This article is part of our free online study materials in the Geography section. Like the previous articles in the History section, this post – about the classification of soils in India – highlights only the main points in an exam point of view.
From the UPSC exam perspective aspirants should be aware of nature, colour, nutrients present/absent in each soil type. Recommended reference materials for the topic are NCERT books for Geography.
Now let’s dig deep into the current topic.
Definition of Soil
Soil can be simply defined as a mixture of small rock particles/debris and organic materials/ humus which develop on the earth surface and support growth of plants.
Soil Classification – Urvara vs Usara
- In India, soil had been classified from the ancient period itself even though it was not as detail as the modern classifications.
- In the ancient period, the classification was based on only two things; whether the soil is fertile or sterile. Thus the classification were:
- Urvara [fertile]
- Usara [sterile]
Soil Classification – Agencies involved
- In the modern period, when men started to know about the various characteristics of soil they began to classify soil on the basis of texture, colour, moisture etc.
- When the Soil survey of India was established in 1956, they studied soils of India and their characteristics.
- The National Bureau of Soil Survey and the Land Use Planning, an institute under the control of Indian Council of Agriculture Research did a lot of studies on Indian soil.
Major classification of Indian soils
- Alluvial soil [43%]
- Red soil [18.5%]
- Black / regur soil [15%]
- Arid / desert soil
- Laterite soil
- Saline soil
- Peaty / marshy soil
- Forest soil
- Sub-mountain soil
- Snowfields
Alluvial soil:
- Mostly available soil in India (about 43%) which covers an area of 143 sq.km.
- Widespread in northern plains and river valleys.
- In peninsular-India, they are mostly found in deltas and estuaries.
- Humus, lime and organic matters are present.
- Highly fertile.
- Indus-Ganga-Brahmaputhra plain, Narmada-Tapi plain etc are examples.
- They are depositional soil – transported and deposited by rivers, streams etc.
- Sand content decreases from west to east of the country.
- New alluvium is termed as Khadar and old alluvium is termed as Bhangar.
- Colour: Light Grey to Ash Grey.
- Texture: Sandy to silty loam or clay.
- Rich in: potash
- Poor in: phosphorous.
- Wheat, rice, maize, sugarcane, pulses, oilseed etc are cultivated mainly.
Red soil:
- Seen mainly in low rainfall area.
- Also known as Omnibus group.
- Porous, friable structure.
- Absence of lime, kankar (impure calcium carbonate).
- Deficient in: lime, phosphate, manganese, nitrogen, humus and potash.
- Colour: Red because of Ferric oxide. The lower layer is reddish yellow or yellow.
- Texture: Sandy to clay and loamy.
- Wheat, cotton, pulses, tobacco, oilseeds, potato etc are cultivated.
Black soil / regur soil:
- Regur means cotton – best soil for cotton cultivation.
- Most of the Deccan is occupied by Black soil.
- Mature soil.
- High water retaining capacity.
- Swells and will become sticky when wet and shrink when dried.
- Self-ploughing is a characteristic of the black soil as it develops wide cracks when dried.
- Rich in: Iron, lime, calcium, potassium, aluminum and magnesium.
- Deficient in: Nitrogen, Phosphorous and organic matter.
- Colour: Deep black to light black.
- Texture: Clayey.
Laterite soil:
- Name from Latin word ‘Later’ which means Brick.
- Become so soft when wet and so hard when dried.
- In the areas of high temperature and high rainfall.
- Formed as a result of high leaching.
- Lime and silica will be leached away from the soil.
- Organic matters of the soil will be removed fast by the bacteria as it is high temperature and humus will be taken quickly by the trees and other plants. Thus, humus content is low.
- Rich in: Iron and Aluminum
- Deficient in: Nitrogen, Potash, Potassium, Lime, Humus
- Colour: Red colour due to iron oxide.
- Rice, Ragi, Sugarcane and Cashew nuts are cultivated mainly.
Desert / arid soil:
- Seen under Arid and Semi-Arid conditions.
- Deposited mainly by wind activities.
- High salt content.
- Lack of moisture and Humus.
- Kankar or Impure Calcium carbonate content is high which restricts the infiltration of water.
- Nitrogen is insufficient and Phosphate is normal.
- Texture: Sandy
- Colour: Red to Brown.
Peaty / marshy soil:
- Areas of heavy rainfall and high humidity.
- Growth of vegetation is very less.
- A large quantity of dead organic matter/humus which makes the soil alkaline.
- Heavy soil with black colour.
Forest soil:
- Regions of high rainfall.
- Humus content is less and thus the soil is acidic.
Mountain soil:
- In the mountain regions of the country.
- Immature soil with low humus and acidic.
PS: Also refer the article ‘Different soil types in India: Understand the differences‘ for a comparative study. Data are given in a table format there.
Compiled by: Jijo Sudarsan
mountaineous soil should have high humus ci=ontent because the leaf of the trees having chelation property helps soil gain organic material.
forest soil are rich in carbonic matter not in humus
Forest soils are rich in humus
@Shashank and @Ravi: The forest soils vary in structure and texture depending on the mountain environment where they are formed. In the snow-bound areas of the Himalayas, they experience denudation and are acidic with low humus content. The soils found in the lower valleys are fertile. (Reference NCERT – India Physical Environment Page 72). In general in forest soil, as the trees have different root system unlike grasslands, the chance of that to decay and get added as humus in the soil is less.
Thank u for ur brief explaination..
Your article library has given
That forest soil is rich in humus. Actually the ratio of humus depends on its location
Rich in both humus and carbonic matter
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it is not clean but it is ok !!!!!!!!!!
Upsc syllabus in world soils
Hello
Plz provide the types of soil in states of India,, e. g. Transported soil is at rajasthan
Plz, Classification and type of west bengal soil.
kindly verify the extent of Alluvial soils
Black soil and alluvial if combined form a complete soil …which will yield any type of crop
what are the characteristics of red soils.
please give the info in brief points.
alluvial soil covers an area of 143 sq km ???!?!?!!! that is too less.
NO YOUR WRONG ! ALLUVIAL SOIL COVERS 43% OF INDIA
WHICH IS SO HI
Alluvial soil covers 45.6% of total land area of indua
It is really nice for each participants thanks to clear ias
Hi
please give percentage of different type of soil
Thanks for the details
write the features of White soil also please.
Very helpful …. Good work….
Pics don’t make me confuse now ..
Admin way dey ol r syng ..d matter is correct or wrong
How do soil properties change ?
Do these changes takes place each year. How it effect on food production and food security?
Thanks for description. Munsell Soil Color Chart is useful for purpose.
Alluvial soil is rich in phosphorus and poor in nitrogen content and humus..but here given as poor in phosphorus pls clarify my ambiguity
okay but alluvial sil cover is tooooooo less in kilometer
Which soil order highest in india
In which state of india there is maximum area of acidic soil and what is the reason behind it.
Which soil is the most important in India from the agriculture point of view?
It is very useful.It enhances the knowledge.It may bring good results in the field of farming & gardening.
Dear delegates
I need standard physico-chemical parameters of soil for INDIA
Hoping to be replied soon
Thanks
Nice explanation. Thanks
Forward soil textures will ne according to the mountain environmental the place they are formed.
In this lesson, you mentioned that Laterite soils are deficient in “Potash”, but in continuation to this lesson i.e., “Different soil types in India: Understand the differences using an Easy-to-Learn Table”, you had written Laterite soils are rich in “Iron oxide and Potash” which is totally contradicting. Kindly check.
Please correct “Alluvial soil covers more than 15 lakh sq km” instead of 143 sq km.
What is the CBR strength of the soil in Bundelkhand region.?
Exactly how many types of Soil in India?
Peaty Soil, According to NCERT it says there is good vegetation.
You have mentioned low vegetation.
Alluvial soil has lack of humus pls update it