Soil Resource Characterization, Land Capability and Suitability of Soils In Hilly Undulating Terrain - A Case Study

8/10/2019 Soil Resource Characterization, Land Capability and Suitability of Soils In Hilly Undulating Terrain - A Case Study

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SOIL RESOURCE CHARACTERIZATION, LAND CAPABILITY AND SUITABILITY OF

SOILS IN HILLY UNDULATING TERRAIN- A CASE STUDY

AMARESH DAS & RAJKUMAR D. SHINDE

Department of Soil Science, Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari, India

ABSTRACT

An investigation was carried out on soils of Sarvar village situated at latitude and longitude of 20o5055 N and

73o3655 E, respectively (an elevation of 350 to 458 m above msl.) in undulating hilly sloppy land of Dang district of

Gujarat (India) with an objective to characterize soil resource, classify these soils as per land capability and also to evaluate

their suitability for crops. The village comes under heavy rainfall zone with an average annual rainfall of around 2500 mm.

Seven pedons were dugout at varying elevation in the village and studied and samples were collected from each pedon.

Samples were analyzed for important physical, Physico - chemical and chemical characters. Based on the analytical data

and limitations, soils were classified as per USDA soil class, Land capability class and based on the optimum growth

requirement of crop in relation to climate, soil-site parameters, the suitability of soils for prevailing crops were evaluated,

keeping in mind the ecological stability of the area. Results revealed that texture of surface soils varied from gravelly loam

or gravelly clay loam, while slope varied from 0-1% (nearly flat land) to 25-35% (steep sloping land). The depth of

different pedons varied widely i.e. from 90 cm (deep). The erosion varying widely ranged

from e1 (slight/ sheet erosion) to e4 (very severe/ big gully). Pedon 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 were classified as Fluventic

Ustochrep,Vitrandic Ustochrept, Lithic Eutrochrept,FluventicUstochrept,LithicUstochrept, Udic Ustochrept andLithic

Ustorthent respectively. Pedon 1 and 6 were classified under land capability sub-class IIes to IIesw, while pedon 2, 3, 4, 5

and 7 came under IIIs, Ves, IIIes, VIes and VIIes sub-classes, respectively. Considering the extent and type of limitations,

sub classes were further classified in to different capability units. Very gently sloping flat (


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172 Amaresh Das & Rajkumar D. Shinde

Impact Factor (JCC): 4.3594 Index Copernicus Value (ICV): 3.0

INTRODUCTION

Decreasing land resources is also a major concern in India owing to salinization of soil, conversion of

agricultural land into non-agricultural land for their use as roads, residential and industrial purposes. 57% of the total

geographical area in India is suffering from various types of land degradation (Yadav, 2003). Efficient management and

maintenance of soil health/ quality is the key to accomplish sustained high productivity, food security and environmental

safety (Tripathi et al., 2006). Thus, developing and adopting an ideal land use plan based on the soil quality and constraints

for plant growth is of immense use for achieving sustainable crop production system without degradation of soil health

and environmental quality. Therefore, characterization, classification and evaluation of soils for different land uses are the

first milestone to develop sustainable and eco-friendly land use system. Systemic study of soil as natural resource provides

information on nature and type of soil, their constraints, potentials, capabilities and their suitability for various uses

(Sehgal, 1996). Keeping the above view in mind, the present investigation was undertaken in the Sarvar village of Dang

district of Gujarat situated at undulating hilly terrain with an objective to characterize soil in respect to physical and

chemical properties and classify soils, and also to find out Suitability for various crops.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Overview of Site

Sarvar village is situated at latitude and longitude of 20o5055 N and 73

o3655 E, respectively at an elevation

of 350 to 458 m above msl. It has total geographical area of 460 ha, of which area under cultivation, forest and pasture are

332, 120.52 and 7.50 ha, respectively. Geologically, the village comes under trappean basalts with litho-units Basalt which

is hard in nature. It has fair climatic conditions with well defined seasons exhibiting summer, rainy and winter.

The average annual rainfall of the village is around 2500 mm. The entire village falls under hyperthermic temperature

regime with an usticmoisture regime. Soils of Sarvar village are hilly undulating highly dissected piedmont plateau and

escarpment slope are shallow with excessive relief. The soils are stony/ gravelly in surface and severely eroded,

non-calcareous with low in water holding capacity and slightly acidic reaction, mixed in clay minerals, well drained and

highly permeable. Major soils have developed with a lithic contact at higher physiographic position except in nearly flat

land and in valleys. The natural vegetation consists of deciduous forests interspersed with scrub forest which includes Teak

(Tectona grandis), Bamboo (Dendrocalamus strictus), and Australian babul (Acacia auriculiformis) and Catch tree/ Khair

(Acacia catechu) etc., while the land use consists of Paddy and minor millets as the major crops followed by Blackgram,

Groundnut, Vari, Tur, Niger, etc.during kharifand Groundnut, Gram and Vegetables are grown during rabiseason.

Field Survey, Sample Collection and Analysis

A field survey was undertaken through rapid traversing to cover up the soils at varying physiographic position and

elevation. Then, depending upon physiographic position, slope, drainage and seven representative pedons were dug out and

pedons soil studied thoroughly (Anon., 1951). Collection of soil samples was done from different horizons and depths from

all pedons as per standard procedure. The samples were air-dried, sieved (


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Soil Resource Characterization, Land Capability and Suitability of Soils 173in Hilly Undulating Terrain - A Case Study


Patiram et al. (2007) and Dewis and Freitas (1984), respectively. Effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC) of clay was

obtained by adding of total exchangeable bases with exchangeable Al3+

ions and was expressed as cmol(p+)kg

-1Sand/ silt

ratio, exchangeable Ca/Mg, ESP and Base Saturation (BS) were computed from relevant data obtained from laboratory

analysis. Soils were classified taxonomically as per USDA classification (Anon., 1998). Land Capability Classification wasdone as per the procedure giving by Klingebiel and Montgomery, (1966). Suitability of soils for growing different crops

currently in practice was evaluated based on the field and laboratory data of soils taking into consideration all plant-growth

related constraints using criteria given by FAO (1976).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Field Survey

Texture of surface soils varied from gravelly loam or gravelly clay loam. Village land was distributed at varying

slope gradient i.e. from 0-1% (nearly flat land) to 25-35% (steep sloping land) of which major land belong to between

moderately sloping land and steep sloping land (Table 1). The depth of soil varied widely i.e. from 90 cm (deep) (Table 2). The erosion of village land varied widely(Table 3). The class of erosion varied from

e1(slight/ sheet erosion) to e4(very severe/ big gully).

Physical Properties

The depth of seven pedon varied from very very shallow to very deep ranging from 7 to 165 cm. Colour of

different horizons of pedon varied widely. However, with increase in physiographic position, soil colour generally changes

from yellow or yellowish to red or reddish (Table 4). Pedons showed slightly hard to very hard consistency under dry

condition, friable to very friable or firm under moist condition, slightly sticky to very sticky and non-plastic under wet

condition. The variation in soil consistency was mainly due to the variation in clay type and content. The higher degree of

stickiness was observed in soils at upper elevation as compared to those at lower elevation under wet condition. All the

pedons showed abundant amount of roots (fine and coarse in size and few and many in quantity) in surface layer which

decreased with depth. Roots generally of had been observed.

The sand, silt and clay content of these soil pedon varied from 22.72 to 68.56, 10.98 to 53.52 and 15.20 to 49.84%

with mean value 44.32, 27.05 and 28.63%, respectively in soil 2 mm) (12.34 to 97.14% with mean of 44.82%), particularly in pedon 1, 2 and 5 which had

shown >35% of gravels. Barring the pedon 1, clay content generally decreased with depth of soil which might be due to the

variability in weathering of different horizons. However, the clay content in pedon 1 and 3 was lower than pedon 2. The

texture of soil (


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Chemical Properties

The pH of soils varied from very strongly acid to neutral (4.83 to 6.60) with mean value 6.02 in pedons. In pedon

1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7, pH ranged from 6.50 to 6.60, 6.15 to 6.40, 5.65 to 6.09, 5.75 to 6.05, 5.94 to 6.04 and 5.60 to 5.80,

respectively, exhibiting neutral to very strongly acid in reaction. In general pH increased (barring pedon 1) with depth of

soil(Table 10). Major surface soils had lower pH values, perhaps due to the acids produced during decomposition of

organic matter and leaching of bases for sloppy landscape as a result of heavy rainfall. The results are supported by

Vadivelu and Bandyopadhyay (1997) and Mahapatra et al. (2000). The increase in soil reaction down the slope could be

due to leaching of bases from higher topography and their subsequent deposition at lower elevations (Gangopadhyay et al

2001, Masri Sitanggang et al. 2006 and Vara Prasad Rao et al. 2008). The electrical conductivity of pedons was very low

which might be due to well to excessively drained condition that triggered off the removal of bases through percolating and

drainage water particularly in soils of higher sloppy lands. EC varied from 0.026 to 0.057 dS m-1

in pedons with mean

value 0.040 dS m-1

(Table 10). The results are strongly supported by the findings of Leelavathi et al. (2009).

The soil organic carbon in pedons varied from very low to high (0.97 to 13.53 g kg-1

) with mean value 3.78 g kg-1

(Table 10) and showing decreasing trend with depth of soil, barring pedon 1. In general, organic carbon content increased

in soils at higher elevation and topography. The higher organic carbon content in surface soils of pedons could be

attributed to leaf-litter fall/ decay, vegetation, plant coupled with heavy rainfall. Results are supported by work done

elsewhere by Vara Prasad Rao et al., (2008), Sharma et al., (2004) and Gangopadhyay et al., (2008).

The value of exchangeable calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium in pedons varied from 4.4 to 12.6, 1.0 to

7.1, 1.6 to 2.5 and 0.6 to 3.9 cmol(p+)kg

-1, with mean values of 7.5, 4.1, 2.1 and 1.6, respectively, while the total bases

varied from 11.5 to 24 cmol(p+)kg

-1with a mean value of 15.2 cmol (p

+)kg

-1(Table 10). A mixed trend was observed for

both the exchangeable calcium and magnesium in pedon 1 with soil depth, while in rest of the pedons, exchangeable

calcium generally decreased with depth with simultaneous increase in exchangeable magnesium which might have derived

from the parent material rich in ferro-magnesium mineral. Among the exchangeable bases, calcium ion dominated over

magnesium ion followed by sodium and potassium ions. Similar result was obtained by Gangopadhyay et al. (2008); Vara

Prasad Rao et al. (2008) and Leelavathi et al. (2009).

The cation exchange capacity of pedons varied from 16.6 to 24 cmol (p+)kg

-1 with a mean value of 19.9

cmol(p+)kg

-1exhibiting decreasing trend with depth of soil, except pedon 1 which showed mixed trend down the pedon

(Table 10). The magnitudes of CEC were indicative of presence of mixed type of clay minerals in the pedons. Variation of

clay type and content, organic matter and presence of free iron oxides were responsible for variation in CEC in different

pedons at varying physiographic positions. The results corroborates with the findings of Mahapatra et al., (2000),

Gangopadhyay et al. (2001), Maji et al. (2005), Raj-Kumar et al.(2005), Gangopadhyay et al. (2008), Vara Prasad Rao et

al. (2008) and Leelavathi et al. (2009).

The exchangeable Ca/Mg ratio of six pedons varied from 0.8 to 12.6 with mean of 2.4, indicating increasing trend

of magnesium ion with depth with simultaneous decrease of calcium ion from surface to down below, expecting pedon 1

and 6. Similar phenomenon was also observed elsewhere by Gangopadhyay et al., (2008).The base saturation of pedons

were >60% and which varied from 67.55 to 84.17% with mean value 76.29%. The possible reason for higher base

saturation might be due to higher amount of Ca2+

and Mg2+

ions occupying the exchange sites on the colloidal complex of

soils in pedons. ESP showed an increasing trend with depth which varied from 8.33 to 13.18 with a mean value 10.50 and


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was within the permissible limit of light textured soils. Similar opinion had been expressed elsewhere by Tripathi et al.

(2006).

The total exchangeable acidity of pedon 1 varied from 0.1 to 1.2 cmol(p+)kg

-1with a mean value 0.4 cmol(p

+)kg

-1.

while the same in pedon 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 varied from 0.2 to 0.3, 0.4 to 0.7, 0.2 to 0.6, 0.9 to 1.2, 0.4 to 0.6 and 0.6 to 0.8

cmol(p+)kg

-1, respectively and declined with increase in pH of soil. Results are supported by Patton et al. (2007) and

Rudramurthy et al. (2007)

Free iron oxides in pedonsexhibited increasing trend with depth of soil, except pedon 1. It varied from 0.41 to

49.6% with mean of o.28 % (Table 10). More free iron oxides were in soils of upper physiographic positions with higher

slope indicated relatively higher degree of drainage and thereby access for producing more non-hydrated iron oxide.

The result is in accordance with the work done elsewhere by Masri Sitanggang et al., (2006). An increasing trend was also

observed by Sarkar et al., (2002).

The CEC of clay varied widely from pedon to pedon (from 14.6 to 49.2 cmol(p +)kg-1 )with a mean value of 28.7

cmol(p+)kg

-1(Table 10). The value of CEC indicated that the clay of all the pedons were of mixed nature. Sen et al. (1994)

reported that the CEC of clay were decreased with increase in depth and related with amount of clay and organic matter

content. The results are supported by Patil and Prasad (2004), wherein they linked degree of weathering with difference of

CEC of soil clay.

Effective cation exchange capacity of clay in pedonsvaried from 11.5 to 20.2 cmol(p+)kg

-1with a mean value

15.3 cmol(p+)kg

-1 (Table 10). ECEC decreased with the depth of soil except pedon 1 and 6 which showed mixed and

increasing trend respectively. The decrease of CEC value with depth was also reported by Sen et al., (1994).

Soil Taxonomic Classification

Based on soil-site and morphological characteristics, temperature class, moisture regime and analytical data

presented in the forgoing sections, the soils have been classified taxonomically. Pedon 1 situated at very gently sloping flat

(


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VIe2s2, VIe2s3, VIe3s3 and in pedon 7 as VIIe2s2, VIIe2s3, VIIe3s3.

Soil Suitability Class for Various Crops

Based on the optimum growth requirement of crop in relation to climate and soil-site parameters i.e. drainage,

flooding, surface stoniness, texture, depth and other soil properties like, organic carbon, CaCO 3, coarse fragments, CEC,

base saturation, pH and EC, soil suitability classifications for different crops were done. Very gently sloping flat (


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APPENDICES

Table 1: Category of Slope and Their Distribution at Cultivated Land of Sarvar Village

*Area covered through traversing: 332 ha

Table 2: Class of Soil Depth (Cm) and Their Distribution at Sarvar Village under Different Category

*Area covered through traversing: 332 ha

Table 3: Class of Soil Erosion and Their Distribution at Sarvar Village under Different Category

Class Description Area (Ha) % of Area Covered*

e1 Slight (sheet) erosion 62.4 15.04

e2 Moderate (rill) erosion 289.3 69.71

e3 Severe (small gully) erosion 59.1 14.24

e4 Very severe (big gully) erosion 4.2 1.01*Area covered through traversing: 415 ha


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Table 4: Physical Properties of Soil

Charactes Pedon No. 1 Pedon No. 2

Location Sarvar Sarvar

Physiographic

position

350 m above msl 372 m above msl

Landform Very gently sloping flat land Very gently sloping land

Slope


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Table 7

Table 8

Charactes Pedon No. 6 Pedon No. 7

Location Sarvar Sarvar

Physiographic position 452 m above msl 458 m above msl

LandformVery gently sloping flat hill topland

Strongly sloping hill capland

Slope 2-3% 19 to 20%

Aspect North-East South-East

Parent material Intertrappean basalt Basalt

Drainage Imperfectly to moderately drained Excessively drained

Land useFinger millet, paddy, groundnut,gram and vegetables

Forest species

Table 9

Values indicated in bold letters are mean values of the respective columns

Roots: fm= fine and many, fc= fine and common, ff= very fine and few, cm= coarse and common, cc=

coarse and common, cf= coarse and few.

Structure:For f orm/ type- sbk= sub-angular blocky, m= massive; for grade/ distinction- 0= structureless,

1= weak, 2= moderate and for size/ class- m= medium, c= coarse.

Consistency:1. Wet- i. Sticky ness- 0= Non-sticky, 1= Slightly sticky, 2= Sticky and 3= Very sticky;

ii. Plasticity- 0= Non-plastic, 1= Slightly plastic, 2= Plastic and 3= Very plastic;

2. Moist- 0= Loose, 1= Very friable, 2= Friable, 3= Firm, 4= Very firm and 5= Extremely

firm, and

3. Dry- 0= Loose, 1= Soft, 2= Slightly hard, 3= Hard, 4= Very hard


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Table 10: Chemical Properties of Soil

Values indicated in bold letters are mean values of the respective columns

Table 11: Land Capability Classification of the Soils of Sarvar Village

*Textural class as based on soil


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Table 12: Chemical Properties of Soil


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Soil Resource Characterization, Land Capability and Suitability of Soils In Hilly Undulating Terrain - A Case Study