Soil resource mapping in Northern Deccan Plateau, Satpura range granite/gneiss landform, was carried out by studying about 600 grids and 40 strips (grids at 10 x 10 km and detailed study of each strip-50 sq.km area). The landform sequences in the region are hills and hill ranges, pediment, escarpment with pediment, sloping bed with isolated hillocks (slightly/moderately/highly dissected), undulating valley, undulating plateau, and undulating plateau with narrow valleys. The slope gradients range from B-C to C-D classes. Erosion intensities are severe to very severe. The area is well to somewhat excessively drained. The ground water table ranges between 7 and 10 m, and at places is more than 10 m deep. The sand, silt and clay content vary from 13 to 67, 7 to 33 and 19 to 62 per cent, respectively; organic carbon 0.17 to 1.6 per cent; pH 4.7 to 7.8; AWC 3 to 17 per cent; sum of exchangeable cations 6.4 to 39.5 cmol(p+) kg−1; CEC 8 to 47 cmol(p+) kg−1 and base saturation 68 to 97 per cent. The soils have been classified as Lithic/Typic Ustorthents in hilly terrain; TypicNertic Ustochrepts in sloping beds and Typic Haplusterts in valleys. All these variations have resulted due to landform setting, elevation differences and slope gradient which influence the soil development processes. The hilly terrain (higher elevation) has young soils (Ustorthents), sloping beds (intermediate elevation) have slightly developed soils (Ustochrepts) and (lower elevation) undulating plateau with narrow valleys have well developed soils (Haplusterts). These landscapes are mostly under dry deciduous mixed forest (higher elevation), kharif crops (paddy, millets) (intermediate elevation) and wheat, gram, linseed at lower elevations. The landform soil properties and stages of soil development have been observed to be related.
Landform sequence, land use, soil taxonomy
