Presentation on soil of south asia

Presentation On_
Soil of South Asia
Submitted To_ Submitted By_
Shahana Akter Presentation Group ‘06’
Course Teacher of “Geography of South Asia” ID_ B-110602041, ’42, ’43, ’44, ‘47
Dept. of Geography and Environment Dept. of Geography and Environment
Jagannath University, Dhaka. Jagannath University, Dhaka.

What is Soil?
 Soil is the product of weathering of rocks.
 It is the thin layer of organic and inorganic materials that covers the Earth’s rocky
surface.
 Alternatively, it is the natural medium for growth of land plants, the accumulation of
unconsolidated ROCKS AND MINERALS fragments and organic matter formed in
place at the earth's surface; capable of supporting life.

Major Soil Components..
 Soils have four major components:
1. Mineral matter, 2. Organic matter
3. Air and 4. Water
Mineral matter contains three fractions, sand, silt
and clay.
Organic matter contains appreciable quantities of
Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Sulfur.
Air and Water occupy the pore spaces in soils.

Major Soil Types of South Asia…
 The processes of soil formation is continuous and very complicated and it has
been continuous since the earth was been made in this universe. Where soil
formation process include_ Additions, Losses, Transformations,
Translocations.
 Broadly speaking, four main types of soils are found in South Asia.
1. Deeply Colored soils and mountain soils
2. Yellow and Red soils.
3. Brown soils
4. Desert soils

1. Deeply Coloured soils and mountain soils
 The highest peaks and slanting steep slope of the northern mountain ranges of South Asia
forms 15% of the total area and are covered with these deeply coloured soils and
mountain soils.
 The deep colour of the soil is due to the lack of organic matter and the presence of salts.
 It is also quite porous and has little lime stone in it. The layers of this soil are quite thin
on the slopes of the mountain and are found in areas where rains are frequent.
 Mountains soils are mostly found in the Himalayan regions, Sikkim, Assam, Arunachal
Pradesh and Kashmir and also in the Peninsula, Eastern Ghats and the summits of
Sahyadris.
 From the agricultural point of view, this soil is quite useful though the thinness of this
layer make it less fertile.

Deeply Coloured soils and mountain soils

2. Yellow and Red soils.
 The oxides of iron give these soils the characteristics yellow or red colour,
but they lack others salts, while clay is found in excess.
 These soils are usually found in valleys, plains and the depression of
plateaus. Such soils also found all over peninsular India and Eastern
mountain ranges.
 These soil has a mixture of sand, clay and lime stone.
 During cultivation in this soil, a deficiency of Nitrogen, Phosphorous and
potassium is found which could be overcome by the use of different
fertilizers.

3. Brown Soils
 These soils are usually mixed up with sand, stones and clay and are
found in sedimentary rocks at very high altitude.
 These are have hot and humid climates and are covered with
deciduous forests.
 Though quite gravelly, these soils are fertile and have a brown
colour.

4. Desert soils
 In all coastal areas, different areas of the plateaus and the river valleys of
South Asian region, where there is a deficiency of rain, evaporation is great
due to high temperature, they are all covered by the desert soils.
 Desert soils are mixture of clay, loess and some salts and usually quite
porous.
 All the banks of the rivers whether in mountainous areas of the plains, are
covered by these soils. Though these soils are not always very fertile but
these desert soils area can be taken under cultivation with the help of
irrigation water.
 There are some places on the coast (such Rann of Kutch) which could not
be brought under cultivation because of excessive amount of salts in the soil
( desert soil).

Four Major soil regions of South Asia

Soil Types of Bangladesh…
 The major part of Bangladesh is on the DELTA formed by the three major
rivers BRAHMAPUTRA, GANGES and MEGHNA.
 The system drains a basin of some 1.76 million sq km and carry not only
snowmelt water from the HIMALAYAS but also RUNOFF WATER from
some of the highest RAINFALL areas of the world.
 These huge sediments are the major sources of formation of 80% SOILS of
the country. The remaining 20% of soils have been formed in Tertiary and
Quaternary sediments of hills (12%) and in uplifted PLEISTOCENE
TERRACE (8%).

Floodplain: Active floodplains occupy land
within and adjacent to the main rivers
where shifting channels deposit and erode
new sediments during the
annual FLOODS.
Pleistocene Terrace: Unlike other
floodplain terraces, the MADHUPUR
CLAY was uplifted and formed a terrace
above SEA LEVEL probably before the
Late Pleistocene.
Hill Soil : forming processes are active on
the hills for a significant period. Due to
erosion on steep slopes of high hills, the
weathered material on the hills is
constantly removed and thus keeps the
soils young on the high hills.

SOIL OF
PAKISTAN North Eastern Mountain Soil: Dark yellowish, fertile,
natural grass and forests, chitral, sawat, gilgit.
North western Mountain Soil: Dry, less rain, red in
color, not fertile, iron lime silica are found.
Upper Indus Plain Soil: Dry soil aslo called padocals,
CaCO3 found, fertile, came from mountains by water,
eg. Soil of Punjab.
Thar Soil: Brownish color, sand is found, lime, iron,
potassium, phosphate is found, lake of water spoils it.
Lower Indus Soil: Favourable for rice, cotton, suger,
cane and wheat, eg. Soil of Sindh
Baluchistan Platue Soil: also called loesses soil as it
comes from south west platue by wind, fertile of water
is provided.

Soil of India
Alluvial soil: Mostly available soil in India (about 43%) which covers an
area of 143 sq.km, highly fertile, Indus-Ganga-Brahmaputhra plain,
Narmada-Tapi plain etc are examples, Light Grey to Ash Grey in colour.
Red soil [18.5%]: Seen mainly in low rainfall area. porous, friable
structure, absence of lime, kankar (impure calcium carbonate). Wheat,
cotton, pulses, tobacco, oilseeds, potato etc are cultivated.
Black / regur soil [15%]: Regur means cotton – best soil for cotton
cultivation. Most of the Deccan is occupied by Black soil. Mature soil.
High water retaining capacity.
Laterite soil: Become so soft when wet and so hard when dried. Found in
the areas of high temperature and high rainfall. Rice, Ragi, Sugarcane and
Cashew nuts are cultivated mainly.
Desert / arid soil: Deposited mainly by wind activities. High salt content.
Peaty / marshy soil: Areas of heavy rainfall and high humidity. Growth of
vegetation is very less.
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.

References
 Abbasi, Bushra Afzal, 1991: Geography of South Asia, Sang-Meel Publication, Lahore.
 http://www.slideshare.net/biotechvictor1950/global-contamination-of-soil
 http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Soil
 https://www2.indstate.edu/graduate/Jay_Gatrell/docs/world_region/sasia.pdf
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Asia
 http://www.pecad.fas.usda.gov/cropexplorer/imageview.aspx?
regionid=sasia&startdate=10%2F1%2F2012&enddate=4%2F30%2F2013&season=201
2+Rabi+Crop+(Oct+-+Apr)&ftypeid=35&fattributeid=1&stypeid=35&sattributeid=7
 http://www.clearias.com/soils-of-india-classification-characteristics/
 http://www.slideshare.net/SardarDawoodFaheemAbbasi/geography-of-pakistan-
47577668

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