution of soil.
उत्तर
Soil Type | Characteristics | Distribution |
Forest and mountain soils |
Differ from region to region depending on climate. Formation - due to mechanical weathering caused by snow, rain, temperature variation Chemical properties - are deficient in potash, phosphorus and lime. Nature - light, sandy, thin, and found with the pieces of rock. Their character changes with the parent rocks. Very rich in humus. slow decomposition makes it acidic |
Coniferous forest belts of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Sikkim. Eastern and the Western Ghats |
Arid and desert soils |
Formation - Due to the prevalence of the dry climate, high temperature and accelerated evaporation, the soil is dry, it also lacks humus content due to the absence of vegetative cover Chemical properties - Contain high percentages of soluble salts, alkaline with varying degree of calcium carbonate and are poor in organic matter; rich enough in phosphate though poor in nitrogen Nature - light in colour, low humus, friable structure, low in moisture |
Rajasthan, Northern Gujarat and southern Punjab |
Saline and alkaline soils |
Formation - formed due to ill drainage which causes water logging, injurious salts are transferred from subsurface to the topsoil by the capillary action, it causes the salinisation of soils Chemical properties - liberate sodium, magnesium and calcium salts and sulphurous acid Nature - Consists of an excess of sodium salts and mineral fragments which are weathering |
Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. In the drier parts of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Maharashtra |
Peaty and marshy soils |
Formation - formed in humid regions from organic matter. It is found in areas of heavy rainfall and high humidity Peaty soils are black, heavy and highly acidic. Chemical properties - deficient in potash and phosphate. Nature - Contain considerable amount of Soluble salts and 10-40 per cent of organic matter, and the high proportion of vegetable matter |
Kottayam and Alappuzha districts of Kerala; and coastal areas of Odisha and Tamil Nadu, Sundarbans of West Bengal, in Bihar and Almora district of Uttarakhand |
Alluvial soil |
Khadar - light coloured, more siliceous. Bhangar - the older alluvium composed of lime nodules and has clayey composition. It is dark in colour. Formation - sediments deposited by streams and rivers when they slowly loose. Chemical properties - rich in potash, phosphoric acid, lime and carbon compounds but poor in nitrogen Nature - Sandy-loam-silt-clay profile shows no marked differentiation |
Ganga and Brahmaputra river valleys; Plains of Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Punjab, Haryana, West Bengal and Bihar and river mouth of the east coast. |