1) Mining sites – deeps scars; traces of over 5) Clayey material; Calcium Carbonate, Magnesium, Potash and

burdening; Lime. Poor – Phosphoric content.

2) Deforestation – due to mining; Jharkhand,
Chhattisgarh, MP, Odisha
3) Overgrazing – Maharashtra, Gujrat,
Rajasthan, MP
4) Over-irrigation – soil becomes saline and
alkaline; Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar
Pradesh
5) Mineral processing – grinding limestone for
cement, calcite and soapstone for ceramic,
dust. Slows process of water absorption
6) Industrial effluents – Pollution
Prevention –
1) Afforestation; Management of Grazing
2) Shelter belts; thorny bushes to stabilize sand
dunes;
3) Management of Waste lands
4) Control of mining
5) Proper discharge and disposal of waste after treatment.
Soil as a Resource –
1) Supports life.
2) Millions of years; few cm of soil
3) Factors – Relief, parent rock or bed rock, climate, vegetation,
forms of life, chemical/ organic changes.
4) Change in temperature, actions of running water, wind and
glaciers, decomposers help in forming soil.
5) Contains – Humus and inorganic material.
6) Classified on basis of – colour, thickness, texture, age, 2) Red to brown colour
chemical and physical properties.
Learn soil profile from the book
Alluvial Soil –
6) Rich nutrients; hold loads of moisture; cracks during hot
weather (aeration); sticky (if wet), must be tiled after first
shower or pre-monsoon season.
Red and Yellow Soils –
1) On crystalline igneous rocks; low rainfall;
2) Eastern and Western Deccan plateau; Odisha, Chhattisgarh,
southern parts of middle Ganga plain, piedmont zone of
Western Ghats.
3) Red – diffusion of iron in crystalline and metamorphic rocks;
Yellow – Hydrated
Laterite Soil –
1) Latin “later” = brick;
2) Tropical and sub-tropical climate; alternate wet and dry
season; intense leaching;
3) Very deep, acidic, less plant nutrients;
4) Southern states, Maharashtra, Odisha, West Bengal, North-
east regions.
5) Forests – Humus rich; Semi-arid environment – Humus poor;
Erosion; Degradation common;
6) Hills of Karnataka, Kerela, Tamil Nadu, -tea and coffee (after
conversation)
7) Red Laterite – Tamil nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerela –
Cashew
Arid Soils –
1) Sandy, Saline; High salt content; Salt obtained (evaporation)
3) Evaporation – faster; Humus and moisture – Poor.
4) Lower horizons – Kankar (due to Calcium)
5) Kankar layer restricts infiltration of water
6) Irrigate – Cultivate – Western Rajasthan

1) Northern Plains; Rajasthan and Gujrat; Deltas of Mahanadi,

Forest Soil –
Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri.
1) Hills/ Mountains – In Forests
2) Silt, sand and clay; Towards inland, larger soil particles; Near
2) Environment is factor of their formation.
break of slope, coarse;
3) Loamy, Silty – Valley sides; Coarse – Upper slopes; Acidic,
3) Depositors: Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra
low humus, high denudation – snow areas of Himalayas.
4) Types: Duars, Chos and Terai in piedmont plains
4) Lower soil, river terraces, alluvial fans – fertile.
5) Bangar – old; more concentration of kanker nodules; less
fertile; Khadar – new; less kanker; fine; more fertile. Soil Erosion –
6) Potash, phosphoric acid and lime.
7) Paddy, wheat, cereal and pulse crops. 1) The denudation of soil cover and subsequent washing down
8) Dense population; Fertile; drier – alkaline (irrigate) is described as soil erosion.
2) Balance b/w erosion & formation; disturbed – human
Black Soil – activities (same activities as those in causes of degradation)
3) Natural forces such as wind, glaciers, water, etc – soil
1) Black; Regur soil; black cotton soil;
erosion
2) Cotton
4) Gullies – running water cuts throught the clayey soil and
3) Climate, parent rock material are factors for its formation;
makes deep channels.
lava flows
5) Unfit for cultivation – Badlands. Chambal basin – Ravines
4) Deccan Trap; North Deccan plateau; plateaus of
6) Water flows as sheet down a slope and top soil is washed
Maharashtra, Saurashtra, Malwa, Madhya Pradesh,
away – Sheet Erosion.
Chhattisgarh, Godavari and Krishna valleys.
 7) Wind blows loose soil off flat or sloping land and is known as
wind erosion.
8) Defective methods of farming – ploughing up and down
(channels)

Soil Conservation –

1) Contour ploughing
2) Terrace cultivation (steps); Western and Central Himalayas.
3) Strip cropping – strips of grass in fields; breaks wind force
4) Shelter belts (trees); stabilised sand dunes; In desert and
Western India; breaks wind force.

State of Indian Environment –

1) Sukhomajri village and district of Jhabua reversed land

degradation. Tree density – 13 – 1272 trees per hectare
(1976 – 1992)
2) Economic well-being, More resources, Improved agriculture,
Animal care, Increased incomes.
3) People’s management – essential for ecological restoration.
People – decision makers – MP govt. – 2.9 million hectares
greened thought watershed management.