Soils of India

In India, there are seven soil deposits. Alluvial soil, black soil, red soil, laterite soil, or desert soil, forest and mountainous soil, and marsh soil are some of the types. These soils are made up of sediments carried down by rivers. They have a variety of chemical features as well. The mangrove wetlands of the Sundarbans are rich in Marsh soil.

Alluvial Soils

Rivers deposit incredibly fine soil particles in several places of India. The Northern Plains of India have a lot of this sort of soil. Alluvial soils are high in humus because they are deposited by three major Himalayan rivers: the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra. They can be found throughout India’s eastern coastal plains, mainly in the Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, and Kaveri river deltas. These are often high in phosphoric acid, lime, and potassium, and are noted for their water-holding capacity, making them suitable for producing sugarcane, rice, wheat, and other cereal crops.

Mountain Soils

Mountain soils can be found in the Himalayan valleys and hill slopes between 2500 and 3000 metres. These soils have received the least attention, and the vegetation cover often aids in their classification. The ratio of carbon to nitrogen is extremely high. The texture is silty loam to loam, and the colour is dark brown.

Desert Soils

These soils are found in the Thar desert in the Indian state of Rajasthan and Gujarat. This soil is formed from arid conditions with practically negligible rainfall. This type of soil is highly pervious and has a low density. It requires densification to increase its bearing capacity and shearing strength. Commonly recognised plants that grow in these soils are cacti.

Black Soils

The colour of this soil is black. Regur soils are another name for these types of soils. Deccan Plateau is located towards the northwest.  The soil is known as black cotton soil because it is good for cultivating cottons. Climate conditions, as well as the parent rock composition, are thought to be crucial variables in the production of black soil. The Deccan trap region, which stretches across the Northwest Deccan plateau, is known for its lava flows. They reach south-east along the Godavari and Krishna basins, covering the plateaus of Maharashtra, Saurashtra, Malwa, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh. Montmorillonite is an important clay mineral found in certain soils. These soils cover a massive 300,000 square kilometre region. 

The following are the engineering properties of such soils:

• Compressibility is high.

• Bearing capacity is limited.

• Shearing strength is low.

• Clayey materials are used to make them. They’re noted for their ability to retain moisture. Calcium carbonate, magnesium, potash, and lime are abundant. During the summer, they crack. This is quite beneficial for aerating black soil.

Red Soils

Red soil forms in a warm, moderate, moist climate under deciduous or mixed forest, with thin organic and organic-mineral layers atop a yellowish-brown leached layer resting on an illuvium red layer. The majority of red soils come from crystalline rock. They are typically poor growing soils that are deficient in nutrients and humus, as well as being difficult to cultivate due to their limited water holding capacity.

Laterite Soils

Chemical breakdown of rocks produces laterite soils. Iron oxide is the major component of soils, which gives them their typical pink or red colour. Central, Eastern, and Southern India have these soils. These are basalt-based residual soils with a high specific gravity. Calcite depositions make up the majority of these soils. They are more suited to cashew nut crops.

Marine Deposits

These soils can be found in a narrow region near India’s south-west coast. Low shear strength and high compressibility characterise these soils. The marine clays are flexible and soft. They are not suited for the construction of megastructures such as buildings and cranes because they contain a lot of biological stuff.

Conclusion

In India, there are a total of seven different soil deposits. They are referred to as alluvial soil, black soil, red soil, laterite soil, or desert soil, and forest and mountainous soil, as well as marsh soil. The sediments carried by the rivers are responsible for the formation of these soils. In addition, they exhibit a wide range of chemical characteristics.