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Unit - III
Procurement of Relevant Soil Quality

Introduction
Almost every project produces changes in the surroundings of the land which may be direct
or indirect (secondary) impacts.
Soil and Ground water
Physical disturbances like
-Addition or removal of soil/water
-Compaction of soil
- Change in use of land or ground cover
- Changes in water hydrology
- Change in climate(temperature, rainfall, wind)
- Alter the integrity of soils and ground.
Institutional Measures:
Land use restrictions, soil quality standards, soil reclamation requirements and ground
water quantity, quality standards, regulations or policies are examples of institutional
measures. The primary sources of information needed will be provided by Govt. State govt.
and local agencies.
Impact Prediction:
The prediction of impacts of a project on soil can be approached from 3 properties.
a) Qualitative Approach
b) Simple Approach or Simple Quantitative
c) Specific Quantitative
Qualitative Approach-Soil Impacts;
Qualitative approach for soil impact prediction and mitigation planning is related to
pipeline construction.
There are 4 potential impacts on pipeline constructions on drainage and soil.
1) Contamination of top soil with excavated sub soil.
2) Soil compaction,
3) Soil erosion and
4) Disruption of drainage lines or natural drainage patterns.
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In most of the soils, the top several inches are relatively high in organic matter, nutrients
and soil biota.
-This top soil provides a more fertile growing medicine than the relatively inorganic and
nutrient poor sub soil.
-pipeline construction can result in the mixing of sub soil with top soil in several ways
through the excavation and back filling of the pipe lines.
Changes in Soil Structure:
Changes in soil structure caused by agricultural practices, ground conditions, surface water.
-the effects of these changes can manifest on soil microorganisms, plants and animals, crops,
livestock, ground water, surface water hydrology, quality, visual landscape and amenity, the
integrity of the building sand other civil engineering works.
-erosion resulting from changes in ground cover , management practices, rainfall and run off
wind exposure can be predicted by the universal soil loss equation.
Soil Profile:
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Soil Profile:

Factors of Soil Formation;

• The nature of the parent rock

• Climatic factors
• Topography
• Role of organic material
• Time taken for the composition of soil formation
The Soil Profile
Soil horizons
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Types of soils: There is various types of soils are present in India, the important types are

Alluvial Soil:

-Most fertile soil.

-It is formed by deposition of sediments by rivers.
-Alluvial soil is suitable for cultivating food crops.
Example :- Indo Gangetic Plains.

Black Soil:
-Also known as regur or cotton soil.
-Formed by the weathering of volcanic rocks.
-It is suitable for growing cotton and sugarcane.
-The Deccan Plateau of India is rich in black soil.

Red Soil:

-Formed by by the weathering of old igneous and metamorphic rocks. It contains iron.
-This soil can be made fertile by adding manure and fertilizer.
-It is suitable for growing maize, millets etc.
-The Peninsular Region of India are rich in red soil.

Laterite Soil:

-Formed by leaching in areas of heavy rainfall. This soil can be made fertile by adding
manure and fertilizer.
-It is suitable for growing millet, jute, fodder crops.
-In India, we can find Laterite soil in Orissa, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Kerala and Madhya
Pradesh.

Desert Soil:
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-Desert Soil is found in arid region.

-It is quite sandy and low humus content.
-This type of soil can be made cultivable through irrigation.
-In India, Western Rajasthan and parts of Gujarath.

Forest Soil:

-Found in regions that have dense vegetation.

-This type of soil is rich in humus.
-In India, the Forestof Bihar, Uttarakhand and Evergreen forest in the Western Ghats.

Degradation of Soil and Conservation Measures

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Soil erosion and depletion are the major threats to the soil as a resource. Both human
and natural factors can lead to degradation of soils.

Factors, which lead to soil degradation are:

• Deforestation
• Overgrazing
• Overuse of chemical fertilizers or pesticides
• Rain wash
• Landslides and floods

Meanwhile, some methods of soil conservation are given below:

Mulching: The bare ground between plants is covered with a layer of organic matter like
straw and it helps to retain soil moisture.
Contour barriers: Stones, grass, soil are used to
‘. build barriers along contours. Trenches are made in front of the barriers to collect water.

Rock dam: Rocks are piled up to slow down the flow of water and also help to prevent
gullies and further soil loss.

Terrace farming: Broad flat steps or terraces are made on the steep slopes so that flat
surfaces are available to grow crops, thus reducing surface runoff and soil erosion.

Intercropping: Different crops are grown in alternate rows and are sown at different times to
protect the soil from rain wash.

Contour ploughing: Ploughing parallel to the contours of a hill slope to form a natural
barrier for water to flow down the Slope.

Shelterbelts: In the coastal and dry regions, rows of trees are planted to check the wind
movement to protect soil cover.

Composition of Soil:

a) Organic matter
b) Inorganic matter
c) Air
d) Water

a) Organic Matter:

-Soil consists of 45% organic matter.

-This organic matter present in the soil is in the form of sugar, latex etc.
-Due to the presence of all components in the soil, it gets the black colour.
-This black coloured soil is called humus.

b) Inorganic Matter:

-soil consists of 5% of inorganic matter.

This inorganic matter is called nutrients.
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There are 2 types of nutrients present in soil.

1) Micro Nutrients 2) Macro Nutrients

Macro Nutrients: plant requires N, P,K in large quantities, these nutrients are called macro
or chief elements.

Micro Nutrients: Plant requires less quantities of Ca,Mg,Zn.Fe,Mn and these are called
micro or normal or ordinary elements.

Both organic and inorganic matter is present in top and middle soil.

c) Air:

Soil consists of 25% of air which is distributed in top, middle and bottom soils.

d) Water:

Soil consists of 25% of water, out of which 2% is distributed in top, middle and bottom soils.

Effects on Soil Quality:

In order to determine the effects on soil quality of contaminants, it is necessary to

establish the chemical compositions, quality and amount of substrate in the various soil
states, absorption and adsorption onto soil particles, uptake of plants, support through the soil
and the chemical and biological conversion of substances.

Assessment of Impact Significance:

Several approaches can serve as a basis for interpreting the anticipated project
induced changes to the soil and ground water environments.

Approach 1
Is to consider the % and direction of change from existing conditions for a particular soil or
ground water environmental factor.

Approach 2
This approach is to apply the provisions pertinent to the soil and ground water environment to
be expected with project conditions.

Approach 3
Relies on professional judgement and knowledge.
-The anticipated changes could be interpreted in relation to existing information on natural
changes, next, expected impacts could be placed in a historical context.
A professional judgement based interpretation of anticipated changes may consist of applying
rules of the thumb.

Environmental Analysis
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After the above factors are considered, the resulting conclusion may not be absolute.
The environmental analysis should yield the best possible prediction of environmental effects
based on available information.

The conclusions of analysis of potential induced development may be that the proposed
project will
- Definitely cause and promote increased density of land use.
- Not cause any increase in development over what would occur in the future without
the project.

Other Secondary Effects;

Secondary impacts can occur, however due to change in land use plans.

Many of these secondary impacts are not limited to socio economic effects, but can
equally effect natural resources, such as water quantity or wild life habitat.

Increased covering of the earth with impervious surface such as parking lots, large
buildings can increase the rate and pollutant loading of surface water run off.

Secondary effects of such use can be increased. Contamination of both surface water
and ground water resources.

A secondary effect may then be the need to construct additional water treatment
plants with associated secondary effects of the use of limited public funds.

Identification and incorporation of mitigation measures:

Mitigation measures to prevent soil erosion during and after execution of

developmental project.
- Use of effective and efficient technique to decrease soil erosion either during the
construction or operational phase of the project.
Examples of such techniques include minimisation of the exposed time during the
construction phase by planting rapidly growing vegetation and the use of sediment –
catchment basins.

1) Additionally various types of grasses and vegetation have relatively greater potential

for minimising soil erosion.

2) Possible gentle gradients should be treated and steep slopes avoided.

3) Suitable drainage systems to direct water ways from slopes should be installed.

4) Creating large open expanses of bare soil should be avoided. These are more

susceptible to wind erosion. If such large areas are created then wind breaks may be a

useful mitigation procedure.

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5) If the development is near to a water body siltation, traps may need to be installed to

trap sediment and prevent aby damage to the fresh water eco system.

6) Driving over the soil should be avoided.

7) Rotation of land use practices in the project area can be adapted to permit natural

recovery without continuing the stress related to any land use practice.

The project can be designed to exhibit greater earthquake resistance if this is a potential

concern to the project area.