Land Capability Classification and Land Use Planning of the Lands along the Flanks of Soan River – A Case Study

: Soan river is the major river of Una district of Himachal Pradesh which is fed by number of ephemeral streams. Soan river keeps changing its course and swelling during rainy season playing flood havoc and engulfs hundreds of hectares of agriculture land every year. A study was undertaken to establish the capability classes and suggest the land use planning of land along the flanks of the river. The soils of Soan river embankments are characterized by limited profile development and have developed on sandstone and thus are coarse textured with shallow to moderate depth. The soils are classified as Typic Ustipsamments and Typic Ustifluvents. The soils is the limiting factor of this region, hence fall under class IIIs as per land capability classification. Such lands could be brought under suitable cereals, horticultural and vegetable crops, agro-forestry plantation and fish farming.