GENESIS AND QUALITY OF BLACK AND

ASSOCIATED RED SOILS UNDER TEAK AND

SANDALWOOD IN SEONI DISTRICT OF
MADHYA PRADESH

THESIS

Submitted to
Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
For the Degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
IN
AGRICULTURE
(SOIL SCIENCE AND AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY)
(Land Resource Management)

By
CHOUDHARI PUSHPAJEET LOKPAL

DEPARTMENT OF SOIL SCIENCE AND

AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY
POST GRADUATE INSTITUTE, AKOLA
AND
ICAR - NATIONAL BUREAU OF SOIL SURVEY AND
LAND USE PLANNING, NAGPUR

DR. PANJABRAO DESHMUKH KRISHI VIDYAPEETH,

KRISHINAGAR PO, AKOLA (MS) 444 104

Enrolment Number – HH/1649 2017

 DECLARATION OF STUDENT

I hereby declare that the experimental work and its interpretation of the
thesis entitled “GENESIS AND QUALITY OF BLACK AND ASSOCIATED
RED SOILS UNDER TEAK AND SANDALWOOD IN SEONI DISTRICT OF
MADHYA PRADESH” or part thereof has neither been submitted for any
other degree or diploma of any University, nor the data have been derived
from any thesis / publication of any University or Scientific Organization. The
source of materials used and all assistance received during the course of
investigation have been duly acknowledged.

Place : Akola (Choudhari Pushpajeet Lokpal)

Date : 30 /05 / 2017 Enrolment No. HH/1649

i
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the thesis entitled “GENESIS AND QUALITY OF

BLACK AND ASSOCIATED RED SOILS UNDER TEAK AND
SANDALWOOD IN SEONI DISTRICT OF MADHYA PRADESH” submitted
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of “Doctor of
Philosophy in Agriculture (Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry -
Land Resource Management)” of the Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi
Vidyapeeth, Akola is a record of bonafide research work carried out by
Choudhari Pushpajeet Lokpal under my guidance and supervision.
The subject of the thesis has been approved by the Student’s Advisory
Committee.

(Dr. Jagdish Prasad)

Place : Nagpur Chairman, Advisory Committee Principal Scientist,
Date : Division of Soil Resource Studies,
NBSS and LUP, Nagpur

Countersigned

Associate Dean
Post Graduate Institute
Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola

THESIS APPROVED BY THE STUDENT’S ADVISORY COMMITTEE

INCLUDING EXTERNAL EXAMINER (AFTER VIVA-VOCE)

1. Chairman Dr. Jagdish Prasad _______________________

2. Member Dr. S. K. Ray _______________________

3. Member Dr. P. Chandran _______________________

4. Member Dr. T. Bhattacharyya _______________________

5. Member Dr. Pramod Tiwary _______________________

6. External Member/Examiner: ----------------------------------------

ii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I wish to express my deepest sense of gratitude and indebtedness to

Dr. Jagdish Prasad, Principal Scientist, Division of Soil Resource Studies,
National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (ICAR-NBSS & LUP),
Nagpur and Chairman of my Advisory Committee for his sincere and active
guidance, constant encouragement and painstaking efforts taken throughout
the course of this work. That he introduced me to this fascinating field of
research and took personal care to ensure smooth progress of the present
investigation by taking the right course of action, as and when necessary
certainly needs a special mention. I would also wish to acknowledge his
magnanimity in ignoring very many of my personal limitations that he had
come across during the course of my work.

I am genuinely grateful to Dr. P. Chandran, Principal Scientist and

presently Head, Division of Soil Resource Studies, NBSS & LUP, Nagpur and
member of my Advisory Committee for valuable guidance, necessary facilities
and keen interest taken in scrutinizing the manuscript.

I have immense pleasure to acknowledge my profound, sincere,

humble, honorable and deepest sense of gratitude Dr. S. K. Ray Principal
Scientist, Division of Soil Resource Studies and now Head, Regional centre
Jorhat, NBSS & LUP, Nagpur and member of my advisory committee for
taking constant interest in my work and giving useful suggestions for
improving the write up of the thesis.

I am thankful to Dr. Tapas Bhattacharyya, Principal Scientist & Ex-

Head, Division of Soil Resource Studies, NBSS & LUP, Nagpur (now Vice-
Chancellor, Dr. B.S.K.K.V., Dapoli) and member of Advisory Committee for
extending are possible co-operation and necessary facilities throughout the
course of this investigation.

I gratefully record my deep sense of gratitude to Dr. Pramod Tiwary,

Principal Scientist, Division of Soil Resource Studies, NBSS & LUP, Nagpur
iii
and member of Advisory Committee for his constant inspiration, valuable
guidance.

I am genuinely grateful to Dr. Dipak Sarkar (former Director) and Dr. S.

K. Singh, Director, NBSS & LUP, Nagpur for providing necessary facilities and
co-operation during the course of this investigation.

I express my deep sense of gratitude to Dr. N. D. Parlawar, Associate

Dean, Post Graduate Institute (PGI), Dr. PDKV, Akola, Dr. V.M. Bhale, Dean,
Faculty of Agriculture, Dr. PDKV, Akola and Prof. D. B. Tamgadge, Ex-Head,
Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, PGI Dr. PDKV, Akola
for providing necessary facilities during the course of investigation to complete
this research work.

It is my proud privilege to record my deep sense of appreciation and

special thanks to Dr. V. K. Kharche, Head & Associate Dean Department of
Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, PGI Dr. PDKV, Akola for giving his
valuable suggestions and constant encouragement from time to time during
the present investigation.

I am particularly grateful to Dr(s). S. N. Ingle, S. G. Wankade, V. V.

Gabhane, S. M. Bhoyar, P.R. Kadu, R.N. Katkar, N. M. Konde, S. M. Jadhao,
Shri. P.A. Gite, Shri. S. D. Jadhao, Dr(s). B. A. Sonune, and D. V. Mali in
Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, PGI, Dr. PDKV, Akola
for extending co-operation and valuable suggestion during the course of
research work.

I am extremely thankful to Dr.(s) B.P. Bhaskar; Principal Scientist,

Dr.(Mrs) P.L.A. Sathyavathi, Senior Scientist; K. Karthikeyan, Scientist and D.
Vasu, Scientist, Division of Soil Resource Studies, NBSS & LUP, Nagpur for
their kind co-operation extended during the course of the present
investigation.

I am sincerely thankful to Dr. Rajeev Srivastava, Principal Scientist and

Head, Division of Remote Sensing Applications; Dr(Mrs.) C. Mandal, Principal
Scientist and In-charge, Cartography Section(now superannuated); Dr. G.P.

iv
Obi Reddy, Principal Scientist and In-charge, GIS Section; Dr. Arun
Chaturvedi, Principal Scientist and Head, Division of Land Use Planning,
NBSS & LUP, Nagpur for their constant help and guidance.

I am also thankful to Dr.(s) T. K. Sen, S. Chatterji and Dr. M.S.S.

Nagaraju for extending kind advice and co-operation throughout the course of
the investigation.

I am immensely grateful to Mr. V.T. Sahu, Mr. S.G. Anantwar, Dr. A. M.

Nimkar, Shri. S. V. Bobde, Shri M.S. Gaikwad, R.K. Bhalsagar, Shri. V. P.
Patil, Dr. R. A. Nasre, Shri. D. Mohekar, Dr. N.C. Khandare, Mrs. Smita V.
Patil, Shri. S.G. Khapekar, Technical Staff, for their help and advice received
during the analytical work undertaken for the investigation. I am grateful to
Mrs. Vasudha Khandwe, PA to Head and Mrs. Bhagyashree Telpande,
Research Associate, Division of Soil Resource Studies, NBSS & LUP, Nagpur
for their constant cooperation extended during the research work. I am
sincerely thankful to Mrs. Jiji Cyriac, Documentation officer, and Mr. Pradeep
Jadhav for providing library facilities.

I affectionately and whole heartedly thanks to my seniors Dr. Deepak

Padekar, Dr. Jaya, Dr. Sarika, Dr. Ashish Gajare, Dr. Roshan Wakode, Dr.
Dhanashri and friends Baburao, Sonal, Vikram, Anurag, Sagar, Yogesh,
Swati, Ganesh, Gopal, Ankita, Yagani, Rakesh, Vijay, Laxman, Tushar,
Sachin and Vaibhav for their intimate co-operation during entire course of this
study.

No words of gratitude can equate the tremendous encouragement and

love bestowed on me by my father Shri. Lokpal Choudhari and my mother
Sau. Vasanti Choudhari whose blessings, inspirations encouraged and
supported me to achieve this goal of my life. No words of gratitude can equate
the tremendous encouragement and help that has been bestowed on me by
my beloved sister Swaroopa for heart-warming affection and unstinted
support.

v
 At the end I would like express appreciation to my beloved wife Mrs.
Priya Pushpajeet Choudhari for her understanding, love and was always my
support in every moments for making my entire research journey happy,
successful and enlivening my ability that made it possible to complete the
thesis.

Finally, my thanks go to all the people who have supported me to

complete the research work directly or indirectly.

Place : Akola (Choudhari Pushpajeet Lokpal)

Date : 30 /05/ 2017 Enrolment No: HH/1649

vi
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Sr. No. Particulars Page

A Declaration of Student i

B Certificate ii

C Acknowledgement iii-vi

D List of Tables viii-ix

E List of Figures x

F List of Abbreviation xi-xii

G Thesis Abstract xiii

I Introduction 1-7

II Review of Literature 8-48

III Material and Methods 49-62

IV Results and Discussion 63-135

V Summary and Conclusion 136-143

VI Literature Cited 144-168

Vita 169

Annexures 170-183

vii
(A) LIST OF TABLES
Table Title Page
3.1 Climate data of Seoni District 51
3.2 Location of pedons 54
4.1 Morphological properties of soils 65
4.2 Physical properties of soils 73
4.3 Chemical properties of Soil 77
4.4 Exchangeable properties of soil 82
4.5 Micronutrient status of soil 86
4.6 Classification of soils of the study area 88
Dominant minerals found in sand (2.00 -0.05 mm)
4.7 95
fraction
Semi-quantitative estimate (relative per cent) of
4.8 102
minerals present in silt fraction (0.05-0.002 mm)
Semi-quantitative estimate (relative per cent) of
4.9 110
minerals present in total clay fraction (< 0.002 mm)
Semi-quantitative estimate (relative per cent) of
4.10 117
minerals present in fine clay fraction (< 0.0002 mm)
4.11 Elemental composition of soils 119
4.12 Eigenvalue and variance data for the PCs 127
4.13 PCA-derived minimum datasets 128
4.14 Growth of teak at different sites and their SQI 130
Growth of sandalwood at different sites and their
4.15 131
SQI
4.16 Soil-site suitability criteria for teak 133
Soil-site suitability assessment of teak based on
4.17 133
some relevant properties
Proposed soil-site suitability criteria for
4.18 134
Sandalwood
Soil-site suitability assessment of sandalwood
4.19 135
based on some relevant properties

viii
(B) LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Title Page No.

3.1 Location map of study area 53

Representative X-ray diffractograms of sand fractions (2-
4.1 90-92
0.05 mm) of teak-supporting soils
Representative X-ray diffractograms of sand fractions (2-
4.2 92-94
0.05 mm) of sandalwood-supporting soils
Representative X-ray diffractograms of silt fractions (0.05-
4.3 97-99
0.002 mm) of teak-supporting soils
Representative X-ray diffractograms of silt fractions (0.05-
4.4 99-101
0.002 mm) of sandalwood-supporting soils
Representative X-ray diffractograms of total clay fractions
4.5 105-107
(<0.002 mm) of teak-supporting soils
Representative X-ray diffractograms of total clay fractions
4.6 107-109
(<0.002 mm) of sandalwood-supporting soils
Representative X-ray diffractograms of fine clay fractions
4.7 112-114
(<0.0002 mm) of teak-supporting soils
Representative X-ray diffractograms of fine clay fractions
4.8 114-116
(<0.0002 mm) of sandalwood-supporting soils

ix
C) LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

AWC : Available water capacity

BD : Bulk density

BS : Base saturation

CaCO3 : Calcium carbonate

Ca-EG : Calcium Ethylene Glycol

Ca/Mg : Calcium: Magnesium ratio

CEC : Cation exchange capacity

Ch : Chlorite

c mol (p+)kg-1 : Centi moles proton per kilogram

DBH : Diameter at breast height

dS m-1 : Deci Simen per meter

DTPA : Diethylene triamine penta acetic acid

EC : Electrical conductivity

et al. : Et alia (and others )

ESP : Exchangeable sodium percentage

EMP : Exchangeable magnesium percentage

Fig : Figure

i.e. : That is

KCl : Potassium chloride

KF : Potassium feldspar

Kl : Kaolinite

kPa : Kilo pascal

x
NBSS&LUP : National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land
: Use Planning

MDS : Minimum dataset

Mg m-3 : Mega gram per metre cube

Ca/Mg : Calcium :Magnesium ratio

M : Mica

OC : Organic carbon

P : Pedon

PCA : Principal Component Analysis

PF : Plagioclase feldspar

Q : Quartz

SQI : Soil quality index

Sm : Smectite

Viz. : Namely

Vm : Vermiculite

xi
(D) THESIS ABSTRACT

a) Title of thesis : GENESIS AND QUALITY OF

BLACK AND ASSOCIATED RED
SOILS UNDER TEAK AND
SANDALWOOD IN SEONI
DISTRICT OF MADHYA PRADESH

b) Full name of the Student : Choudhari Pushpajeet Lokpal

c) Name and address of : Dr.Jagdish Prasad

Major Advisor Principal Scientist,
Division of Soil Resource Studies,
NBSS and LUP, Nagpur

d) Degree to be awarded : Ph.D. (Agri.) in Soil Science and

Agricultural Chemistry (Land
Resource Management)

e) Year of award of degree : 2017

f) Major subject : Soil Science and Agricultural

Chemistry

g) Total number of pages in : 148

:
the thesis

h) Number of words in the : 343

:
Abstract

i) Signature of Student :

j) Signature, name and :

address of forwarding
authority

xii
 ABSTRACT
Black and associated red soils developed from basalt support teak and
sandalwood on different landforms from ages in Seoni district of Madhya
Pradesh. Representative five pedons from teak-supporting soils (P1, P2, P3,
P4, P5) and five from sandalwood-supporting soils (P6, P7, P8, P9, P10) were
studied for their morphology, physical, chemical and mineralogical properties.
The teak-supporting soils are very shallow (18 cm) to very deep (158
cm). The sandalwood-supporting soils are shallow (30 cm) to very deep (152
cm). Texture of teak-supporting soils is dominantly clay barring P1 while,
sandalwood-supporting soils varied from sandy clay to clay. In general,
organic carbon content is higher in teak-supporting soils than sandalwood-
supporting soils which is attributed to the differences in vegetation type, litter
fall and age of the forest stands. The CEC and base saturation of the
sandalwood-supporting soils is higher than teak-supporting soils except P4,
owing to mineralogical differences. The DTPA-extractable micronutrients
showed significant positive relationship with organic carbon.According to Soil
Taxonomy, the soils of P1, P6 and P9 are classified as Entisols whereas
Pedon 3, 7, 8 and 10 are classified as Inceptisols Pedon 2, 4 and 5 are
classified as Alfisols.

In general, the XRD semi-quantified data of silt revealed that quartz

was the dominant mineral followed feldspar and mica. The total and fine clay
fraction of both teak and sandalwood-supporting soils were dominated with
smectite followed by vermiculite. However, P4 showed different trend viz.,
kaolin>smectite>mica. Kaolinization is the dominant pedogenic process in
soils under teak. The sandalwood-supporting soils are evidences of colluvium
deposits on shoulder slope/ foot slope. Soils supporting teak forests of varied
ages revealed that older teak forests have favoured more floral pedoturbation
encouraged illuviation forming Bt horizons than the younger ones.

The PCA-derived MDS for teak-supporting soils were 33 kPa, bulk

density, Zn, Mn and pH whereas for sandalwood-supporting soils they were
OC, silt, Ca/Mg ratio, total clay, CaCO3 and BS. PCA derived SQI are well
correlated with growth of naturally occurring teak and sandalwood. Limitation
method for crop suitability emphasis more on limitation and masks the soil
quality.

xiii
 Chapter I

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background information

Associated red and black soils are common in the Deccan

plateau and the Indian peninsula. The red soils are formed due to the
progressive landscape reduction process and black soils due to the
aggradation processes; and they are often spatially associated
maintaining their typical characteristics over the years. These soils are
subject to changes due to age-long management practices and the
other factors like climate change (Bhattacharyya et al., 2016).

Forest occupy a substantial portion of India’s area as per Forest

Survey of India 2015, the forest cover in the country is 70.17 million ha
which accounts for 21.42 per cent of the total geographical area.

The projected demand on the basis of rise in population and the

standard of living and increased installed capacity of wood-based
industries are considerably larger. Degraded forests are unable to meet
human needs for economic and ecological services, wood-based
energy, forest-based industries and giving support to agriculture, dairy
and other enterprises besides employment generation. Therefore it has
become necessary to maximize wood production from the limited forest
areas in the country to meet the increasing demands.

The only solution to meet the rising demand is to increase the

per hectare yield from the existing forest areas as well as to convert the
wastelands into productive areas through afforestation.

Teak Tectona grandis (family: Verbenaceae), is one of the major

plantation tree species of the world, which is naturally distributed in
Southeast Asia. It is a unique species whose timber is the most
aristocratic amongst the timbers of India. Teak is a species of
significant ecological and socio-economic importance throughout the

1
tropics. Though the teak plantations account for 5-8% of the total forest
area in the tropics (Ball et al., 1999), about 90% of the quality
hardwood plantations for timber production belongs to teak only
(Granger, 1998). In India, which is one of the major teak producing
countries, its natural zone of distribution is discontinuous and is mostly
confined to the peninsular region below the 24 degree latitude.

The localities where most important teak forests are found are
Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala
besides Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Orissa and Rajasthan (Troup, 1921).

About 12% forest area in India is under teak (Bheemiah et al.,

1997). Madhya Pradesh covers the highest forest area in the country
and has approximately 21% of the forest area of the country. In
Madhya Pradesh, 34% area has been brought under manmade teak
forest (Luna, 1996). The distribution of teak is largely determined by
climate, geology and soil. Puri (1949) showed that in a number of
Indian forests the underlying rock governs the growth and distribution
of vegetation at the surface in two ways 1) presence or absence of
mineral of elements and 2) by structural variations in the body of rock
viz. deep versus scarp slopes. Kulkarni (1951) reported the relationship
of teak to geological conditions in Madhya Pradesh. He found that the
Gondwana system consisting of fresh sedimentary deposits do not
bear teak but basaltic rocks are ideally suited for teak. In Madhya
Pradesh, teak is found on a variety of formations viz. trap, limestone,
gneiss, schist, sandstone, conglomerate, shale and clay. On soils
overlying trap, teak may form as much as 75 per cent of the stand but
is much less abundant on conglomerate or sandstone. Growth of teak
is best on soils from basaltic rock because they are able to retain
moisture better than soils from crystalline rocks or sandstone. Trap
soils or alluvium, on which some of the best teak is found are neutral or
slightly alkaline. Jagdish Prasad and Gaikwad (1991) reported that
soils developed over basalt mainly support teak in Mandla district
having sub-humid, sub-tropical climate with mean annual rainfall of

2
1400 mm and mean annual air temperature of 26.9 0C. Jagdish Prasad
and Patil (2002) characterized teak-growing soils of Central India and
pointed out that shallow solum, high swelling clay and low CEC are the
limitations for growth of teak.

Sandalwood (Santalum album L.) is a prized gift of the plant

kingdom woven into the culture and heritage of India. It is one of the
most valuable trees in the world. For more than 5000 years, India has
been the traditional leader of sandalwood oil production for perfumery
and pharmaceuticals. Sandalwood and its products are one of the
finest perfumery materials since ages. The natural distribution of
sandalwood extends from 30°N to 40°S from Indonesia in the east to
Juan Fernandez Islands (Chile) in the west and from Hawaiian
Archipelago in the north to New Zealand in the south. It is a small to
medium-sized hemiparasitic tree, distributed rather widely in India. The
populations are more concentrated in the southern region, especially
Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Naturally grown sandal wood can
be found in Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Gujarat,
Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur and in some other states.
Sandalwood can be grown in variety of soil and different climatic
condition and temperature, not restricted to any region or area.
Sandalwood prefers a well drained, moderately fertile land and the
heart wood oil content in the wood seems to be better under drier
conditions.

1.2 Importance and need of the study

Soil plays an important role in the growth and development of

forests. Therefore, differences in soil properties can influence both the
composition of forest vegetation and the rate of tree growth
(Balagopalan, 1995). Knowledge of forest soil properties is important
for proper management of the environment and utilization of forest
resources. Variations in wood quality with tree growth are strongly
related to physical and chemical properties of the soil (Rigatto et al.,
2004). A low wood density may be obtained on sites with favourable

3
soil properties for stand growth (particularly tree diameter) with a
consequent low quality for structural uses (Cutter et al., 2004).

Vegetation plays an important role in soil formation and

development as it accelerates local weathering (Phillips et al., 2008),
thus the effect of trees on the soil chemical properties is a function of
series of factors such as nutrient uptake, leachates from tree bark,
foliage, roots and organic acids from decomposing litters. Dead plant,
on decomposition release water-soluble compounds which play an
important role in cycling of metals, decomposition and transformation of
clay minerals (Huang and Keller, 1970; Kodama and Schnitzer, 1976).

The soil mineralogy and weathering stages are two important

phenomena governing host of physico-chemical soil characteristics and
thereof having a central role in the management of the semi-natural
forested ecosystems (Maheshwari and Samra, 1984; Raina et al.,
1994). The knowledge of the minerals and their transformations help in
understanding the distribution of forest types and their
biogeochemistry. The forests being of much longer duration greatly
depend on the nutrient bearing minerals in the soil for the continuous
and adequate supply for their opportune growth and optimum
production. The minerals, more specifically clay minerals, endow soils
with unique surface charge chemistry and reactivity. This provides
chemical homeostasis to the terrestrial biogeochemical cycles
eventually influencing forest growth and regeneration. The nutrients
adsorbed on the surface of negatively charged clay minerals are
removed from the clay colloids by plant uptake and resultant
immobilization, leaching and harvesting regimes. Eventually, the soil
complexes are replenished with the base cations and other nutrients by
weathering and transformation of primary and secondary minerals,
apart from atmospheric deposition and biological cycling; collectively
maintaining the long-term mass balances of the nutrients in the
forested ecosystems. The mineralogical studies of the forest soils have
not been prioritized in the Indian forestry. Even when it is illustrated

4
that the nature and amount of minerals are largely responsible for the
sustained supply of basic cations and anions which eventually
influence the buffering capacities of the soils; two factors that are
necessary for conditioning the forest growth and productivity are cation
exchange capacity (CEC) and base saturation percentage (BSP). The
comprehension of the mineralogy is fundamental to both the
conventional approach of proper understanding and the assessment of
weathering, pedogenesis, soil management and potentiality for
different uses.

Land suitability is the fitness of a given type of land for a specific

use (FAO, from Davidson, 1992). For plantation development land
suitability analysis involves the integration of biophysical (capability)
factors and social and economic factors affecting the viability of land for
plantations (Bush et al., 1998). Land areas having the same capability
may have different suitability due to such factors as distance from the
market, land price or other preferred land uses.

Virtually no systematic study has been carried out on genesis of

black and associated red soils of Seoni district, Madhya Pradesh, their
quality and suitability for teak and sandalwood. Therefore, it would be
prudent to carry out this need-based research with the above
mentioned objectives.

1.3 Objectives of the study

 To study the physical and chemical properties of black and

associated red soils

 To study the genesis of soil and mineralogy in different soil

fractions

 To find out the minimum soil parameters for soil quality

 To assess the soil site suitability for teak and sandalwood

5
1.4 Hypothesis

The morphological, physico-chemical properties and geology

are some of the chief factors governing the relative growth of teak and
sandalwood. The soil quality of teak and sandalwood bearing soils can
be determined using minimum datasets. A comprehensive and
complete knowledge of basic edaphic and pedogenic processes along
with mineralogical studies will aid considerably in understanding the
genesis of black and associated red soils supporting teak and
sandalwood of Seoni district, Madhya Pradesh.

1.4 Scope and limitations

Scope

 Characterization of soils can be considered to determine the

present and future potential of soils and accordingly land use
planning will be proposed for optimizing productivity of teak and
sandalwood.

 When soil genesis are studied through mineralogical evidences it

helps to unravel the past and we can comment on its behaviour,
quality and potential through that period with concomitant changes
in physical resources like climate and to figure out next coming
management intervention for sustainable livelihood of mankind.

Limitations

 The present study was conducted on very confined scale and

prediction of mineralogical implication on precise level cannot
possible with present data, so extensive and organized effort are
required to document these resources for managerial point of view.

 The soil suitability of teak and sandalwood needs an extensive

survey of representative areas with similar environmental conditions
to elaborate the whole complex of soils and geological formations.

6
 Plant age presented here was solely depend on questionnaires
with local residents and their correlation with soil quality index to
generate any function is of no significance and merely act as
mathematical formula.

 Timber quality and economically relevant parameters viz.

heartwood oil are indispensable but were not studied as it was
beyond our research domain.

 The present investigation of soil quality assessment was carried out

on the basis of physical and chemical properties of soils only.
However, the biological properties (viz. soil microbial biomass
carbon, soil respiration, dehydrogenase activity etc.) could be
included for the assessment of soil quality index more relevant and
dynamic.

7
 Chapter II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Teak and sandalwood are very important and economical forest

species in tropical region. Teak and sandalwood forests widely occur in
various edapho-climatic regions. The distribution of natural teak and
sandalwood forests is not restricted to very peculiar type edaphic
conditions. Our attempt in this chapter is aimed at presenting work
reported on different aspects of soil genesis, mineralogy and quality of
teak and sandalwood-growing soils. The same is presented in the
following sections.

2.1 Morphological, physical and chemical properties of soils

2.2 Soil-site characteristics of teak and sandalwood
2.3 Mineralogical properties and Genesis of Soils
2.4 Soil quality

2.1 Morphological, physical and chemical properties of soils

2.1.1 Morphological properties of soils

Morphology is considered an index of the manifestations of

genetic processes occurring in soil during its development. The study
of soil morphology provides a scope to understand more about the
external features and structures of soil body in a profile such as
concretions, depth and width of cracks, presence of slickensides and
reaction with dilute HCl to confirm the presence of carbonates. The
morphological features are often related with the physical, chemical,
biological and mineralogical properties of soils. This essentially shows
the interactions of various soil forming factors on soil characteristics
important to maintain the soil health.

Beckmann et al. (1974) studied the formation of red and black

soils that occur in close proximity in basaltic terrain. They observed red

8
soils (Euchrozems) are mainly restricted to flat hill crests and shallow
cracking clay occur on upper pediment slopes on convex crests and on
depressions on flat crests. They also proposed that the Euchrozems
have developed by continued weathering under stable well-drained
conditions whereas the black earths have formed in sites prone to
erosion and in situations with less water available for weathering.

Gaikwad et al. (1974) observed that the occurrence of

associated red and black soils in a toposequence is a common feature
around Nagpur area. The colour of the soil gradually changes from
reddish brown to dark greyish brown. The lime concretions are present
in large magnitude in the surface as well as in the profile of the lower
slope.

Krishnamoorthy and Govinda Rajan (1977) studied black and

red soils developed in close proximity under similar conditions of
climate in Mehboobnagar district of Andhra Pradesh. They reported
that black soils are comparatively finer in texture than the adjoining red
soils. The clay content increased with depth in both the soils due to
illuviation of clay.

Murali et al. (1978) while studying two toposequences of tropical

soils of south India also reported more clay in the B than in the A or C
horizon.

Coventry (1982) studied the distribution of red, yellow and grey

earths in the Torren Creek area, Central North Queensland. He
reported that the red earths usually occupy the lower slope sites and
broad, non-channeled, drainage lines. The yellow and grey earths
generally found to occur at mid-slope sites or over broadly convex
upper regions of the low undulations.

Singer and Dor (1987) studied the red clay layers interbedded
with basalt flows of Pleistocene age in the Golden heights. They
reported that the layers have pedogenic features and most also contain
quartz of assumed aeolian origin. Though paleosols are low in organic

9
matter, smectite is the dominant clay mineral in the paleosols as
compared to kaolinite. The paleosols are dense, have strong columnar
structure and have well expressed mangans. These features as well as
the dehydration of iron oxides are attributed to contacts with molten
rock that became the basalt flows.

Pillai et al. (1996) studied spatially associated ferruginous red

and black soils of Malegaon plateau of Nagpur district, Maharashtra
and reported that the ferruginous soils are dark brown in colour
whereas the black soils are very dark grey to very dark greyish brown
in colour. These soils are clayey in texture, structurally well developed
and well drained.

Tiwari et al. (1996) characterized red soils derived from five

different parent rocks in Bihar. They indicated that these soils are
virtually sedentary in origin, acid to neutral in reaction located invariably
in upland topographic position, having normally steep slope and rapid
permeability.

Rudramurthy and Dasog (2001) studied the properties and

genesis of associated red and black soils in north Karnataka and
reported that the red soils were characterized by redder hue, high
chroma and abundance of coarse fragments. Clay content in black
soils was more than their associated red soils. All red soils showed
accumulation of clay in B horizons.

Roy et al. (2001) studied the geology, chemistry and mineralogy

of some bole beds of eastern Deccan volcanic province. They reported
the presence of smectite in these minerals.

Bhuse et al. (2002) studied the formation of spatially associated

red and black soils developed in zeolitic and non-zeolitic Deccan basalt
of western and southern India and reported that the formation of red
and black soils are developed in the basins by the landscape reduction
process.

10
 Satyavathi and Reddy (2003) studied the shallow, medium deep
and deep red and black soils of northern Telangana zone in Andhra
Pradesh. They reported that the red soils had colours in the hue of
7.5YR to 2.5YR. The colour grades to redder hue with depth. The
values ranged between 3 to 6 and chroma between 3 to 8, whereas
black soils had colours in the hue 10YR. The value ranged from 3 to 6
and chroma from 1 to 4. The shallow red soil have single grain
structure whereas other red soils have weak to moderate, fine to
medium and granular to subangular blocky structure with soft to slightly
hard (dry) and loose to friable (moist) consistence. Black soils had
moderate, medium subangular blocky structure and hard to very hard
(dry) and friable to very firm (moist) consistence.

Vingiani et al. (2004) reported clay minerals from soils of a red-

black soil complex developed from basaltic parent material in Sardinia
are formed along a short toposequence. At foot, the sequence a clay
rich black Vertisols are formed, whereas at the summit, the soil is a
dark reddish brown Inceptisols.

Thangasamy et al. (2005) studied the morphological, physical

and chemical characteristics of soils in Sivagiri micro watershed of
Chitoor district in Andhra Pradesh. They indicated that the soils are
deep to very deep, light yellowish brown to dark red and excessively to
poorly drained. The soils occurring in gently sloping topography exhibit
the development of argillic horizon and the soils in nearly level lands
have cambic horizons.

Bhattacharyya et al. (2005) studied land use, clay mineral type

and organic carbon content in two Mollisol-Alfisol-Vertisols catenary
sequence of Tropical India. They reported that Alfisols (Satpura range)
had a silty clay loam to silty clay texture in the solum and a sandy clay
loam texture in C horizons. These soils were dark brown in colour and
had weak columnar structure which broke into subangular blocks
whereas Alfisols of the Western Ghats had clay texture, subangular
blocky structure and dark brown colour. The Vertisols of Satpura were

11
clayey and dark brown to dark reddish brown in colour with prismatic
structure whereas those of the Western Ghats had clayey texture and
angular blocky structure.

Shamasudden et al. (2005) characterized and classified the

forest soils from Devimanaghat, Khandgar, Hosad and Ajinkere in north
Karnataka and reported that the texture of the soils varied from sandy
loam to clay and with colour ranging from 2.5YR to 10YR in hue.

Sayyed and Hundekari (2006) studied the preliminary

comparison of ancient bole beds and modern soils developed upon the
Deccan volcanic basalts around Pune. They reported that relict
weathering mantles are frequently preserved in the form of paleosols,
which generally document the long term evolution of earth surface
processes. Bole beds occur as prominent horizons composed of fine
grained clayey or earthy material having colours in shades of red to
chocolate brown, green, purple or grey often marking the flow contacts
of Deccan basalts, which date to approximately 65 Maastrichtian. Bole
beds preserved between two successive lava flows can be studied
relative to soils developed into the same basalts during the Holocene.

Pal et al. (2006 a) in their study on a <100 years old shrink–

swell soil (Vertic Haplustalf) of central India reported that the soil has
typical physical, chemical and mineralogical properties of Vertisols but
lack in slickensides. Through a characterization of impure clay
pedofeatures in voids and poorly separated plasma, they proved that
clay illuviation is more important pedogenic process than
pedoturbation. They suggested a highly probable pathway for the
formation of Vertisols with time from vertic Alfisols in sub-humid and
semi-arid climatic conditions of central India.

Jagdish Prasad and Srivastava (2010) reported that red

Vertisols developed dominantly in the alluvium of Deccan Basalt and
parent material is chiefly augite basalt. They also found a pedon
occurring on very gently sloping alluvial plain (410 m above mean sea

12
level) showing typical characteristics of Vertisols, but red (2.5 YR) in
colour and surrounded by mostly dark coloured shrink-swell soils.
These soils have developed on red bole. The occurrence of red bole
between different flows of basalt is on an escarpment slope and
weathering of red bole has produced red Vertisol.

The above review indicates that the associated red and black
soils vary in their morphological properties primarily due to effect of
topography and associated drainage characteristics apart from the
parent material and change in climate over a period of time.

2.1.2 Physical properties of soils

Physical properties like high clay content and type of clay

determines the workability like ploughing and other intercultural
operations. The particle-size distribution and linear extensibility are of
prime importance to understand the shrink-swell behaviour and the
genesis of the mineral responsible for this behaviour.

The catenary soils on granite-gneiss in the Kurnool district of

Andhra Pradesh was studied by Biswas et al. (1966) and showed wide
diversity in the soil characteristics which are found on different slopes.
The mechanical composition of the soils indicates their relationship to
the position of the profile along the slope.

Gaikwad et al. (1974) observed that the gravels, mainly of chert

and quartzite, are numerous on the surfaces of the soils occurring at
upper slope. There is sudden change corresponding the change in
slope and such gravels are absent in the remaining soils. The
percentages of waterstable aggregates do not show any specific trend
along a slope. The contents of reductant soluble iron and of amorphous
material decreased with slope.

Kantor and Schwertmann (1974) studied the red-black

toposequence of basic igneous rocks in Kenya and reported that in red
soil clay content (<2 µm) ranges between 40 per cent on the upper

13
slope and 60-70 per cent on the middle slope and depression with an
increasing percentage of fine clay (55-80%) downslope. The clay
content in the black soil goes upto >80% which is again mainly
constituted of fine clay. There is always a significantly lower clay
content in the surface horizons of the red soil sequence.

Soils of two toposequence from tropical India was studied by

Murali et al. (1978) and observed that these soils are light textured with
large quantities of coarse sand (>0.25 mm). All the profiles have more
clay in the B than in the A or C horizon. The fine sand/coarse sand
ratio in the surface horizon increased from 0.74 on the back slope to
1.95 on the footslope of the Krishnagiri toposequence, whereas in the
Kadaripuram sequence the change was small (0.78 to 0.95). The ratios
indicate lack of vertical uniformity in the parent materials of soils of the
Krishnagiri sequence, whereas parent materials of the Kadaripuram
sequence were nearly uniform.

Schafer and McGrarity (1980) while studying the genesis of red

and dark brown soil on basaltic parent materials of N.S. W., Australia,
reported that bulk density increases markedly in sub-soil horizons due
to increase in clay content.

Datta and Sastry (1981) while studying the Vertisols and Alfisols
profiles from Mysore plateau reported an increase in clay content (23.8
to 40.4%) with depth in Alfisols, whereas in Vertisols the clay content
decreased with depth (45.3 to 30.6%). They concluded that the
differences in the trends of variation of clay might be due to the
differences in leaching condition.

Pal and Deshpande (1987 b) while studying the genesis of red

and black soil complex of southern India, reported that red soil contain
high amount of sand, but the black soil contain high amount of clay.

Shirsath et al. (2000) observed a positive correlation between

linear extensibility (LE) and the smectite content in the soil control
section (SCS) of eight soils. There is an excellent compatibility

14
between the shrink-swell characteristics and the smectitic mineralogy
and concluded that LE > 6 corresponded to a smectite content of clay
fractions > 20%. Thus the smectitic mineralogy class appears to be
realistic proposition for shrink – swell soils.

Some soils of Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh were

characterized by Dutta et al. (2001). Sand/silt, fine sand/total sand and
very fine sand/total sand ratio showed discontinuity between horizons.
Silt/clay ratio are lower, suggesting dominance of secondary over
primary mineral.

Rudramurthy and Dasog (2001) reported that coarse fragments

content was more in red soils than that in associated black soils in
north Karnataka. Per cent increase in clay content with depth was more
in red soils compared to black soil. Moisture retention capacity at both
33 kPa and 1500 kPa in red soils was less than that of black soils.

Characterization and classification of shallow, moderately deep

and deep red and black soils of northern Telangana zone in Andhra
Pradesh was studied by Satyavathi and Reddy (2003). The sand
content of red soils varied between 48.1 to 85.9 per cent, the per cent
sand decreased with depth. The sand content of black soils varied
between 15.3 and 42.4 per cent. In shallow black soils, the content of
sand increased with depth, whereas in medium deep and deep black
soil it decreased. The clay content in black soils was found to be higher
compared to red soils. In case of red coloured pedons, the clay content
increased with depth. The surface enrichment of sand fraction in red
soils was also due to removal of finer particles by clay eluviation and
surface run-off. The bulk density, moisture retention at 33 and 1500
kPa and available water capacity were more in black soils compared to
red soils, which may be due to high smectite clay content, more CEC
and more exchangeable Na+ and Mg++ (Hirekurubar et al., 1991).

Bhattacharyya et al. (2005) studied Mollisol-Alfisols-Vertisols

catenary sequence of tropical India. They concluded that sand and silt

15
contents of the soils were low compared to clay content. Total clay and
fine clay contents ranged from 280 to 690 g kg-1 and from 160 to 510 g
kg-1, respectively. A higher proportion of the fine clay fractions
indicated more available reactive surface in these soils.

Vertisols are soils which shrink and swell greatly with changes in
their water content, the soil movement involved is sufficient to cause
vertical mixing of the soil profiles (Soil Conservation Service, 1970).
However, most recent studies have nullified the effect of vertical mixing
(Satyavathi et al., 2005; Pal et al., 2006a). COLE depends on the
amount of clay, the clay mineralogy and fabric, but not to an
appreciable extent on the nature of the adsorbed cations was stated by
Franzmeier and Ross (1968).

Ray et al. (2006) reported that the Chunchura soils (Vertisol) of

Hooghly district, West Bengal have very less amount of sand and is
clayey in texture with clay content of 40-56 per cent and fine clay
constitutes nearly 56-65 per cent of the total clay fractions. The soils
have COLE value ranging from 0.15 to 0.2.

2.1.3 Chemical properties of soils

Chemical properties of soils have great influence on soil fertility

as well as productivity. They are also related to physical and
mineralogical properties of soils.

Gaikwad et al. (1974) observed that in associated red and black

soils of Nagpur, the percentage clay, cation exchange capacity, organic
carbon and pH increased with slope, whereas the contents of
amorphous material decreased with slope.

Krishnamoorthy and Govinda Rajan (1977) studied black and

red soils of Mehboobnagar district of Andhra Pradesh and found that
pH of the red soils was distinctly neutral whereas the black soils was
alkaline. The organic carbon of both soils was low. The CEC of the

16
black soil was higher than the red soil and also the molar silica-
sesquioxide ratios of the red soil was lower as compared to black soil.

Murali et al. (1978) studied two toposequence of tropical soils of

Southern India in relation to clay mineral distribution. The CEC of
amorphous constituents ranging between 21.4 and 107.6 cmol(p+)kg -1
are common along with considerable amounts of smectite in the clays
of soils on the slopes.

Schafer and McGarity (1980) studied the genesis of red and

dark brown soils on basaltic parent materials near Armidale, N. S. W.,
Australia. They observed that organic matter were high in the surface
layer, decreasing sharply down the profile. Exchange capacity
increases with depth and calcium and magnesium are the dominant
bases. In the A horizon, the calcium to magnesium ratio approximates
2:1, changing to 1:1 in lower horizons.

Datta and Sastry (1981) studied electrochemical properties of

the clays of Vertisols and Alfisols profiles of Mysore plateau. The cation
exchange capacity of Alfisols was lower (7.0 cmol(p+)kg-1) than that of
Vertisols (32.0 cmol(p+)kg-1) and pH of Alfisols ranged from 6.3 to 6.7
and Vertisols 7.6 to 8.5.

Pal and Deshpande (1987 b) studied the genesis of red and

black soil complex of southern India. They reported that the red soil are
slightly acidic and non-calcareous with low organic carbon (0.62 to
0.13%) and low cation exchange capacity (8.3 to 28.7 cmol(p+)kg-1)
and high amount of sand and clay whereas black soils were
moderately alkaline, highly calcareous and had low organic carbon,
very high CEC (54.0 and 52.9 cmol(p+)kg-1) and high amount of clay.

A kaolin-smectite interstratifications sequence from a red and

black complex studied by Buhmann and Grubb (1991) indicated that
pH values decreased with increasing redness. Ca2+ and Mg2+
constituted the dominant exchangeable ions and decreased in
proportion with increasing reddening. CEC values of the black soils

17
were markedly higher than those of the red soils, indicating differences
in the clay mineral suites.

Pillai et al. (1996) studied spatially associated ferruginous red

and black soils of Malegaon plateau of Nagpur district, Maharashtra.
The ferruginous soils were slightly acidic to neutral (pH 6.3 to 7.4) and
non-calcareous whereas the black soil was neutral to mildly alkaline
(pH 7.2 to 8.2). Both the soils have moderate to high organic carbon
(0.72 to 1.01%), very high CEC (50 to 70 cmol(p+)kg-1) and high
amount of coarse and fine clay.

Pacharne et al. (1996) studied the spatially associated

ferruginous and black soils in the Saptadhara watershed of Nagpur
district. They reported that soils are acid to neutral in reaction, non-
calcareous, low to medium organic carbon and CEC with high amount
of sand and clay.

Tiwari et al. (1996) characterized red soils derived from five

different parent rocks in Bihar. These soil have low CEC and are
relatively poor in bases and organic carbon. Subtropical humid climate
with relatively high annual rainfall might have resulted into rapid
weathering and subsequent removal of free bases causing lowering of
pH and absence of free CaCO3.

Chandran et al. (2000) on studying two benchmark ferruginous

soils namely Jamakhandi and Palathurai reported that both the soils
are mildly alkaline (pH 7.3 to 8.6) and the pH increases with depth.
CEC of the soils were medium (14 to 32 cmol(p+)kg-1) and base
saturation were high (88 to 99%). Calcium was the dominant cation on
the exchange complex. Calcium carbonate ranges from 1 to 13.5% and
it increases with depth and is found to be pedogenic in origin.

Rudramurthy and Dasog (2001) reported properties and genesis

of associated red and black soils of north Karnataka. The pH ranged
from 5.3 to 7.3 in red soils and 7.7 and 8.7 in the black soils. The EC
was less 0.10 to 0.30 dSm-1 in red soil compared to black soils 0.40 to

18
0.90 dSm-1 respectively. The CEC increased with depth and CEC/clay
ratio in black soils (0.86 to 1.15) was higher than of red soils (0.31 to
1.08). The OC was higher in both the soils. Dithionite extractable ion
was more in red soils.

Bhattacharyya et al. (2005) reported that organic carbon status

of Alfisols from Satpura is high as compared to Vertisols. The CEC of
Vertisols were high (33.8-45.6 cmol(p+)kg-1) as compared to Alfisols
(25.5-36.4 cmol(p+) kg-1). Organic carbon and base saturation of
Alfisols from the Western Ghats were high as compared to Vertisols.
The CEC of Vertisols were high and ranged from 28.8 to 39.1
cmol(p+)kg-1.

Sayyed and Hundekari (2006) studied an ancient bole beds and

modern soils developed upon the Deccan volcanic basalts around
Pune. They reported that modern soils show higher pH (average 7.31)
than the bole beds (average 6.63). Modern soil have greater EC and
organic matter than bole beds.

Ray et al. (2006) studied the Vertisols in Hooghly district of the

West Bengal and reported that pH are neutral to moderately alkaline
ranging from 7.3 to 8.3 and non-saline. Organic carbon is high at the
surface. CaCO3 equivalent varies from 1.5 to 4.0 per cent. The
exchange complex is dominated by Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions and CEC
ranges from 31.3 to 36.5 cmol(p+)kg-1.

The review indicates physical and chemical properties vary with

the parent material and the degree of weathering occurring at different
agro-ecosystems.

2.2 Soil-site characteristics of teak and sandalwood

2.2.1 Geology

The variation in the quality and distribution of teak has been

reported by many workers with the nature of the soil and the underlying
rock from which it is formed. According to them, the rocks on which

19
teak occurs determine to a large extent the nature and characteristics
of the soil derived from them, which largely controls the growth and
distribution of teak.

Troup (1921) gave a number of examples to show that forest

vegetation in India is related with geological and soil conditions.

Vahid (1927) correlated the geology and the forest types of

North Chanda division, Madhya Pradesh and observed superior growth
of teak on trap formations, metamorphic rocks and the Vindhyan
sandstones. He further found that in case of the sedimentary rocks it
was the physical and not the chemical nature of the soil which
controlled the occurrence of teak. Quartz-schist, which give rise to a
stony unfertile soil, bear scrub forests; while areas having defective
drainage produce mixed forest, and in the case of black cotton soil
overlying trap, only thorny forests could grow. His observation was that
“teak can be seen wherever the geological conditions are favourable to
it and if teak does not exist anywhere, it is certain that the geology of
the locality is not suited to it”.

Hamilton (1927) conducted a geological examination of teak

bearing rocks in Burma and concluded that teak attains large
dimensions in deep soils, fine soil of older alluvium and over-lying
regur-like deposits of the new, but the trees are stunted on a shallow
soil or with a hard pan near the surface. He stated that the teak being a
shallow rooted species requires moisture available in adequate
quantities near the surface and therefore, suffers seriously in places
with excessively free drainage or shallow soil.

Hewetson (1941) attempted to clarify the position on the relation

of teak with the rock and the soil in Madhya Pradesh. He noticed that
fine teak growth is confined only to the Deccan trap and the river
alluvium formed from this rock, while a very inferior quality is attained
on the soils overlying sandstone. The soils originating from Deccan
trap possess substantially a much higher water-holding capacity as

20
compared to those formed from crystalline porous rocks or sandstone.
Under the prevalent climatic conditions of Madhya Pradesh, where long
dry spell follows the rains, trap retains sufficient moisture during the
growing season of teak. Sandstones are intermediate between the trap
and crystalline rocks in retaining moisture.

Kulkarni (1951) reported the relationship of teak to geological

conditions in M.P. He found that the Gondwana system consisting of
fresh sedimentary deposits do not bear teak but basaltic rocks are
ideally suited for teak.

Kadambi (1945, 1951) studied the relationship between parent

rock and variation in teak growth in Mysore. He observed that teak
avoids those places where laterite is common. Teak is common where
trap is present but where sandstone is present, teak is of a very poor
quality.

Bhatia (1954) has made an intensive study of rocks and soils in

M.P and found that teak requires certain minerals which are present in
the igneous rocks and which have been lost in the sandstones. These
minerals would include the bases chiefly calcium which abundantly
found in the soils derived from the igneous rocks.

Yadav and Sharma (1968) reported that basalt has a good

supply of exchangeable Ca2+ and other nutrients which favoured the
growth of teak in Madhya Pradesh.

Dhar and Banerjee (1981) while working on the teak area of

south Chanda district of Maharashtra suggested that sediment under
natural teak were derived from acid igneous and metamorphic rock.
The soil could not be typified by any particular mineral. However,
concentration of iron ores indicated of intense weathering before
deposition or during soil formation.

Arun Prasad et al. (1990) state that the decrease in Fe and Mn

in sub-soils may interfere with growth of teak

21
 Jagdish Prasad and Gaikwad (1991) reported that soils
developed over basalt mainly support teak and soils of gneissic origin
support sal (at lower elevation) in Mandla district having subhumid,
subtropical climate with mean annual rainfall of 1400 mm and mean
annual air temperature of 26.9 0C.

Dhar et al. (1992) studied the mineralogy and nutrient status of

teak growing soils and pointed out that the impeded drainage, high clay
content alongwith shrink-swell property, calcareous concretions,
paralithic contact and high pH are the factors responsible for the poor
growth of teak.

Jagdish Prasad and Patil (2002) characterized and classified

teak-growing soils of Central India. They pointed out that shallow
solum, high swelling clay and low CEC are the limitations for growth of
teak.

2.2.2 Soil moisture and Drainage

The distribution, extent and growth performance of teak forest is

influenced to a considerable degree by soil drainage and its adequacy.
Teak are susceptible to poor drainage conditions and thus imperfectly
drained soils are not suitable for teak. Impeded drainage restricts the
development of roots and thereby affects the growth of tree.

Beumee-Nieuwland (1917, 1918 and 1932) reported the detailed

investigations of the different soils in Java, Indonesia both under good
and bad stands of teak. He concluded that the total chemical
composition (CaO, MgO, K2O, Fe2O3, Al2O3, P2O5, SiO2, etc) of soil did
not bear any substantial direct relation with the teak quality. On the
other hand, physical characters such as moisture content of the soil
was found to be directly related to teak growth.

Castens (1933) examined the soils in teakless and teak-bearing

areas in Prome division, Burma. He observed that clayey soils
subjected to water-logging resulted in stunted growth owing to

22
excessive water supply on the surface and deficiency of oxygen in the
sub-soil, while on steep slopes and narrow ridges plants suffered from
lack of adequate moisture. Moisture availability in the soil was an
essential factor for the success of teak growth.

Bhatia (1954) observed that teak avoids excessive dryness on

the one hand and water-logging on the other. He also reported direct
correlation between teak growth and soil factors such as pH,
exchangeable calcium, magnesium and phosphorus, whereas no
significant correlation was found between organic matter content and
teak growth.

2.2.3 Soil texture

Among the physical parameters, the texture is considered as

most important one that influences the tree growth. It influences the
water retention, total available water capacity, drainage infiltration rate
and aeration.

Beekman (1917) made an attempt to correlate the physical and

chemical characteristics of the soil with teak growth found that very
clayey soils poor in humus were not suitable for the species.

Edwards (1940) stated that in Pegu Yoma, the most important

teak-bearing area of Burma, soil topography was a chief limiting factor
in affecting the depth, drainage and moisture content of the soil which
is particularly responsible for a varied growth of the species.

Sandy clay loam, well drained soil seem to be more ideal for
teak growth (Yadav and Sharma, 1968).

In Chandrapur district of Maharashtra, Adyallkar (1973) reported

that Tectona grandis grows well on sandy soils overlying pyroxene,
gneisses and associated quartz schist with breccias and with relatively
deep water table.

23
 Gupta et al. (1988) studied influence of soil texture on growth
and stock of naturally occurring tree species and found that Tectona
grandis are very sensitive to coarse soil texture and require medium
textured soil.

Singh et al. (1988) suggested that soil nutrient at surface are

related to existing vegetation and amount of clay in sub-surface. They
reported high amount of organic matter in teak plantation. It was
concluded that teak plantation site had significant positive relationship
between soil depth and soil characters, except organic matter, sand
and silt had inverse relationship. Positive significant correlation
between depth and clay content of soil under teak indicates that
leaching of clay is pronounced under prevailing environment.

Ezenwa (1988) observed that silt+clay content of A horizon and

effective soil depth accounted for 93.8 and 89 per cent variability in tree
height and basal area of growing respectively.

2.2.4 Chemical properties

Amongst the physico-chemical properties of a soil no single

property occupies such an important place as pH in directing the
intimate relation between the soil and the plant. Soil reaction (pH) value
governs to a great extent the entire chain of biochemical processes in a
soil, leading to either fertility or infertility. Although, pH itself depends
upon so many factors, yet it is the most important single value index in
determining the suitability or otherwise of a soil for the growth of a
specific plant.

Troup (1921) pointed out that sandalwood (Santalum album) will

grow under a wide range of conditions. It will tolerate an annual rainfall
from 500 to 3000 mm, temperatures from near zero to 40°C once it is
established, altitudes up to 1800 m, depending on how cold it is, and
various soil types from sandy to poor, rocky soils. Most often it grows
on red ferruginous clay soils.

24
 Hamilton (1930) stated that the presence of lime in the soil was
primarily responsible for the patchy and localized distribution of teak in
Burma. He observed that teak could occur only on those sandstones
which were associated with lime and that the finest quality teak was
limited to those alluvial soils on the banks of the rivers which had
received lime from the hills through the agency of water.

Soil reaction is the most important chemical parameter which is

responsible for the irregular distribution of teak (Kulkarni, 1951). He
also reported that in M.P teak is largely comfined to soils with a pH
range of 6.7 to 7.5 and below pH 6.0 teak is practically absent from
natural forests. It was also pointed out that beyond pH 8.5 the
presence of excessive alkalies or alkaline earths in the soil seems to
be definitely toxic towards the teak growth.

Gupta (1951) attempted a study in Nilambur forests and

reported that both good and bad teak existed at all pH ranges and
areas bearing good quality teak had pH values even as low as 5.5.

Kulkarni (1951) studied the calcium content in rocks in relation

to frequency and occurrence of teak in northern slopes of Satpuras. He
concluded that lime is an essential major constituent of practically all
the rocks such as the trap, metamorphic and conglomerate which are
capable of yielding a good teak crop, but is badly deficient in those
such as Gondwana sandstone which bare only miscellaneous forest.
He also concluded that teak is a calcicolous species exhibiting its best
growth on soils rich in bases.

Bhatia (1954) attempted to ascertain the role of surface geology

and the soil in relation to the growth of teak mainly on the basis of the
mineral content, especially calcium, of the underlying rock. He
suggested that most of the soils formed from the rocks rich in bases
support teak. His findings indicate that teak grows well on igneous
rocks and Bagra conglomerates simply because these rocks contain
good deal of calcium.

25
 Upadhyaya (1955) reported that higher value of CEC (22.5 to
22.7 cmol (p+) kg-1 in the soil under Tectona grandis may be due to
higher amount of organic matter containing fairly good reserve of bases
returned from leaf litter.

Sagreiya (1967) reported that teak attains better quality on a

moist soil developed from basalt which is acidic and has an adequate
amount of exchangeable calcium and satisfactory phosphorus
availability.

Yadav and Sharma (1968) reported that soil with a good amount
of organic carbon (0.8 to 1.0 per cent) and higher CEC is favourable for
teak growth. They also pinpointed that the soils of teak zone had higher
cation exchange capacity which confers on it the property of retaining
high exchangeable calcium and renders condition more favourable for
its growth.

Sandalwood (Santalum spicatum) growing on red soils in

Western Australia have a high proportion of calcrete nodules where the
pH is 7.5 and also on lateritic soils with a pH of 6.0. In Queensland S.
lanceolatum grows over a wide area on gilgai soils, which are sandy
clays with a high content of calcium carbonate and where the pH is 7.5-
8.0 (Anonymous, 1979).

Maharishi and Prasad (1985) reported the absence of teak and

failure of teak plantation in Hoshangabad forest division of M.P on the
soils deficient in exchangeable Ca and Mg.

Neil et al. (1986) observed In Vanuatu that sandalwood

(Santalum austrocaledonicum) grows on volcanic soils on Tanna, on
humic ferralitic red loams on Erromango, and on Efate and the
Cumberland Peninsula (on Espiritu Santo) on shallow soils formed on
raised coral reef.

Rangasamy et al. (1986) studied the soil properties of some

sandalwood bearing areas. The authors pointed out that sandalwood is

26
prevalent mostly on red loams having good physical properties and
also indicated that sandal can grow under varying conditions of soil pH
and it can grow even on soils having poor nutrient status.

Banerjee et al. (1986) observed that total bases at surface soil

under teak is highest but under mixed species much lower.

Choubey et al. (1987) reported that pH under teak plantation

was slightly lower than under the adjoining natural forests.

Nath et al. (1988) observed significant increase in pH and base

saturation of soil under teak after 12 years of plantation and after 28
years, pH and base saturation further increased and soil was
transformed from Inceptisols to Mollisol at order level.

Ezenwa (1988) observed that effective soil depth, soil pH, total
nitrogen, exchangeable calcium and potassium and total exchangeable
bases were positively correlated with the tree height and basal areas.

Drechsel et al. (1989) reported that vigour of Liberian teak was

mainly related to the top soil acidity.

Bhoumik and Totey (1990) studied the soils of Bori forest,

Madhya Pradesh. The soils were mildly acidic to neutral in reaction.
The organic matter content of soils was high at the surface and
gradually decreased down the profile. Ca as compared to Mg is more
recycled from lower to A horizons. High Ca:Mg ratios in the upper layer
relative to lower ones elucidate the active role of teak in the
pedogenesis. Organic carbon under teak sites ranged from 3.57 to
0.2% throughout the depth.The soils were classified as Mollisols.

Singh et al. (1990) observed that the teak species can grow well
in soils having moderate to deep solum, acidic pH, loamy texture and
also having appreciable amount of organic carbon, total N and
exchangeable Ca2+.

27
 In Tarai area of Darjeeling, Singh et al. (1990) found that teak-
growing soils are acidic and contain appreciable amount of organic
carbon, total N and exchangeable Ca. They also reported that teak can
grow in soils having moderate to deep solum depth, acidic, loamy
texture and appreciable amount of organic carbon provided with cool
tropical climate.

Maraquez et al. (1993) observed the effect of teak

chronosequence on soil properties and reported that Ca and Mg
content, pH and CEC ere significantly higher in the 12 year old
plantation than the younger plantation.

Surata et al. (1995) pointed out that sandalwood grows well on

well-drained soils and adapts to rocky or stony soil with low fertility.

Salifu and Meyer (1998) reported that in B horizon there is

higher calcium content in soils under teak plantation suggesting active
role of teak in pedogenesis.

Murugesh et al. (1999) reported that exchangeable Ca and Mg

generally greater at all ages of teak than in fallow and agriculture soils.

2.3 Mineralogical properties and Genesis of Soils

There are many theories regarding the genesis of red and black
soils and their distinct features. The difference in parent material has
been described by a few workers (Krishnamoorthy, 1969; Rangasamy,
1986) whereas others have attributed the reason to the differential
drainage conditions resulting from geomorphic (topographic) positions
(Biswas et al., 1966; Govinda Rajan et al., 1968; Mohr et al., 1972;
Kantor and Schwertmann, 1974; Gaikwad et al., 1974; Beckmann et
al., 1974). Climate plays a decisive role for the formation of red and
black soils because the ferruginous soils can develop only on tropical
and sub-tropical condition, under high rainfall and leaching of bases. In
contrast the black soils can persist in those areas where the climate is
arid or semiarid and leaching is minimum. But in India and elsewhere

28
these soils occurs in various agro-ecological region from arid to semi-
arid and sub humid to humid condition (Rangasamy et al., 1986;
Bhattacharyya and Ghosh, 1990; Pal and Deshpande, 1987a;
Bhattacharyya et al., 1993; Pillai et al.,1996; Bhuse et al., 2002). Here
an attempt has been made to understand the genesis of these soils
and the mineral transformation there in.

Singer (1966) studied the clay fraction from basaltic soils in the
Galilee, Israel and reported about the mineralogical composition of clay
which was greatly influenced by the rainfall. In SE Galilee where rainfall
is 400-500 mm per annum, the dominant clay mineral is
montmorillonite with kaolinite as the second most important
component. In N and NE Galilee, rainfall is 550-700 mm per annum
and the major part of the clay is composed of kaolinite, halloysite,
quartz and amorphous oxides and Fe and Al. He suggested that lack of
a significant correlation between rainfall and kaolinite content as that
found between montmorillonite may be because of the fact that
montmorillonite decomposition is mainly dependent on rainfall and
kaolinite formation is related to some additional factors probably
dependent on rock structure.

Gawande and Biswas (1967) while working on the soils of a

catenary sequence indicated that there are a marked effect of drainage
on the chemical composition of soil and their clay fraction. The
weathering of the coarse materials of the upper members of catena
was less rapid but there was considerable loss of products of chemical
weathering due to acid hydrolysis and free drainage resulting their
accumulation. In the low level soils the chemical weathering of coarse
material is higher, but the loss of weathering products was less under
impeded drainage condition. Thus they interpreted the pattern of soil
development on the basis of difference in drainage conditions.

Beckmann et al. (1974) reported that the Euchrozems are

moderately leached and contain kaolin mineral and hematite with minor
montmorillontite, and the black earths are dominantly montmorillonite

29
with minor amount of kaolin and hematite. They also proposed that the
continued weathering under stable well drained conditions are
responsible for the formation of kaolin whereas the black earths have
formed in sites prone to erosion and in situations with less water
available for weathering.

Kantor and Schwertmann (1974) studied the clay mineralogy of

the red and black complex soils of toposequences on basic igneous
rocks in Kenya and reported that besides some illite and amorphous
material kaolinite predominated in the soils occurring on the slopes
(Ultisols) whereas smectites were the dominant clay mineral in the soils
of the depressions (Vertisols). Based on profile and slope distribution of
kaolinites and smectites, they concluded that the smectites are the first
weathering product and depending on hydrological conditions
governing the soil solution composition (Si, Mg and pH), it either
persists (depression) or are decomposed to kaolinites.

Krishnamoorthy and Govinda Rajan (1977) studied red and

black soils developed in close proximity of Mehboobnagar district of
Andhra Pradesh. They reported that the clay fraction of red soil
contains much more kaolinite than montmorillonite and the mineralogy
can, therefore, be described as being kaolinitic and in the adjoining
black soil the montmorillonite is dominant.

Schafer and McGarity (1980) studied the genesis of red and

dark brown soils on basaltic parent materials near Armidale, N. S. W.,
Australia. They reported that the dark brown chocolate soils associated
with the modern surface overlie a uniform parent material of partly
weathered alkali-olivine basalt. The red Euchrozem soils associated
with intensive weathering and long term soil genesis have also
developed on the modern surface under a moderate leaching regime.
They are derived from re-exposed, highly weathered sesquioxidic,
interbasalt lapilli tuffs and underlying basalt which were probably
transformed under a different climate in Pliocene-Pleistocene times.

30
 Dhar (1984) studied the clay mineralogy of some teak-bearing
soils of South Chanda forest division, Maharashtra. His results
indicated that illite and kaolinite are the dominant minerals and quartz
occurs as an accessory mineral in the clay fraction. Kaolinization is the
dominant pedogenic process had resulted in the loss of bases as
indicated by clay mineralogical study. The nutrient cycling is not
sufficient to replenish the loss of bases.

Rao and Krishnamurti (1984) studied the genesis of soils of the

red and black complex near Hyderabad and reported that the red soils
derived from basalt were dominant in smectite. They concluded that
the kaolinite was formed by neosynthesis from amorphous materials in
the red soils under higher temperature and rainfall conditions of the
Pliocene period. Smectite formation in the black soils was favoured by
the alkaline environment rich in silica and ferro-magnesium minerals.
Smectite might have partly been transformed to kaolinite under acidic
to neutral pH condition in the colluvial soil derived from the kaolinitic
red soil. The smectite formation was also explained as resilication of
kaolinite in a chemical environment rich in Si and Mg and restricted
drainage.

The mineralogy of six profiles from the Median Trough of El

Salvador was investigated by Yerima et al. (1985). Most of these soils
have vertic properties and are developed from Quaternary alluvium.
Smectite is the most abundant clay mineral in the dark grey, poorly
drained soils which occur on <1% slopes. These pedons are
characterized by high SiO2/Al2O3 ratios (>1.0). Kaolinite predominates
in the well drained dark brown soils on 2 to 14 per cent slopes.
Interstratified kaolinite-smectite was only observed in moderately well
drained profiles. The results obtained in this study support the following
weathering sequence: smectite > interstratified kaolinite-smectite >
kaolinite + iron oxides.

Pal and Deshpande (1987b) studied the genesis of clay

minerals in red and black soil complex. They pointed out that in red

31
soil, dioctahedral smectite was formed from the parent rock in an
earlier climate more humid than that prevails today and under intensive
leaching environment it transformed to kaolinite. The geomorphic
analysis indicates that the black soil has been formed in alluvium from
both gneiss and basaltic rock.

Esheth (1989) studied three soils (Oxic Tropohumults) formed

from olivine basalt, located in Ikom area of southern eastern Nigeria.
Clay content in soil varied from 29.5 – 75 per cent with a mean of 55
per cent. Silt: clay ratio were less than 1.2 with low pH and low CEC.
The mixed minerals suit contained kaolinite, smectite, goethite and
quartz with kaolinite as pre-dominant mineral.

Pal et al. (1989) studied the formation of di-and trioctahedral

smectite as evidence for paleoclimatic changes in southern and central
Peninsular India. Well crystallized dioctahedral smectite was the first
weathering product of peninsular gneiss, and was subsequently
transformed to kaolinite during pre-Pliocene tropical humid climate
whereas the trioctahedral smectite was formed during the present
semi-arid climate.

Buhmann and Grubb (1991) studied a kaolin-smectite

interstratifications sequence from red and black complex. They
reported that the sequential development of kaolin is by progressive
alternation of smectite, involving kaoline-smectite interstratifications
sequence from red and black complex. The kaolin proportions in the
interstratifications increase almost linearly with increasing reddening up
to 80 per cent.

Bhattacharyya et al. (1993) studied the genesis and

transformation of minerals in the formation of red and black soils on
Deccan basalt in the Western Ghats. They observed that interstratified
smectite-kaolin (Sm/K) is dominant in red soils whereas smectite is
dominant in black soils. The Sm/K is formed by the transformation of
dioctahedral smectite, the first weathering product of Deccan basalts in

32
a humid tropical climate. They also suggested that the
interstratifications of kaolin with chloritised smectite may also be an
important ephemeral stage during the transformation of smectite to
kaolinite.

Pacharne et al. (1996) studied spatially associated Typic

Ustropepts (ferruginous) and Typic Haplusterts (black soils) of Nagpur
district of Maharashtra. In ferruginous soils, smectite was dominant
followed by kaolinite whereas Vertisols were pre-dominantly smectitic.

Pillai et al. (1996) studied spatially associated red ferruginous

(Lithic Ustorthents) and (Typic Ustochrept) black soils occurring under
similar topographic situation in close proximity in the basaltic Malegaon
plateau of Nagpur district. The presence of interstratified smectite
kaolin (Sm/K), even through in small amount, in the clay fraction
suggest the formation of kaolin from smectite. Minor amounts of Sm/K
and kaolin in ferruginous soils indicated a probable truncation of upper
layer rich in these minerals. The formation of smectite and Sm/K in
both the soils suggests that these soils were formed through a
progressive landscape reduction process.

Rupa and Shukla (1999) studied clay mineralogy of Alfisols,

Inceptisols and Vertisols of Rayalseema region of Andhra Pradesh,
and found that the smectite was pre-dominant clay mineral in Vertisols
followed by Inceptisols and Alfisols. The dominance of kaolinite in
Alfisols is due to their acidic environment and reported that the kaolinite
was negatively correlated with pH and exchangeable Ca. Mica had
significant negative relationship with exchangeable Ca and Mg, but had
highly significant positive correlation with available K 2O. Whereas
smectite had a highly significant association with CaCO3, available
P2O5 and total Fe. Thus, the soil clay mineral composition reflects the
soil ionic environment, soil reaction and abundance of the nutrient
elements.

33
 Rudramurthy and Dasog (2001) studied the formation of red and
associated black soils on basalt, granite-gneiss and chlorite-schist from
Bidar, district, Karnataka and reported that the differences in genesis
and occurrence in close proximity of these two contrasting soils was
mainly related to drainage as conditioned by relief. Smectitic mineral in
black soils were mainly due to impeded drainage in black soils
compared to red soils.

Vingiani et al. (2004) reported clay minerals from soils of a red

and black soil complex developed from basaltic parent material in
Sardania (Italy). They reported that clay minerals varied according to
soil horizon and topographic position of the soil. Clay minerals in the
Inceptisol are dominated by kaolinite and mixed layer kaolinite-smectite
(K-S) whereas the Vertisols contains smectites and kaolinite-smectite.
In the Vertisols, the proportion of kaolintic layers in the K-S increases
from the C horizon (K:S~0.35-0.40) to the Ap horizon (K:S~0.40-0.45).
They indicated that two types of smectite are formed in the C horizon of
the Vertisols. One is more ferric (Fe-beidellite, nontrotite), the other
more aluminous. Mineralogical evolution in soil profile (from C to Ap
horizon) shows a decreasing proportion of ferric smectite layers
(compared to the more aluminous smectite layers). This would
indicated that ferric smectite layers are preferentially transformed to
give kaolinite layers with Fe precipitating as oxides and /or oxy-
hydroxides or retained partly in kaolinite layers.

Pal et al. (2006 a) in their study on a <100 years old shrink–

swell soil (Vertic Haplustalf) of Central India reported the soil has
typical physical, chemical and mineralogical properties of Vertisols but
lack in slickensides. Through a characterization of impure clay
pedofeatures in voids and poorly separated plasma, they proved that
clay illuviation is more important pedogenic process than
pedoturbation. They suggested a highly probable pathway for the
formation of Vertisols with time from vertic Alfisols in sub-humid and
semi–arid climatic conditions of Central India.

34
 Jondhle and Jagdish Prasad (2006) reported that total clay in
surface horizon of rice-growing had dominance of smecitite and sub-
ordinate amounts of chlorite and small amount of kaoline (smectite-
kaolinite interstratified minerals) whereas non-rice soil was dominated
by smectite and had only small amounts of kaoline and traces of
chlorite unlike in rice soils.

Leelavathi et al. (2010) studied the mineralogy of clay fractions

and characteristics of soils developed from granite-genesis parent
material of Yerpedu Mandal in Chittor district of Andhra Pradesh and
reported that the smectite present in semi-arid soils was formed either
through a progressive landscape reduction process or might have been
formed in an earlier humid climate. Kaolinite mineral could be formed
by neosynthesis from the products of hydrolytic decomposition of
feldspars and other primary minerals. Mica in the soil clays can be
attributed to the alterations and transformation of potash feldspars from
the granite-genesis.

Samndi and Jibrin (2012) studied the pedogenesis and

classification of soils under teak plantation of various ages in the
Southern Guinea Savanna of Nigeria. The study showed that the main
pedogenic processes were braunification, mineralization and
lessivation. Floral pedoturbation encouraged illuviation, thus resulting
into formation of clay films on ped surfaces and Bt horizons.

Thus, the mineralogy of the associated red and black soils vary
with the parent material conditioned with climate and geomorphologic
features. However, smectite is common mineral in formed from basaltic
parent material and it weathered to kaolinite or intensified kaolinite-
smectite material.

2.4. Soil quality

Soil quality was introduced in 1977 by Warkentin and Fletcher

as a concept to guide, use and allocation of labour, fiscal and other
inputs to meet increasing demand being placed on agriculture. In

35
subsequent decades, soil quality has become a useful education and
assessment tool. The concept of soil quality emerged in the literature in
the early 1990s (Doran and Safley, 1997; Wienhold et al., 2004) and
the first official application of the term was approved by the Soil
Science Society of America Ad-Hoc Committee on Soil Quality (S-581)
and discussed by Karlen et al. (1997).

Jenny (1941) stated that soil quality can be assessed within a

framework that recognizes both the inherent and dynamic soil
properties and processes. Inherent soil characteristics are those that
are determined by basic soil forming factors: parent material, climate,
topography, time and vegetation, which are reflected in productivity in
the environment.

Granatstein (1990) concluded that improved soil quality is

generally indicated by increased infiltration, macro-pores, aggregate
and stability, soil organic matter and aeration and by decreased soil
resistance to tillage and root penetration, and decreased run-off and
erosion.

Reganold et al. (1990) compared biodynamic and conventional

farming systems with respect to soil quality or profitability. These
studies have shown that the biodynamic farming systems generally
have better soil quality, lower crop yields, and equal or higher net
returns per hectare than their conventional counterparts.

Parr et al. (1992) were first to propose a soil quality index (SQ)
at the International Conference on the Assessment and Monitoring of
soil quality held at the Rodale Institute, United States, the equation to
determine it being SQ = f (SP, P, E, H, ER, BD, FQ, MI),where, SP
denotes soil properties, P denotes potential productivity, E the
environmental factors, H the health (human/animal), ER the erodibility,
BD the biological diversity, FQ the food quality/safety and MI are
management inputs.

36
 Karlen and Stout (1994) proposed soil quality models are similar
in concept and approach except that they include soil properties
representing soil functions in addition to soil productivity (e.g.
regulation of hydrologic cycle, bioremediation of wastes, carbon
sequestration).

Pieri et al. (1995) introduced new concepts of soil and land

quality and often these are used interchangeably. The land quality is
the condition, state or ‘health’ of the land relative to human
requirements, including agricultural production, forestry, conservation
and environmental management.

Doran et al. (1996) and Larson and Pierce (1991) outlined the
criteria for soil quality indicators that are 1) encompass ecosystem
processes 2) Integrate of soil physical, chemical and biological
properties and processes 3) Accessible to many users and applicable
to field conditions 4) Sensitive to variations in management and
climate.

Bouma and Droogas (1998) assessed land quality based on soil

quality indicators is two-dimensional because climate is another major
attribute of the land, which needs to be taken into consideration while
assessing land quality with reference to crops. In fact, land quality may
be evaluated as crop specific climatic requirements for its phenological
growth and yield besides a specific soil environment for maximum
nutrient harvesting.

A minimum dataset (MDS) was proposed to measure soil quality

and its changes due to management practices through selection of key
indicators such as soil texture, organic matter, pH, nutrient status, bulk
density, electrical conductivity and rooting depth (Larson and Pierce,
1994). Collecting a minimum data set helps to identify locally relevant
soil indicators and to evaluate the link between selected indicators and
significant soil and plant properties. It is a minimum set of indicators
required to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the soil attributes

37
evaluated. More importantly they serve as a useful tool for screening
the condition, quality, and health of soil (Doran et al., 1996; Larson and
Pierce, 1994; Doran and Parkin, 1994). For smallholding farmers these
tools need to be simple measures of soil health and soil quality such as
consistency, colour and workability.

Karlen et al. (1994) were first to establish multi-parametric index

for SQ. This framework uses selected soil functions, which are
weighted and integrated according to the following expression as

SQ = qwe(wt) + qwma(wt) + qrd(wt) + qfqp(wt),

where, qwe is the rating for the soil's ability to accommodate water
entry; qwma is the rating for the soil's ability to facilitate water transfer
and absorption, qrd is the rating for the soil's ability to resist
degradation, qfqp is the rating for the soil's ability to sustain plant
growth, and wt is the numerical weight for each soil function. Thus,
overall SQ score is given by the sum of all function scores.

Doran and Parkin (1994) described a performance-based index

of SQ that could be used to provide an evaluation of soil function with
regard to the major issues of sustainable production, environmental
quality, and human and animal health. They proposed the following SQ
index consisting of six elements.

SQ = f (SQE1, SQE2, SQE3, SQE4, SQE5, SQE6),

where SQE1 is the food and fibre production, SQE2 the erosivity,
SQE3 the ground water quality, SQE4 the surface water quality, SQE5
the air quality, and SQE6 is the food quality. The advantage of this
approach is that soil functions can be assessed based on specific
performance criteria established for each element for a given
ecosystem.

Karlen et al. (1997) stated that assessing soil quality requires

collaboration among all disciplines of science to examine and interpret

38
their result in the context of land management strategies, interactions
and trade-off, society is demanding solutions from science. Simply
measuring and reporting the response of individual soil parameters to a
given perturbation or management practice is no longer sufficient. The
soil resources must be recognized as a dynamic living system that
emerges through a unique balance and interaction of its biological,
chemical and physical components.

Arvidsson and Hakansson (1997) stated that soil porosity will

abruptly decrease following increase in soil compaction. This
phenomenon reduces soil air and water pores which subsequently
strengthen soil aggregates. However, soil compaction will later reduce
plant root activities because less air and water space will be available
by which this constraint also will cause stunted plant growth.
Furthermore, Håkansson and Lipiec (2000) claimed that soil
compaction is a very crucial soil parameter influencing soil quality.

Wang and Gong (1998) analysed SQ changes after eleven

years of reclamation in sub-tropical China. This study was conducted at
the Qian-Yan-Zhou experimental station of the Chinese Academy of
Sciences (QYZES) and soils are classified into four soil groups namely,
red soils, paddy soils (PS), meadow soils (MS), and umbrihumus
meadow soils (US). They divided each of the indicators into four
classes I, II, III, IV. Class I is the most suitable for plant growth, class II
suitable to plant growth but with slight limitations, class III with more
serious limitation than class II, and class IV with severe limitations for
plant growth. For judging the SQI value of any site against maximum
theoretical value, they combined 12 indicators into relative soil quality
index (RSQI). The equation for calculating RSQI value is

RSQI = (SQI / SQIm) X 100,

where SQI is SQ index, SQIm is the maximum value of SQI. The SQI is
calculated from the equation as SQI = ∑ Wi Ii where, W are the weight
ith of the indicator, I the mark of the ith indicator class. By computing

39
RSQI values, SQ in different regions can be compared even if they are
evaluated with different evaluation systems, weightings, and classes.

Pettapiece et al. (1998) estimated the change in SQ for 15 eco-

districts in Alberta, Canada. These changes were estimated from the
change in ratings over 30 years, which were based on EPIC
simulations of soil processes. This approach primarily reflects goals
related to crop productivity, but it also provides direct estimates of the
type and extent of soil degradation, which could be used to develop
indicators for other goals related to soil functions. SQ assessment
typically includes the quantification of indicators that are derived from
educational studies or general quantitative observations of soil
(Saybold et al., 1998).

Andrews and Carroll (2000) were first to develop a general

approach for choosing the most representative indicators from large
existing data sets and used for a poultry-litter management case study
at Institute of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA to
illustrate the design and use of SQI. A multivariate statistical technique
was used to determine the smallest set of chemical, physical, and
biological indicators that account for at least 85% of the variability in
the total data set. They defined this set as the minimum dataset (MDS)
for evaluating SQ. The efficacy of the chosen MDS was then evaluated
to assess sustainable management by performing multiple regressions
of each MDS against numerical estimates of environmental and
agricultural management sustainability goals (i.e., net revenues, peak
runoff potential, metal contamination, and amount of litter disposed of).
Each MDS was then transferred and combined into an additive SQI.
Index values exhibited significant differences between management
treatments. Use of this generalized framework allowed indices to be
tailored to local conditions. The resulting SQ index appeared to be an
effective monitor of sustainable management.

Bindraban et al. (2000) revealed that land quality indicators

should represent a generic description of the functional role of land.

40
System approaches that integrate relevant factors and processes e.g.
in models, are a valuable means to derive land quality indicators.

Doran and Zeiss (2000) assessed a soil quality or health, and

suggested its (quality) direction of change with time, is the primary
indicator of sustainable management. Scientists can make a significant
contribution to sustainable land management by translating scientific
knowledge and information on soil function into practical tools and
approaches by which land managers can assess the sustainability of
their management practices.

Many potential parameters of SQ assessed at various scales

have been proposed (Karlen et al., 2001). For example, a SQ index
was estimated by weighing factors related to water infiltration
(aggregate stability, microbial processes), soil pH, and plant growth
(rooting depth, water relations and nutrient relations) (Karlen et al.,
1994). However, Karlen et al. (2001) stated that there is no ideal or
universal index for SQ.

Karlen et al. (2003) assessed tools for indexing soil quality at

various scales to show the multiple functions (e.g. nutrient and water
cycling, filtering and buffering of contaminants, decomposition of crop
residues and other organic matter sources, and recycling of essential
plant nutrients) that soils provide as the foundation for sustainable land
management. Worldwide research and technology transfer efforts have
increased have both inherent characteristics determined by their basic
soil formation factors and dynamic characteristics influenced by human
decisions and management practices. Soil quality assessment and
education are intended to provide a better understanding and
awareness that soil resources represent living bodies with biological,
chemical, and physical properties and processes performing essential
ecosystem services.

Chaudhury et al. (2005) determined the SQ index of the soil of

experimental site belonging to new Gangetic alluvium with sandy loam

41
texture at Central Research Institute for Jute and Allied Fibres,
Barrackpore, West Bengal, India with rice-wheat-jute cropping
sequence under All India Coordinated Research Project on Long-Term
Fertilizer Experiment. They followed four main steps namely, defining
goal, selection of minimum data set (MDS) of indicators that best
represent soil function, scoring the MDS indicators based on their
performance of soil function, and integration of the indicator score into
a comparative index of SQ. The data were reduced to a minimum data
set through a series of uni- and multivariate statistical methods using
SPSS software. The non-parametric statistics (Kruskal-Wallis x2) were
used to identify indicators with significant treatment differences. The
standardized principal component analysis (PCA) was performed for
each statistically significant variable. Then, selection of MDS variables
for each observation was weighted by using the PCA results, the final
formula being where, W is the PC weighting factor
and S is the indicator score. Here, the assumption is that higher index
scores meant better SQ or greater performance of soil functions.

Sharma et al. (2005) studied long term soil management effects

on crop yields and SQ in a dryland Alfisol of CRIDA, Hyderabad. They
determined SQ index using the following steps, defining goal, selecting
a minimum dataset, scoring the MDS indicators based on their
performance of soil function and integrating the indicator scores into a
comparative index of SQ. The weighted MDS variable scores were
then summed up for each observation using the following equation
where S is the score for the subscripted variable
and Wi is the weighing factor derived from PCA. Here the assumption
is that higher index scores meant better SQ or greater performance of
soil function.

Rezaei et al. (2005) examined the use of soil quality (SQ)

assessment to predict soil productivity and stability as a component of
site potential for rangelands. Two minimum sets of data were
compared for the SQ assessment within an area of relatively uniform

42
climate. Data set 1 consisted of total soil N, topsoil depth, effective
profile depth (EPD), and grade of structure, thus incorporating only soil
chemical and physical properties. Dataset 2 included exchangeable
soil potassium, EPD, soil water retention capacity at wilting point, a soil
slake test, and a nutrient cycling index. The interrelationships between
soil properties and plant growth characteristics (i.e. total and herbage
yield) were investigated and interpreted by statistical analysis and
expert knowledge (Karlen et al., 1994).

Rezaei et al. (2006) assessed SQ in rangelands of Tehran, Iran.

The study area is occupied by Lithic and Typic Xerorthents, Typic
Haploxerecpts, and Fluvaquents. The Landscape Function Analysis
(LFA) method considers rangelands as landscape systems. They
selected two MDSs by a procedure that used two different
combinations of indicators. The MDS1 included only soil chemical and
physical properties; and MDS2 utilized soil properties and landscape
function analysis indices. Step 1: They used Pearson correlation
coefficients to determine the eligible dependent variables for inclusion
in the second step. Step 2: Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was
employed as a data reduction tool to select the most appropriate
indicators of site potential for the study area from the list of indicators
generated in Step1. Step 3: Multiple regression analysis was
considered to be an appropriate tool to assess how well the selected
minimum datasets represent range capability (site potential). Thus, this
method has been described for selecting the most appropriate soil
properties for assessing SQ and the potential of rangelands.

Guilin et al. (2007) established a minimum dataset for SQ

assessment based on soil properties and land-use changes at Suzhou
city in Shanghai. The selection steps included as i) PCs with eigen
value ≥ 1 qualified by PCA analysis. ii) In each qualified PC, those
parameters with factor loading ≥ 0.5 were selected as a new group. iii)
Sum score was calculated for each parameter. iv) Pearson correlation
analysis was conducted to examine the data redundancy between the

43
qualified parameters. The parameter with the highest score was
chosen if high correlation (correlation coefficient ≥ 0.5) existed between
these qualified parameters and all were chosen if they were lowly
correlated. Finally, correlation was undertaken among final MDS sieved
from all groups to further reduce the data redundancy.

Sharma and Mandal (2009) selecting the appropriate soil quality

indicators to efficiently and effectively monitor critical soil functions as
determined by the specific management goals for which an evaluation
is being made. These indicators together form a minimum dataset
(MDS) that can be used to determine the performance of critical soil
functions to combine the various chemical, physical and biological
measurements with totally different units.

Efforts to characterize soil quality have focused primarily on soil

chemical and physical properties because relatively simple and
standardized methods of the measurement are available. Soil
biological properties have been neglected largely because of the
difficulty in quantifying and predicting soil biological behaviour
consequently, no single reliable indicator of soil quality has been
designated (Mali, 2010). The impact of different land use types on soil
quality was evaluated by measuring several soil properties that are
sensitive to stress or disturbance and by using two synthetic
approaches, i.e. a numerical quality index and multivariate analysis. It
was indicated that there is a clear difference in soil quality among the
studied areas: low soil quality (SQI < 0.55) in almost all permanent
crops; intermediate soil quality (0.55 < SQI < 0.70) in shrub lands,
grazing lands, coniferous forest and middle-hill olive grove (the only
crop with an herb layer on the soil surface); high soil quality (SQI >
0.70) in mixed forests. Results suggested that the permanent crop
management had generally a strong negative impact on soil quality,
while the moderate grazing activity and the crop management that
leaves an herb cover on the soil had a lower negative impact.
Nevertheless, the abandonment of cultivated lands, with consequent

44
development of shrub lands, produced an improvement of soil quality
suggesting a good recovery capacity in the studied soil (Marzaioli et al.,
2010).

Dadhawal et al. (2011) investigated the impact of different land

use systems on soil quality in tropical north-western hilly region of India
using a systematic framework. The assessment framework comprises
of a minimum dataset, linear scoring functions and weighted additive
indices. Soil quality was evaluated according to seven identified soil
attributes. With respect to the forest soil, bulk density increased by as
much as 1.6 to 8.0 per cent, organic carbon. When the attributes were
combined to assess the performance of soil functionality, the forest
land use system showed higher overall soil quality. Study showed that
land use has a great influence on many soil quality attributes, mostly
through its effect on soil organic matter, and hydraulic conductivity. The
study further revealed that cultivation on the hill slopes has resulted in
a significant deterioration of soil quality as described by different
physical and chemical soil attributes.

Mandal et al. (2011) gave an assessment framework, including

a minimum dataset, linear scoring technique, and additive indices to
evaluate the soil quality index (SQI) of a watershed. Principal
component analysis identified cation exchange capacity, exchangeable
Na percentage, DTPA-extractable Zn, available P, available water, and
dehydrogenase activity as the most important indicators for evaluating
soilquality. A krigged map of SQI was prepared for the watershed. The
SQI was higher in irrigated systems (3.01) than under rainfed
conditions (2.53), and it was 2.61 and 2.53 in fallow and permanent
fallow fields, respectively. In this study, potential soil loss calculated
using the Universal Soil Loss Equation and crop yield were identified
as the quantifiable management goals; the results indicated that good
soils having higher soil quality indices were also productive and less
erosion prone.

45
 Kundu et al. (2012) assessed soil health of Vertisols of AESR
10.1 using selected physical, chemical and biological attributes of soils
from Sehore and Vidisha district of Madhya Pradesh. The evaluation
was done using 15 soil attributes comprising physical (available
moisture, texture and bulk density), chemical (pH, available N, P, K, S,
Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu and B) and biological (soil organic carbon and microbial
biomass carbon).They assigned weight to each attribute depending on
available knowledge about their relative role in influencing crop yield
and also on the basis of soil conditions, cropping pattern and agro-
climatic conditions of study area. They categorized the status of each
attribute into four classes namely, Class I (Very good), Class II (Good),
Class III (Poor) and Class IV (Very poor) with assigned marks of 4,3,2
and 1 respectively. SQ index was calculated by the relationship
SQI = ∑ Wi Mi, where, Wi = weight of ith indicator and Mi = marks of ith
indicator class. The theoretical range of SQI was 100 to 400 i.e.
minimum value is 100 (poor quality soil) and maximum value is 400
(best quality). Then for judging the SQI value of any site against
maximum theoretical value, they computed relative SQ index (RSQI)

using this RSQI, they categorized soils with RSQI values of less than
50% as poor, 50-70% as medium and more than 70% as good quality
soil.

Lima et al. (2013) investigate soil quality assessments based on

29 indicators, a sub-set with 8 of those indicators, and 4 indicators
selected independently by farmers, based on their perceptions of soil
quality. The assessments were made for three different rice
management systems in Camaquã, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, on
soils of four soil textural classes based on clay content (<200, 200–
400, 400–600, or >600 g kg−1 ). The effects of land management
practices on soil functions (water infiltration, storage and supply;
nutrient storage, supply and cycling; and sustained biological activity)

46
were evaluated. Soil quality was best assessed using the entire set of
29 indicators, but use of smaller indicator sets showed the same trends
among management systems, textural classes, and soil functions, thus
providing meaningful information on soil quality for land managers.

Sharma et al. (2014) assessed soil quality was done by

identifying the key indicators using principal component analysis
(PCA), linear scoring technique (LST), soil quality indices (SQI), and
relative soil quality indices (RSQI). Results revealed that most of the
soil quality parameters were significantly influenced by the
management treatments in the experiment.

Rahmanipour et al. (2014) compared two different methods for

soil quality index calculation in agricultural lands of Qazvin Province,
Iran. In particular, the Integrated Quality Index (IQI) and Nemoro
Quality Index (NQI) models were applied using the indicator selection
methods: Total Data Set (TDS) and Minimum Dataset (MDS). Principal
Components Analysis (PCA) was used to select the indicators to
include in MDS. The tested soil quality indices were appropriate to
evaluate the effects of land management practices on soil quality. The
results identified better estimation of soil quality applying IQI index
when compared to NQI index and higher values of agreement of TSD
than MSD. However, also IQIMSD approach resulted in suitable
evaluation of the effects of land management practices on soil quality.
This latter result was particularly relevant in the area studied because
the use of a limited number of indicators could allow to reduce the cost
of the analysis and to increase the sampling density in order to obtain a
more detailed evaluation of soil quality through a geostatistical
approach.

Vasu et al. (2016) used SQI as a tool to evaluate crop

productivity in semi-arid Deccan plateau. Two different SQIs were
estimated for soil surface (0–15 cm) and control section (0–100 cm)

47
using soil profile data of six identified soil series in part of semi-arid
tropical (SAT) Deccan plateau and correlated with crop yield. Principal
component analysis (PCA) and expert opinion (EO) methods were
used for selecting minimum dataset (MDS) In general, weighted index
SQIs were better correlated with crop yield than the additive index
SQIs for both PCA and EO methods. EO derived weighted index SQI
were comparable for both surface and control section except for few
cases and consistent in their correlation with the crop yield, indicating
its better performance as compared to PCA.

48
 Chapter III

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The present research investigation entitled “Genesis and quality

of black and associated red soils under teak and sandalwood in Seoni
district, Madhya Pradesh” was carried out by using methodically
collected soil samples. In this chapter brief description of the profile
sites and the methods of analysis for different physical, chemical and
mineralogical properties and calculations of other parameters are
presented.

3.1 Study area details

3.1.1 Extent:

Seoni district is one of the southern districts of Madhya Pradesh

and spread over 8,752 sq.km area. The district (21° 35' - 22° 58' N; 79o
12'-81°18' E) is bordered by Jabalpur, Narsinghpur and Mandla
districts in the north, Balaghat in the east, Chhindwara in the west and
Nagpur district of Maharashtra in the south

Lakhnadon is the second biggest town in Seoni district and one

of the oldest tehsil of Madhya Pradesh located at 22° 36′ 0″ N, 79° 36′
0″ E with 607 m above MSL little far from the geographical centre of the
Indian sub-continent. The major forest belt runs from east to west along
the Satpura hill ranges and north to south along the foot hills near the
Seoni town.

3.1.2 Geology:

The geology of the district comprises of Tirodi Biotite-Gneiss

(TBG), Quartzite, Mica Schist of Supracrustal Sausar Group - (SSG),
Calc Silicate rocks of Lohangi series, Muscovite-Biotite schist of
Mansaur series, Quartzite, Quartz-Muscovite schist of Charbaoli series
and Crystalline Limestone and Dolomite of Bichua series (GSI, 2002) in

49
the southeastern parts, whereas, remaining part of the district was
covered by Deccan Traps with sporadic occurrence of lameta,
intertrappean beds, laterite cappings and Meso-Proterozoic to recent
alluvium. The area forms part of the Narmada river system, that
occupies about 25% of the area in the north of the district and the
Wainganga river system occupying about 75% of the area in the south.

3.1.3 Climate:

The area experiences a tropical monsoon climate with ustic soil

moisture and hyperthermic soil temperature regime. The climate of
Seoni District, M.P. characterized by a hot summer and general
dryness except during the southwest monsoon season given in Table
3.1. The year may be divided into four seasons. The cold season,
December to February is followed by the hot season from March to
about the middle of June. The period from the middle of June to
September is the southwest monsoon. October and November form
the post monsoon or transition period. The normal annual rainfall of
Seoni district is 1329.8 mm. Seoni District received maximum rainfall
received during southwest monsoon period i.e. June to September.
The maximum rainfall received is 1600.1 mm and minimum is 1289.9
mm. The normal maximum temperature received during the month of
May is 40.3 0C and minimum during the month of December is 11.3 oC.
The normal annual means maximum and minimum temperatures of
Seoni district are 31.3 0C and 18.9 oC respectively. During the
southwest monsoon season the relative humidity generally exceeds
88% (August month). In the rest of the year it is drier. The driest part of
the year is the summer season, when relative humidity is less 34%.
May is the driest month of the year.

The wind velocity is higher during the pre monsoon period as

compared to post monsoon period. The maximum wind velocity 7.7 km
hr-1 observed during the month of June and minimum 3.9 km hr-1 during
the month of December. The average normal annual wind velocity of
Seoni district is 5.9 km hr-1.

50
Table 3.1 Climate data of Seoni District

Sr.
Parameter Jan Feb Mar April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Annual
No

1 Max. Temp (oC) 26.1 29.3 33.8 38 40.3 35.9 29.5 28.5 29.8 30.6 28.3 26.0 31.3

2 Min. Temp (oC) 11.4 13.8 18.0 22.4 25.5 24.5 22.6 22.2 21.7 18.8 14.1 11.3 18.9

Relative Humidity
3 62 53 41 35 34 65 87 88 81 65 57 61 61
(%)

Wind Velocity
4 5.1 5.8 5.8 6.3 6.9 7.7 7.2 6.7 6.0 5.2 4.3 3.9 5.9
(km hr-1)

5 Rainfall (mm) 17.1 18.2 25.6 12.3 20.9 186.6 393.6 370.7 191 50.9 19.8 17 1329.8

51
3.1.4 Location

Ten pedons were selected for the study after traversing the
Lakhnadon tehsil, Seoni district of Madhya Pradesh (Fig.3.1). Details of
location of pedons, their elevation and depth is given in table 3.2

3.1.5 Natural vegetation

The major natural vegetation of the area comprises dry

deciduous tree species and some grass/weed species. The commonly
observed tree species are Teak (Tectona grandis), Palas (Butea
monosperma), Sandalwood (Santalum album), Neem (Azadirachta
indica), Ber (Ziziphus jujuba), Mahua (Madhuca latifolia), Babul (Acacia
arabia), Karanj (Pongamia pinnata), Subabul (Leucaena leucocephala),
Pipal (Ficus religiosa), Adulsa (Justicia adhatoda), Ashoka (Saraca
indica).

3.1.6 Present land use

Soils of the study area dominantly support forest.

3.2 Field Investigation

3.2.1 Growth parameter of trees

For measuring the girth of trunk, height and age of tree, ten
trees were selected randomly at each site. The girth of trunk was
measured at breast height. The age of the tree was confirmed by local
forest officials.

Volume estimation of selected trees was done according to

procedure outlined by (Chakrabarti and Gaharwar, 1995) for teak.

52
Fig. 3.1 Location map of study area

53
Table 3.2 Location of pedons

Pedon Location Elevation Slope Stoniness

Landform Geology Depth Erosion Drainage Run-off
No. Latitude Longitude (MSL) (%) (%)
TEAK-SUPPORTING SOILS
Very shallow
P1 Plateau Basalt 22˚41’01”N 79˚31’04”E 598 3-8 Severe well 3-15 Rapid
(18 cm)
Shallow
P2 Plateau Basalt 22˚40’13”N 79˚30’42”E 621 1-3 Moderate well 3-15 Medium
(37cm)
Shallow
P3 Plateau Basalt 22˚40’16”N 79˚30’49”E 618 1-3 Moderate well <3 Medium
(31 cm)
Laterized Very deep
P4 Plateau 22˚54’25”N 79˚31’35”E 644 3-8 Moderate well 3-15 Medium
basalt (158 cm)
Subdued Shallow
P5 Basalt 21˚53’52”N 79˚31’53”E 631 3-5 Moderate well 3-15 Medium
Plateau (27 cm)
SANDALWOOD-SUPPORTING SOILS
Foot Very deep Very Moderately
P6 Basalt 22˚51’18”N 79˚40’09”E 462 3-8 <3 Slow
slope (152 cm) slow well
Foot Moderately
P7 Basalt 22˚51’30”N 79˚40’16”E 469 8-15 Moderate well 3-15 Medium
slope deep (52 cm)
Foot Moderately
P8 Basalt 22˚51’18”N 79˚40’13”E 464 Deep(112cm) 3-5 Moderate <3 Medium
slope well
Escarp Shallow Very
P9 Basalt 22˚39’48”N 79˚40’14”E 564 15-30 well 3-15 Rapid
slope (30 cm) severe
Escarp Shallow
P10 Basalt 22˚39’46”N 79˚40’15”E 565 30-50 Severe well 3-15 Rapid
slope (37 cm)

54
3.2.2 Site Selection

Traversing of the study area was carried out initially for site
selection. Natural teak and sandalwood-supporting black and
associated red soils were selected for soil sampling. Representative
five pedons from teak-supporting soils and five from sandalwood-
supporting soils were exposed. The soil-site characteristics such as
landform, location, slope, run-off, drainage, erosion and stoniness were
also studied and recorded in site description proforma.

3.2.3 Collection and Processing of Soil Samples

Detailed morphological examination was carried out as per

procedures laid down in USDA Soil Survey Manual (Soil Survey Staff,
2014). Morphological examination was carried out to horizonation,
depth, colour, texture, structure, consistency, pores and roots, soil
reaction and presence of special features such as concretions,
pressure faces and slickensides.

Laboratory Investigations

3.3.1 Soil sample processing

The soil samples were air dried at room temperature. The

samples were ground using wooden mortar and pestle and sieved
through <2 mm sieve. The processed samples of <2 mm size were
labeled and stored in polythene bags for subsequent physical and
chemical analyses. A brief description of standard procedures followed
for various physical, chemical and mineralogical characteristics are
detailed in this section.

3.3.2 Analysis of Soil samples

3.3.2.1 Physical Properties

Particle-size distribution (PSD)

Particle-size analysis is a measurement of the size distribution

of individual particles in a soil sample. Particle-size distribution was

55
determined as per International Pipette Method after the removal of
cementing agents (organic carbon, CaCO3 and free Fe2O3) (Jackson,
1979).

The air-dried soil samples (<2 mm) were treated with 1 N

sodium acetate (pH 5.0) to destroy calcium carbonate. H 2O2 (30% v/v)
treatment was given to oxidize organic matter followed by citrate-
bicarbonate dithionite (CBD) treatment for the removal of free iron
oxides (Mehra and Jackson, 1960). Sand (2000-50 µm) was separated
by wet sieving. Silt (50-2 µm), coarse clay (2-0.6 µm), medium clay
(0.6-0.2 µm) and fine clay (<0.2 µm) were separated after dispersion
according to the size segregation procedure of Jackson (1979).

Water Dispersible Clay (WDC)

The water dispersible clay was determined by taking 10g of soil

and then shaking on an end to end shaker for 8 hours. Suspension
aliquots were drawn by following the International Pipette Method.

Bulk Density (BD)

The bulk density of soil was determined by a field moist method

using core sampler. The bulk density was calculated by dividing the
oven dry weight of soil by corresponding volume of core samplers (Soil
Conservation Service, 1970).

Moisture Retention

The relation between the soil water content and soil water
suction is a fundamental part of the characterization of hydraulic
properties of a soil. The moisture retention at -33 kPa and -1500 kPa
was determined by using pressure plate apparatus (Soil Moisture
Equipment Co., Santa Barbara, California). The sieved soil samples in
duplicate were filled in rubber soil retainer rings of 6 cm diameter and 1
cm height on ceramic plate of requisite capacity. The soil in the ring
was allowed to saturate for 24 h with an excess of water and the
requisite pressure from a source of compressed air was applied on the

56
next day. Moisture was determined gravimetrically after the soils have
attained equilibrium at a particular pressure.

3.2.2.2 Chemical Properties

Soil reaction (pH)

The term soil pH is one of the most decisive measurements of

the chemical properties of a soil. The concept of pH is based on the
ionic product of pure water. The pH of a soil was measured by a pH
meter, after equilibrating the soil with water in the ratio of 1:2 soil:water
suspensions (Jackson, 1958).

Electrical conductivity (EC)

A fairly qualitative estimate of the salt content of the solutions

extracted from soils can be made from their electrical conductance.
The EC of a soil: water (1:2) suspension was determined by ELICO
conductivity bridge (Richards, 1954).

Organic carbon (OC)

Organic carbon in soil organic matter comprising about 48 to 58

per cent of the total weight. Therefore, organic carbon determinations
are often used as the basis for estimating the organic matter by
multiplying the organic carbon value by a factor 1.724.

Organic carbon in 100 mesh soil samples was determined by

modified Walkley and Black rapid titration procedure (Jackson, 1973).

Calcium carbonate (CaCO3)

For the determination of calcium carbonate equivalent the soils

were first treated with excess hydrochloric acid of known volume and
strength (0.5 N HCl) to neutralize all carbonates. The soils were heated
on a hot plate for about 30 minutes to bring to a condition close to
boiling, cooled and filtered. The excess of hydrochloric acid was back
titrated with standard NaOH solution using phenolphthalein as an
indicator (Piper, 1966).

57
Exchangeable cations

Exchangeable sodium and potassium were determined by

leaching the soil with neutral normal ammonium acetate solution (pH
7.0) and cations were determined by Flame Photometer (Jackson,
1967). Exchangeable calcium and magnesium were determined by
leaching the soil with 1N KCl triethanolamine buffered solution (pH
8.2), using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (Jackson, 1967).

Cation exchange capacity (CEC)

Weighed amounts of the fine soil samples were saturated with

1N sodium acetate solution (pH 8.2). After removal of excess sodium
acetate by washing with alcohol, the adsorbed Na+ was extracted by
washing with 1N ammonium acetate (pH 7.0) and the leachate was
made up to a known (100 ml) volume (Richards, 1954). The Na+ ions
present in the leachate were determined by using an atomic absorption
spectrophotometer.

Available Micronutrient (Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu)

Available Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu were extracted by using DTPA

extractant (Diethylene triamine penta acetic acid). The extractant
consists of 0.005 M DTPA, 0.1 M triethanol amine and 0.01 M CaCl2
adjusted to pH 7.3. The soil test consists of shaking 25 gm of air-dried
soil with 50 ml of extractant for 2 hours. The extract obtained through
filtration was used to measure Zn, Fe, Mn and Cu by Atomic absorption
spectrophotometer (Lindsay and Norvell, 1978).

Total elemental analysis of soil

The 200-250 mg soil finely ground soil (100 mesh) was taken a
microwave oven closed vessel and the initially digested by using 9 ml
concentrated HNO3, 4 ml 48% HF, and 3 ml concentrated HCl. The
samples were heated in the microwave to 180 ˚C and then digested for
9.5 min. The vessels were allowed to cool, a 2.5% w/v H 3BO3 (Boric
acid) solution was added to the sample, and the entire contents

58
quantitatively transferred to a 100 ml volumetric flask with additional
H3BO3 solution.

Extracts were analyzed for tolal Al, Si, Ti, Fe, Ca, Mg, K and Mn
by using an inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry instrument
(ICP-MS) (Page et al., 1982 and Wilson et al., 2006).

3.2.2.3 Mineralogical analysis of X-ray diffractometer

The sand (2.0-0.05 mm), silt (0.05-0.002 mm), total clay (<
0.002 mm) and fine clay (< 0.0002 mm) fractions of each horizons of
ten pedons were analysed for qualitative mineralogy by X-ray
diffraction (XRD) techniques. About 40 mg of fine clay, total clay and
silt were taken and saturated with Ca and K. Parallel oriented
aggregated specimens of total clay, fine clay and silt samples of all the
horizons of the pedons were prepared on glass slide (4.5 x 2.5 cm)
taking 1 ml suspension in each case. Slides were dried at room
temperature and then subjected to XRD analysis (Jackson, 1979).
Sand fraction was finely ground to power which was evenly spread on
sample holder and subjected to XRD.

For identification of minerals sand, silt, total clay and fine clay
fractions were subjected to XRD of the parallel oriented samples using
a Philips X’Pert Pro diffractometer with Ni filtered Cu-Kα radiation at a
scanning speed of 2°2θ/min. Different thermal pre-treatments as
required were given to distinguish and confirm the type of mineral
present. (Jackson, 1979).

XRD analysis

Normally, as a routine method, the following treatments were followed.

1) Ca : Ca-saturation
2) CaEG : Ca-saturated and ethylene glycol solvated
3) K-25oC : K-saturated and room temperature 25°C
4) K-110°C : K-saturated and heated to 110°C
5) K-300°C : K-saturated and heated to 300°C
6) K-550°C : K-saturated and heated to 550°C

59
 The semi-quantitative estimates of minerals in the silt, total clay,
and fine clay fractions were done by the method outlined by Gjems
(1967).

3.2.2.4 Soil quality

 Assessment of soil quality index

The SQI was calculated by the methodologies of Doran and

Parkin (1994), Karlen et al., (1997, 2001), Andrews et al., (2002). To
arrive at a minimum datasets (MDS), two methodologies were used as
follows:

Principal Component Analysis (PCA)

This technique is used to identify the minimum soil parameters

which can give the interpretable information to explain the physical and
chemical parameters of a particular group of soils working parameters
to handle.

The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) technique (Doran and

Parkin, 1994; Andrews et al., 2002) was employed here using SPSS
(Version 21.0). PCA is a mathematical procedure that transforms
several correlated variables into a smaller number of uncorrelated
variables. It is widely used as a method for handling large set of data
and aid in deducing the complexity of multidimensional system by
maximization of component loadings variance and elimination of invalid
component (Loska and Wiechula, 2003).

 Soil quality (SQ) assessment

Computation of soil quality index:

From the weight factor arrived from PCA are used to compare
as multiplicative factor of that properties. From the variance table, the
per cent total variance for each PC is divided by per cent cumulative
variance to get the weightage value (Wi) for each PC (Table 4.19). All
the independent parameters (after pearson’s correlation) are
considered as MDSs. The datasets are then converted to unitless

60
values (Table 4.20), which can be added and converted into composite
scores. Data of these parameters are given certain scores (0 to 1)
against each parameter. The scores are all made in such a way that
they are not more than 1, the highest value being 1 (Table 4.21). This
is obtained by dividing a certain parameter value by the highest value
for that particular parameter if ‘more is better’ for that particular
parameter, for example Exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) ‘less
is better’. This indicates that lower the value of ESP, better it is for the
health of soil. According, each value is divided by a higher value to get
a value < 1, which is denoted by Si. The product of Si*Wi of each row
(i.e. for each corresponding parameter) gave the soil quality index
(SQI) of the soils (Table 4.22). The higher the total value better is the
soil quality for particular soil. The soil quality parameters for a particular
region thus remain independent of each other. Computation of SQI as
per the method described by Karlen and Stott (1994).

SQI = £ Wi Mi

where, Wi = weight of ith indicator and Mi = marks of ith indicator

class.

3.2.2.5 Soil-site suitability classification

The system of soil-suitability classification for a specific use

suggested by FAO (1976) were adopted.

The FAO (1976) panel for land evaluation suggested the

classification of land in different categories viz., order, class, sub-class
and unit. There are two orders ‘S’ for suitable land and ‘N’ for not
suitable land.

S1 - Suitable
S2 - Moderately suitable
S3 - Marginally suitable
N - Unsuitable

61
 The soil-suitability criteria for teak was adopted from Patil and
Jagdish Prasad (2000). The soil-suitability criteria for sandalwood was
proposed based on available literature and expert opinion to define
appropriate suitability class. Attempt has also been made to correlate
the SQI with growth (annual increment in girth and volume).

62
 Chapter IV

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

This chapter deals with the genesis and quality of black and
associated red soils under teak and sandalwood in Seoni district of
Madhya Pradesh. The morphological, physical, chemical, mineralogical
properties and quality indices are discussed under following heads

4.1 Soil characteristics

4.1.1 Morphological properties of soils
4.1.2 Physical properties of soils
4.1.3 Chemical properties of soils
4.1.4 Micronutrient status of soils
4.1.5 Soil classification
4.2 Mineralogy and genesis of black and associated red soils
4.3 Development of minimum datasets for soil quality
4.4 Soil-site suitability assessment for teak and sandalwood

4.1 Soil characteristics

Five typical sites supporting natural teak (P1, P2, P3, P4 and
P5) and five natural sandalwood-supporting sites (P6, P7, P8, P9 and
P10) on different landforms were studied for their morphology,
physical, chemical and mineralogical properties.

4.1.1 Morphological Properties of Soils

The morphological properties and site characteristics of different

soil profiles collected from Seoni district of Madhya Pradesh are
detailed in Appendix I and a brief description is also given in table 4.1.

4.1.1.1 Soil depth

The pedons showed (Table 3.1) variation in soil depth and were
grouped under various categories viz., very shallow (< 25 cm), shallow
(25-50 cm), moderately deep (50-100 cm), deep (100-150 cm) and

63
very deep (>150 cm) as per Soil Survey Manual (Soil Survey Staff,
2014).

The teak-supporting soils showed variation in soil depth and

were grouped under different categories. Severely eroded pedon (P1)
is categorized as very shallow (13 cm) while P2 (37 cm), P3 (31 cm)
and P5 (31 cm) are grouped as shallow soil and these soils occur on
very gently to gently sloping basaltic plateau. Pedon 4 was very deep
(158 cm) occurs on plateau and developed over laterized basalt.

The sandalwood-supporting soils P6 (152 cm) was very deep,

P7 (30 cm) was shallow and P8 (112 cm) was deep which occurred on
footslope. Pedon (P7) had relatively shallow solum due to severe
erosion. P9 (30 cm) and P10 (37 cm) were shallow as they occurred on
escarp slope.

4.1.1.2 Soil colour

Soil colour can be an indicator of the climatic conditions under

which a soil was developed or its parent material and drainability of
soil. It is one of the most important morphological characteristic which
gives directly or indirectly clues about physical, chemical and biological
properties of soil.

Teak-supporting soils

The Munsell colour notation depicted that P1, P2 exhibit a hue

of 5YR with value of 3 and chroma ranging from 2 to 4 corresponding
to dark reddish brown colour Pedon (P3) showed dark brown (10YR
3/3) and P5 had very dark greyish brown (10YR 3/2) to dark brown
(7.5YR 3/2) colour while P4 is dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) in surface
horizon and got reddened in sub-soils (2.5YR) with value 3 and chroma
ranging from 3 to 6. The development of soil from highly weathered
laterite (stable terrain) under sub-humid pedo-environment may lead to
the formation of such dark reddish brown to red ferralitic soil (Jagdish
Prasad and Patil, 2002)

64
Table 4.1 Morphological Properties of soils
TEAK-SUPPORTING SOILS
Boundary Matrix Colour Coarse Structure Consistence Porosity Cutans Roots Efferv.
Depth
Horizon Texture Fragment Dil.
(cm) D T Dry Moist S G TY D M W S Q Ty Th Q S Q
(> 2 mm) HCl
P1 – Parasia (Loamy, smectitic, hyperthermic Typic Usthorthent)
A 0-13 a i 5YR ¾ 5YR 3/2 l 20-25 m 2 sbk sh fr ss ps m m - - - m f Nil
Cr 13-55 Weathered basalt
P2 – Parasia (Clayey,smectitic, hyperthermic Typic Haplustalf)
A 0-11 c s 5YR 3/3 5YR 3/2 c 1-2 m 2 sbk sh fr sp m m - - - m f Nil
Bt 11-37 a s - 5YR 3/4 c 1-2 m 3 sbk sh fr vs vp m m T tn p m f Nil
Cr 37-52 Weathered basalt
P3 – Parasia (Clayey, smectitic, hyperthermic Typic Haplustept)
A 0-12 c s - 10YR 3/3 c 1-2 m 2 sbk sh fr sp m m - - - vf c Nil
Bw 12-31 a i - 10YR 3/3 c 1-2 m 3 sbk sh fr sp - - - - - f c Nil
Cr 31-52 Weathered basalt
P4 – Mohgaon(Clayey-skeletal, kaolinitic, hyperthermic Typic Rhodustalf)
A 0-16 c s - 5YR 3/3 c 50-60 f 1 sbk sh fr sp m m - - - f m Nil
Bw1 16-42 a s 2.5YR3/3 2.5YR 3/4 c 60-65 f 1 gr sh fr sp m m T tn p f m Nil
Bw2 42-70 c s 2.5YR3/4 2.5YR 3/6 c 60-65 f 1 gr - - sp m m T tn p m f Nil
Bt1 70-105 c w 2.5YR3/4 2.5YR 3/6 c 75-80 f 1 gr - - sp m f T tn p m f Nil
Bt2 105-158 2.5YR3/4 2.5YR 3/6 c 75-80 f 1 gr - - sp m f T tn p m f Nil
P5 –Gondatola(Clayey, smectitic, hyperthermic Typic Haplustalf)
A 0-13 a s 10YR3/2 10YR 3/2 c 1-2 m 3 sbk h fr sp f m - - - f c Nil
Bt 13-27 a w 7.5YR3/2 7.5 YR3/2 c 1-2 f 2 sbk - fr sp c f - - - m f Nil
Cr 27-57 Weathered basalt

65
 SANDALWOOD-SUPPORTING SOILS
Boundary Matrix Colour Coarse Structure Consistence Porosity Cutans Roots Efferv.
Depth
Horizon Texture Fragment Dil.
(cm) D T Dry Moist S G TY D M W S Q Ty Th Q S Q
(> 2 mm) HCl
P6 – Salaia (Reserved forest) (Fine, smectitic, hyperthermic Typic Ustifluvent)
A1 0-11 c s 10YR 3/2 10YR 3/2 c 1-2 m 2 sbk - fr sp f m - - - f c Nil
A2 11-25 c s 10YR 3/2 10YR 3/2 c 1-2 m 3 sbk - fr sp f m - - - m c Nil
2A3 25-51 a i 10YR 3/2 10YR 3/2 c 1-2 m 2 sbk - fr ss ps f c - - - - c Nil
3A4 51-85 a s 10YR 5/4 10YR 3/4 sc 1-2 m 2 sbk - fr ss ps m c - - - - c e
4A5 85-103 a w 10YR 4/6 10YR 3/4 c 1-2 m 2 sbk - fr ss ps m c - - - f e
5A6 103-139 a w 10YR 5/4 10YR 3/4 c 1-2 m 2 sbk - fr ss ps m c - - f f e
6A7 139-152 10YR 3/4 10YR 3/4 c 1-2 m 2 sbk - fr ss ps m c - - - f f e
P7 – Salaia Lakhnadon (Fine, smectitic, hyperthermic Typic Haplustept)
A 0-11 c s 5 YR 3/3 - c 5-10 m 2 sbk sh fr sp f m - - - f c Nil
Bw 11-30 a s 2.5YR3/6 2.5YR4/3 c 5-10 m 2 sbk sh fr sp - - - - - m c Nil
Cr 30-52 Weathered basalt
P8 –Salaia Lakhnadon (Fine, smectitic, hyperthermic Typic Haplustept)
A 0-12 c s 10YR 3/2 - c 2-5 m 1 sbk - fr s p f m - - - f m Nil
Bw1 12-37 c s 10YR 3/2 - c 2-5 m 2 sbk - fi vs vp - - - - - m f Nil
Bw2 37-62 c s 10YR 3/2 - c 2-5 m 3 sbk - fi vs vp - - - - - m c Nil
Bw3 62-86 g s 10YR 3/4 - c 2-5 m 2 sbk - fr sp - - - - - m f Nil
Bw4 86-112 10YR 4/3 - sicl 2-5 m 2 sbk - fr sp - - - - - m f Nil

66
 Coarse Efferv.
Depth Boundary Matrix Colour Structure Consistence Porosity Cutans Roots
Horizon Texture Fragment (> Dil. HCL
(cm)
D T Dry Moist 2 mm) S G TY D M W S Q Ty Th Q S Q
P9 –Lakhnadon (Clayey, smectitic, hyperthermic Typic Usthorthent)
2.5YR sb s s
A1 0-14 c s 2.5YR3/3 sc 10-15 m 2 fr m m - - f m Nil
3/2 k h p -
sb s s
A2 14- 30 a s 2.5YR2.5/3 2.5YR 2.5/2 cl 10-15 f 2 fr m c - - m m Nil
k h p -
30-
Cr Weathered basalt
50+
P10 –SalaiDongri(Loamy, smectitic, hyperthermic Typic Haplustept)
sb s
A 0-12 c w 10YR 3/2 10YR 3/2 cl 10-15 m 2 fr m m - - f m Nil
k p -
7.5YR sb s s
Bw 12-37 a i 10YR 3/2 cl 10-15 m 2 fr m c - - m m Nil
3/2 k h p -
37-
Cr Weathered basalt
53+

1. Boundary: D – Distinctness, a – abrupt, c – clear, g – gradual, d – diffuse T – Topography, s – smooth, w-wavy, i- irregular, b - broken
2. Matrix Colour: d- dry, m- moist, r- rubbed;
3. Mottle Colour A- abundance, f - few, c – common, m – many, S – size, 1 – fine, 2 – medium, 3 – coarse; C – contrast, s – faint, d – distinct, p – prominent
4. Texture: c – clay, sic – silty clay cl – clay loam, sicl - silty clay loam, l - loam
5. Coarse fragments: fg – fine gravel (<2.5 cm), cg – coarse gravel (2.5 -7.5 cm)
6. Structure: S– size, f – fine, vf – very fine, c - coarse, vc - very coarse, m – medium; G – grade, 0 – structureless 1 – weak, 2 – moderate, 3 – strong;
T– Type, gr – granular, cr – crumb, abk – angular blocky, sbk – subangular blocky, sg – single grain, m - massive ;
7. Consistence: D – dry, sh – slightly hard, h – hard; M – moist, fr – friable, vh – very hard, W – wet, so – non-sticky, ss – slightly sticky, s – sticky,
vs – very sticky po – non-plastic, ps – slightly plastic, p – plastic, vp –very plastic, sp - sticky plastic;
8. Porosity: S – size, vf – very fine, f – fine, m – medium, c – coarse, Q – quantity, f – few, c – common, m – many
9. Nodules S – size, vf – very fine, f – fine, m - medium, c- course; Q – quantity, f-few, c - common, m – many;
10. Roots: S – size, vf – very fine, f – fine, m - medium, c- course; Q – quantity, f-few, c - common, m – many;
11. Effervescence with dil. HCl: e – slight effervescence, es –strong effervescence
12. Other features: ss- Slickenside, pf- Pressurefaces NR: Not recorded ;--: Not present;
13. Cutanas: Ty – type,T –Argillan, Th – Thickness, tn – thin, Q – Quantity, p - patchy

67
Sandalwood-supporting soils

The pedons P6, P8 and P10 had hue 10YR with chroma varying
from 3 to 5 and value 2 to 6 corresponding to very dark greyish brown.
The pedon (P7) is associated with hue of 2.5YR and 5YR with value 3
to 4 and chroma 3 to 6. Pedon (P9) showed dark reddish brown (2.5YR
3/3 and 2.5YR 2.5/3) colour in dry condition whereas in moist condition
it was very dusky red (2.5YR 3/2 to 2.5 YR 2.5/2) which indicated that
these soils are highly leached and presence of Fe 3+ gives rise to redder
colouration. Rangasamy et al. (1986) pointed out that sandalwood is
prevalent mostly on red loam soils.

4.1.1.3 Soil texture

The distribution of sand, silt, clay and their amounts provides

information on texture of the soil which is permanent in nature (not
altered by agro-management) and partly controls air, water and nutrient
availability to the plant.

In general, all the teak-supporting pedons are clay texture

except P1 which is loam in texture. The clay in majority of the soils is
high, which may be due to basalt being its parent material (Murthy et
al., 1994) which is easily weatherable.

In general the sandalwood-supporting soils are dominantly

clayey in texture but P9 and P10 had clay loam texture.

4.1.1.4 Coarse fragments

Teak-supporting soils (P2, P3 and P5) had coarse fragments to

the tune of 1-2 per cent. The P4 had >50 per cent coarse fragments
owing to its genesis over laterized basalt.

Sandalwood-supporting soils, coarse fragments ranged from 1

to 15 per cent but P9 and P10 had 10 to 15 per cent coarse fragments.

68
4.1.1.5 Soil structure

Soil structure greatly influences many soil physical processes

such as water retention and movement, porosity, aeration and
transport of heat etc. which further affects root growth, water and
nutrient uptake, crop growth and yield. It is determined by classifying
the secondary units according to their size, grade and type. Table 4.1
shows the details of soil structure.

Teak-supporting soils

The data indicated that P1, P2 and P3 had medium moderate

sub-angular blocky structure at surface horizons with strong sub-
angular blocky structure in the sub-surface horizons. Pedon P5 had
fine moderate sub-angular blocky structure in the sub-surface horizons.
Pedon 4 had medium moderate sub-angular blocky at surface horizon
and fine weak granular structure throughout the solum.

Sandalwood-supporting soils

The structure of P6, P7 and P10 was dominantly medium

moderate sub-angular blocky. In case of P8, the structure was medium
weak sub-angular blocky at surface however, it was medium moderate
to strong sub-angular blocky in Bw1 and Bw2 horizons. The Bt horizon
of Pedon 9 had fine, moderate sub-angular blocky structure.

4.1.1.6 Consistency

The manifestation of the physical forces of cohesion and

adhesion acting within the soil at various moisture content are
designated by the term soil consistency. It includes such a properties of
the soil as resistance to compression, friability, plasticity, stickiness etc.
A soil can be dense, loose or compact depending on the quantity and
type of pores in the soil and the way the soil particles cohere. If a soil is
compact, then it may contain clay minerals (possibly smectite mineral)
which compact due to shrinking when dry and swell when wet.

69
Teak-supporting soils
In general the soil consistency varied from slightly hard to hard
in dry, friable in moist, slightly sticky to very sticky and slightly plastic to
very plastic in wet condition.

Sandalwood-supporting soils
In general the soil consistency varied from slightly hard in dry,
friable to firm in moist, slightly sticky to very sticky and slightly plastic to
very plastic in wet condition.

4.1.1.7 Porosity
The amounts of pores per unit volume of soil constitute the
porosity of soil. The total porosity depends on the texture and
aggregation of the soil. Whereas the capillary porosity is direct function
of the soil aggregation number (quantity). Size of the pores which was
due to root proliferation, observed under dry condition by naked eyes
and/or 10X lens.

Soil pores in teak-supporting soils were fine to medium in size

and few to many whereas in sandalwood supporting fine to medium in
size and common to many in quantity.

4.1.1.8 Cutans
Teak-supporting soils

In pedon 2 and 4 patchy thin clay argillans cutans were

observed.
Sandalwood-supporting soils
In sandalwood-supporting soils no cutans were observed.

4.1.1.9 Roots
Teak-supporting soils
In general, roots were fine to coarse in size and few to common
in quantity in surface horizons of teak-supporting soils whereas in sub-
surface soils they were fine to medium in size and many in quantity. In
P1 fine few roots were horizontally embedded which might be due to

70
the shallow depth of the soil and underlain by basaltic rock. In P2,
coarser roots were horizontally embedded and medium roots were
vertically embedded. In P6 roots were fine in size, few in quantity
beyond 85 cm depth.

Sandalwood-supporting soils

Fine to medium size and common to many in quantity were

observed surface horizons.

4.1.1.10 Special features

In P1, few dull coloured quartz particles (2-5 to 7.5 cm) were
observed. Pedon 2 and 3 had rounded basaltic parent material having
weathering rind with yellowish limnolitic coating. Krotovinas were found
in Bw2 horizon (42-70 cm) of P4 due to the burrowing activities of
organisms. Slight pressure face was observed in B horizon (11-25cm)
of P6 and B horizon (12-37 cm, 37-62 cm) of P8. Tonguing was
observed due to migration of clay in P6.

4.1.2 Physical properties of soils

Physical properties of soils like particle-size distribution,

hydraulic conductivity, bulk density and water retention directly or
indirectly affect crop growth and hence need to be considered in land
evaluation. The physical properties of different soils are presented in
table 4.2 and discussed in following sections.

4.1.2.1 Particle-size distribution

Teak-supporting soils

The soil particle size distribution data presented in table 4.2

revealed that the clay content varied from 23.4 to 74.0 per cent, silt
from 6.4 to 42.1 per cent and sand from 5.1 to 43.0 per cent
respectively. In general, all teak-supporting pedons were clay textured
barring P1 (loam).

The B horizon had an increase of clay content to qualify as

argillic horizon in P2, P4 and P5. The fine clay ranged from 15.7 to

71
59.4 per cent and increased with depth owing to stable terrain and
relatively moist pedo-environment. Similar trend of translocation of
clays in teak-supporting soils was observed by Salifu and Meyer
(1998). A significant positive correlation (Appendix-I) was found
between fine clay and total clay (r = 0.746 at 1% level) and a non-
significant negative correlation between fine clay and silt (r = 0.416 at
1% level).

Sandalwood-supporting soils

The soil particle-size distribution data presented in table 4.3

revealed that in sandalwood-supporting soils, the total clay ranged from
35.0 to 52.6 per cent and fine clay ranged from 3.6 to 47.5 per cent. In
general, the clay content showed uneven distribution whereas P7, P8
and P9 showed decreasing trend with depth.

In P6 there was sudden change in clay content beyond 25 cm

depth due to the lithological discontinuity as evidenced from marked
variation in sand/silt ratio (Sidhu et al., 1976; Ray et al., 1997) and their
occurrence on foot-slope, possibility of deposition of eroded soil from
top at different time interval is inferred.

Highest sand content (46.5%) was observed in horizon of P7

and lowest (9.9%) in the A2 horizon of P6. In general the silt content
showed an increasing trend with depth except P6 and P10. A
significant positive correlation (Appendix-I) was found between fine
clay and total clay (r = 0.884 at 1% level,) and a non-significant
negative correlation between fine clay and silt (r = 0.015 at 1% level).

4.1.2.2 Bulk density

The bulk density is the ratio of the mass of dry soil to the total
volume of the soil including pore spaces (Das and Agrawal, 2002). It is
an index of workability of soil, availability of soil moisture, aeration and
root penetration. Bulk density is also useful parameter in the prediction
of PAWC, organic carbon stock and also used as criteria for few taxa in
taxonomical classification.

72
Table 4.2 Physical properties soils

TEAK-SUPPORTING SOILS
Particle-size class (%) and diameter Water retention
(mm) (%)
Depth Textural FC/ Silt/ Sand/ WDS BD
Horizon Sand Silt Total WDC
(cm) Fine clay class TC TC silt /TC 1500 (Mg m-3)
(2.0- (0.05- clay 33 kPa
(<0.0002) kPa
0.05) 0.002) (<0.002)
P1 – Parasia
A 0-13 34.5 42.1 23.4 15.7 Loam 0.7 1.8 0.8 5.6 0.2 23.57 17.06 1.28
P2 – Parasia
A 0-11 5.8 29.7 64.5 44.2 Clay 0.7 0.5 0.2 30.4 0.5 24.44 19.30 1.24
Bt 11-37 5.7 20.9 73.4 51.3 Clay 0.7 0.3 0.2 32.7 0.5 29.31 22.87 1.20
P3 – Parasia
A 0-12 5.1 24.7 70.2 34.5 Clay 0.5 0.4 0.2 31.3 0.5 28.47 23.30 1.32
Bw 12-31 6.0 20.0 74.0 38.0 Clay 0.5 0.3 0.3 34.5 0.5 30.58 25.08 1.33
P4 – Mohgaon
A 0-16 34.8 22.2 43.0 28.5 Clay 0.7 0.5 1.6 18.4 0.4 22.02 15.66 1.52
Bw1 16-42 35.5 17.0 47.5 33.9 Clay 0.7 0.4 2.1 15.2 0.3 19.70 16.40 1.54
Bw2 42-70 43.0 6.4 50.6 34.8 Clay 0.7 0.1 6.7 16.3 0.3 21.81 18.87 1.55
Bt1 70-105 31.7 15.1 53.2 40.0 Clay 0.7 0.3 2.1 19.1 0.4 18.40 16.03 1.57
Bt2 105-158 30.0 15.0 55.0 43.6 Clay 0.8 0.3 2.0 22.7 0.4 20.73 16.87 1.61
P5 – Gondatola
A 0-13 20.0 24.0 56.0 49.7 Clay 0.9 0.4 0.8 23.6 0.4 34.62 23.53 1.49
Bt 13-27 14.0 16.0 70.0 59.5 Clay 0.9 0.2 0.9 32.1 0.5 35.04 26.33 1.53

73
 SANDALWOOD-SUPPORTING SOILS
Particle Size class (%) Water retention (%)

Depth Total Fine Textural FC/ Silt/ Sand/ WDC/ BD

Horizon Sand Silt WDC
(cm) clay Clay Class TC TC Silt TC 33kPa 1500 kPa (Mg m-3)
(2.0- (0.05-
(<0.002) (<0.0002)
0.05) 0.002)
P 6 – Salaia (Reserved forest)
A1 0-11 17.4 33.1 49.5 39.2 Clay 0.8 0.7 0.5 9.2 0.2 28.25 21.89 1.26
A2 11-25 9.9 37.9 52.2 42.2 Clay 0.8 0.7 0.3 11.6 0.2 33.13 25.99 1.21
2A3 25-51 34.2 20.2 45.6 36.5 Clay 0.8 0.4 1.7 7.2 0.2 24.91 17.90 1.49
3A4 51-85 46.5 12.7 40.8 38.4 Sandy clay 0.9 0.3 3.7 5.6 0.1 20.26 16.37 1.56
4A5 85-103 24.4 29.3 46.3 40.0 Clay 0.9 0.6 0.8 5.1 0.1 27.55 21.32 1.38
5A6 103-139 33.8 16.6 49.6 45.3 Clay 0.9 0.3 2.0 6.4 0.1 27.91 18.38 1.47
6A7 139-152 41.0 6.4 52.6 46.8 Clay 0.9 0.1 6.4 5.9 0.1 28.40 19.15 1.52
P7 – Salaia Lakhnadon
A 0-11 26.9 24.3 48.8 34.2 Clay 0.7 0.5 1.1 8.8 0.2 25.40 18.95 1.41
Bw 11-30 34.7 18.8 46.5 31.6 Clay 0.7 0.4 1.9 7.5 0.2 27.77 21.62 1.45
P8 – Salaia Lakhnadon
A 0-12 13.9 38.2 47.9 44.1 Clay 0.9 0.8 0.4 17.4 0.4 31.77 22.72 1.23
Bw1 12-37 16.7 27.7 55.6 47.5 Clay 0.9 0.5 0.6 19.2 0.4 34.50 24.97 1.26
Bw2 37-62 20.0 35.0 45.0 38.6 Clay 0.9 0.8 0.6 8.1 0.2 35.35 26.32 1.28
Bw3 62-86 20.0 37.8 42.2 35.3 Clay 0.8 0.9 0.5 5.8 0.1 35.54 26.62 1.33
Silty clay
Bw4 86-112 12.0 42.7 45.3 36.6 loam 0.8 0.9 0.3 15.1 0.3 37.71 28.41 1.38
P9 – Lakhnadon
A1 0-14 45.1 11.0 43.9 34.0 Sandy clay 0.8 0.3 4.1 8.2 0.2 23.06 16.53 1.63
A2 14- 30 45.0 20.0 35.0 23.5 Clay loam 0.7 0.6 2.3 7.1 0.2 20.06 12.20 1.65
P10 –SalaiDongri
A 0-12 34.4 30.4 35.2 23.2 Clay loam 0.7 0.9 1.1 5.4 0.2 20.97 12.54 1.49
Clay
Bw 12-37 36.6 26.4 37.0 26.3 0.7 0.7 1.4 7.20 0.2 25.12 17.45 1.67
loam

74
Teak-supporting soils

The bulk density (Table 4.2) ranged from 1.20 to 1.61 Mg m-3.
There has been an increase in bulk density in the sub-surface horizons
compared to the surface horizon. Higher values of BD with depth may
be due to the increase in clay content and compaction of soils (Ahuja et
al., 1989; Bhattacharyya et al., 2003b; Mane, 2011). Correlation
between bulk density and soil properties (Appendix-I) indicates that
organic carbon showed significant negative correlation (r = 0.579*),
whereas sand content had significant positive (r = 0.674*) correlation
with bulk density.

Sandalwood-supporting soils

The bulk density (Table 4.2) ranged from 1.21 to 1.67 Mg m-3.
Bulk density did not show any definite trend with depth (Table 4.2).
Correlation of bulk density with organic carbon (r = 0.023) and sand
content (r = 0.340) yielded no significant relationship (Appendix-I).

4.1.2.3 Water dispersible clay (WDC)

Water dispersible clay is an important parameter to understand

the structural stability of soil. Hence, WDC was estimated and data is
presented in table 4.2.

Teak-supporting soils

The water dispersible clay ranged from 5.6 to 34.5 per cent.
Correlation studies indicate that there is a significant correlation
between WDC with total clay at 1% level (r = 0.933) and non-significant
correlation with ESP (r = 0.313) and EMP (r = 0.238).

Sandalwood-supporting soils

Relatively low content of water dispersible clay was observed in

sandalwood-supporting soils ranging from 5.1 to 19.2 per cent.
Correlation studies indicate that there is a significant correlation
between WDC with total clay at 1% level (r = 0.495) and negative
correlation with ESP (r = 0.013) and EMP (r = 0.190).

75
4.1.2.4 Water retention characteristics

Water acts as medium for nutrient dissolution and ions transport.

Water contents under certain standard conditions are referred to as soil
moisture constants, but under field conditions water content of soil is
always changing constantly with time and also with depth of soil and
is not static. Moisture availability in the soil was an essential factor
for the success of teak growth (Castens, 1933). Moisture retention
characteristics depend upon the amount, type and surface area of the
clay fraction (Coulombe et al., 1996). Soil water dynamics is important
in wide ranging applications like irrigation management, solute/nutrient
transport, soil mechanics, geological explorations, etc. Therefore, the
study of moisture retention and release characteristics has paramount
importance.

Teak-supporting soils

The soil water retention at different tensions was presented in

table 4.2. The water retention of soils at 33 kPa (field capacity) ranged
from 18.40 to 35.04 per cent and at 1500 kPa ranged from 15.66 to
26.33 per cent. As expected there was a decrease in water retention
with increasing tension (Wilding and Tessier, 1988). Relatively low
water retention in P4 at 33 kPa (18.40 to 21.81%) and 1500 kPa (16.03
to 18.87%) was found which may be attributed to kaolinite as dominant
clay mineral. Correlation studies indicated that water retention at 33
kPa had significantly positive correlation with total clay (r = 0.533 at 5%
level), fine clay (r = 0.565 at 5% level).

Sandalwood-supporting soils

The data (Table no. 4.2) showed that water retention at 33 kPa
ranged from 20.26 to 37.71 per cent and at 1500 kPa it ranged from
16.37 to 28.41 per cent. Relatively higher water retention was observed
in P8 at 33 kPa (31.77 to 37.71%) and 1500 kPa (22.72 to 28.41%)
probably due to the higher assemblage of expanding-type clay
minerals. Correlation studies indicated that water retention at 33 kPa
had positive correlation with total clay (r = 0.239) and fine clay (r =

76
0.264).

4.1.3 Chemical properties of soils

Important chemical characteristics of soils are discussed here

and the data is presented in table 4.3

Table No. 4.3 Chemical Properties of Soil

TEAK-SUPPORTING SOILS

Depth pH pH KCl EC (1:2) OC CaCO3

Horizon
(cm) (1:2) (1:2) dSm-1 (%) (%)

P1 – Parasia
A 0-13 6.3 4.8 0.14 2.82 1.61
P2 – Parasia
A 0-11 6.7 5.2 0.02 2.37 1.26
Bt 11-37 6.1 4.6 0.01 1.42 0.80
P3 – Parasia
A 0-12 6.1 4.5 0.04 1.50 1.05
Bw 12-31 6.2 4.5 0.03 1.24 1.26
P 4 – Mohgaon
A 0-16 5.9 4.6 0.09 2.16 0.34
Bw1 16-42 6.2 3.7 0.02 1.26 0.57
Bw2 42-70 6.1 4.8 0.03 0.58 0.34
Bt1 70-105 6.2 4.9 0.02 0.52 0.34
Bt2 105-158 6.3 4.9 0.03 0.35 0.34
P 5 – Gondatola
A 0-13 6.4 4.9 0.06 1.85 2.18
Bt 13-27 6.5 4.7 0.10 1.61 1.95

SANDALWOOD-SUPPORTING SOILS
EC
Depth pH pH KCl CaCO3
Horizon (1:2) OC (%)
(cm) (1:2) (1:2) (%)
dSm-1
P 6 - Salaia (Reserved forest)
A1 0-11 6.7 4.8 0.16 1.86 2.64
A2 11-25 7.0 4.8 0.06 0.60 2.53
2A3 25-51 7.3 4.7 0.09 0.25 2.99
3A4 51-85 7.7 4.3 0.08 0.09 1.93
4A5 85-103 8.0 5.2 0.13 0.07 3.33
5A6 103-139 8.0 5.1 0.14 0.03 2.64
6A7 139-152 8.0 5.0 0.17 0.03 2.41
P 7 – Salaia Lakhnadon
A 0-11 6.8 4.9 0.09 1.50 2.41
Bw 11-30 6.9 4.9 0.11 1.09 1.38
77
 Depth pH pH KCl EC (1:2) CaCO3
Horizon OC (%)
(cm) (1:2) (1:2) dSm-1 (%)
P 8 – Salaia Lakhnadon
A 0-12 7.1 5.6 0.16 1.96 1.49
Bw1 12-37 6.9 4.8 0.03 0.83 1.84
Bw2 37-62 6.9 4.8 0.07 0.58 2.64
Bw3 62-86 7.2 4.7 0.02 0.40 2.68
Bw4 86-112 7.2 4.7 0.01 0.25 2.72
P 9 – Lakhnadon
A1 0-14 6.9 5.4 0.14 2.34 1.84
A2 14- 30 7.1 4.9 0.04 0.95 1.95
P 10 –SalaiDongri
A 0-12 7.0 5.1 0.15 1.56 1.95
Bw 12-37 6.9 4.8 0.05 0.46 1.95

4.1.3.1 Soil pH

Soil pH is an indicator of nutrient availability to the plants, also

controls activities of micro-organisms and quantum of nutrient
availability in soils. It is partly controlled by nature of parent material
and the climate in which the soil is developed and modified by
physiography.

Teak-supporting soils

The pH of the pedons is moderately acidic to neutral (5.9-6.9)

whereas pHKCl varied from very strong acidic (4.7) to strongly acidic
(5.2) (Table 4.3). Bhoumik and Totey (1990) observed similar pH
(moderately acidic to neutral) in teak-supporting soils. Negative delta
pH (pH = pHKCl - pHH2O) has been observed in all the soils indicating
thereby that the soils are not near to point of zero charge and contains
appreciable amount of clay with relatively constant surface charge.

Sandalwood-supporting soils

The sandalwood-supporting soils are neutral with pH ranging

from 6.7 to 7.3 whereas, pHKCl varied from very strong acidic 4.7 to
slightly alkaline 8.0. However, P6 showed neutral pH (6.7 to 7.3) upto
50 cm depth and beyond which the pH was slightly alkaline (7.7 to 8.0)

78
and increased gradually may be due to different depositional events of
parent material during genesis of soils.

4.1.3.2 Electrical conductivity

Electrical conductivity gives an insight about the presence of

total soluble salts. Higher amount of salts in soils restrict the nutrient
uptake due to increase in zeta potential of nutrient ions thus affecting
plant growth.

Teak-supporting soils

The electrical conductivity of 1:2 soil water suspension ranged

from 0.01 to 0.14 dSm-1 at 25 oC (Table 4.3). The low value of EC in all
the pedons indicate that these soils are developed under highly
leaching environment in the forest eco-zone.

Sandalwood-supporting soils

All the sandalwood-supporting soils had low electrical

conductivity ranging from 0.01 to 0.17 dSm-1 (Table 4.3).

4.1.3.3 Organic Carbon (OC)

The soil organic carbon (OC) is an indicator of soil fertility. The

organic fraction in soils is formed from the microbial decomposition of
organic residues. Organic carbon content is often a good expression of
natural fertility of the soils as it provides nitrogen, phosphorus, sulphur
and other trace elements in the soils (Stevenson, 1982). In addition to
this, it also improves soil structure, infiltration rate, water and nutrient
storage capacity and reduces soil erosion (Smith and Elliot, 1990). The
nature and quantum of organic fraction formation depends on the type
and quality of organic matter.

Teak-supporting soils

The data presented in table 4.3 indicated that all the pedons
have low to high organic carbon ranging from 0.35 to 2.82 per cent in
different horizons. The organic carbon is higher at the surface and

79
gradually decreases down the profile which may be attributed to the
decomposition of leaf and litter observed on the surface.

Sandalwood-supporting soils

The organic carbon content ranged from 0.03 to 2.34 per cent
(Table 4.3) and decreased with depth in these pedons. The decrease
in organic carbon with depth may be due to the sieving effect of
absorption of fine organic particles and fine water soluble organic
matter (Ohta et al., 1986) and higher biological activities in surface
horizon.

Differences in organic carbon content observed under both

cover types can be attributed to the differences in vegetation type, age
of the forest stands and landform.

4.1.3.4 Calcium carbonate

Calcium not only improves the structure of soil but is also

concerned with the decomposition of soil organic matter and synthesis
of humus.

Teak-supporting soils

The data presented in table 4.3 reveled that calcium carbonate

varies from 0.34 to 2.18 per cent. The correlation of CaCO 3 with soil
properties (Appendix-I) indicated that CaCO3 is positively correlated
with soil pH (r = 0.449) and base saturation (r = 0.524).

Sandalwood-supporting soils

The calcium carbonate in soils ranged from 1.30 to 3.33 per cent
(Table 4.3). The correlation of CaCO3 with soil properties (Appendix-I)
indicated that CaCO3 is positively correlated with soil pH (r = 0.314)
and base saturation (r = 0.294).

4.1.3.5 Exchangeable bases

Exchangeable bases give an idea about exchange phenomena

of soils. They also give clue about parent material and pedo-climate.

80
The data of exchangeable bases and relevant calculated properties of
pedons are indicated in table 4.4.

Teak-supporting soils

The data (Table 4.3) showed that exchangeable calcium {4.2 to

23.2 cmol (p+) kg-1} followed by magnesium {1.5 to 14.5 cmol(p+) kg-1}
whereas exchangeable Na+ {0.1 to 0.8 cmol(p+) kg-1} was followed by
exchangeable K+ {0.1 to 0.6 cmol(p+) kg-1}.

Calcium was the dominant exchangeable cation followed by

magnesium, sodium and potassium, indicating presence of calcium
bearing minerals in parent rocks. Yadav and Sharma (1968) reported
that basalt has a good supply of exchangeable Ca 2+ and other nutrients
which favoured the growth of teak in Madhya Pradesh. A high Ca2+ in
exchange complex is advantageous for formation of stable aggregates
which is essential for aeration in clayey soils (Pustole, 1998). Similar
results were found by Maji et al. (2005) and Sarkar et al. (2001).

The ESP identifies the degree to which exchange complex is

saturated with sodium. ESP level greater than 15 severely deteriorate
soil physical properties and in turn adversely affect plant growth. The
ESP and EMP of teak-supporting soils ranged from 0.9 to 2.9 per cent
and 25.4 to 43.1 per cent respectively. The Ca2+ and Mg2+ ratio in teak-
supporting soils varied from 1.24 to 2.80.

81
Table 4.4 Exchangeable properties of soil

TEAK-SUPPORTING SOILS
Exchangeable bases Exch.
Depth Sum CEC ESP EMP CEC/clay
Horizon Ca2+ Mg2+ Na+ K+ BS (%) Ca/Mg
(cm) (%) (%) ratio
<-----------cmol (p+) kg-1-----------> ratio
P1 – Parasia
A 0-13 10.3 8.2 0.5 0.3 19.3 22.80 84.6 2.6 42.5 0.97 1.26
P2 – Parasia
A 0-11 14.2 10.6 0.7 0.5 26.0 30.32 85.8 2.7 40.8 0.47 1.34
Bt 11-37 15.0 11.1 0.8 0.6 27.5 31.30 87.9 2.9 40.4 0.43 1.35
P3 – Parasia
A 0-12 12.0 9.7 0.5 0.3 22.5 26.55 84.7 2.2 43.1 0.38 1.24
Bw 12-31 13.2 9.9 0.6 0.5 24.2 31.43 77.0 2.5 40.9 0.42 1.33
P 4 – Mohgaon
A 0-16 7.9 2.9 0.1 0.2 11.1 16.42 67.6 0.9 26.1 0.38 2.72
Bw1 16-42 5.0 2.0 0.1 0.1 7.2 13.38 53.8 1.4 27.8 0.28 2.50
Bw2 42-70 7.8 2.9 0.1 0.1 10.9 17.11 63.7 0.9 26.6 0.34 2.69
Bt1 70-105 4.6 1.8 0.1 0.1 6.6 10.07 65.5 1.5 27.3 0.19 2.56
Bt2 105-158 4.2 1.5 0.1 0.1 5.9 8.53 69.2 1.7 25.4 0.16 2.80
P 5 – Gondatola
A 0-13 18.6 10.1 0.5 0.3 29.5 37.83 78.0 1.7 34.2 0.68 1.84
Bt 13-27 23.6 14.5 0.5 0.3 38.9 41.34 94.1 1.3 37.3 0.59 1.63

82
 SANDALWOOD-SUPPORTING SOILS
Exchangeable bases ESP
Depth Sum CEC BS (%) EMP CEC/Clay Exch.Ca/
Horizon Ca2+ Mg2+ Na+ K+ (%)
(cm) (%) ratio Mg ratio
<-----------cmol (p+) kg-1----------->
P 6 – Salaia (Reserved forest)
A1 0-11 14.2 11.3 0.5 0.3 26.3 31.90 82.4 1.9 43.0 0.64 1.26
A2 11-25 23.1 15.6 0.5 0.4 39.6 43.80 90.4 1.3 39.4 0.84 1.48
2A3 25-51 14.6 11.7 0.5 0.3 27.1 33.31 81.4 1.8 43.2 0.73 1.25
3A4 51-85 14.3 11.4 0.5 0.3 26.5 32.02 82.8 1.9 43.0 0.78 1.25
4A5 85-103 18.3 14.9 0.5 0.4 34.1 38.85 87.8 1.5 43.7 0.84 1.23
5A6 103-139 19.1 15.1 0.6 0.4 35.2 40.20 87.6 1.7 42.9 0.81 1.26
6A7 139-152 21.3 14.8 0.5 0.3 36.9 42.82 86.2 1.4 40.1 0.81 1.44
P 7 – Salaia Lakhnadon
A 0-11 18.6 15.3 0.6 0.3 34.8 39.47 88.2 1.7 44.0 0.81 1.22
Bw 11-30 18.9 15.1 0.6 0.3 34.9 39.70 87.9 1.7 43.3 0.85 1.25
P 8 – Salaia Lakhnadon
A 0-12 15.3 12.5 0.5 0.4 28.7 33.18 86.5 1.7 43.6 0.69 1.22
Bw1 12-62 15.5 12.6 0.5 0.3 28.9 34.49 83.8 1.7 43.6 0.62 1.23
Bw2 37-62 15.7 12.8 0.5 0.3 29.3 36.84 79.5 1.7 43.7 0.82 1.23
Bw3 62-86 16.2 13.1 0.6 0.3 30.2 38.61 78.2 2.0 43.4 0.91 1.24
Bw4 86-112 22.1 14.3 0.6 0.3 37.3 43.66 85.4 1.6 38.3 0.96 1.55
P 9 – Lakhnadon
A1 0-14 21.1 14.1 0.5 0.4 36.1 41.63 85.4 1.4 39.1 0.95 1.50
A2 14-30 14.1 11.9 0.5 0.3 26.8 31.07 86.4 1.9 44.4 0.89 1.18
P 10 – SalaiDongri
A 0-12 15.9 12.6 0.4 0.3 29.2 34.27 85.2 1.4 43.2 0.97 1.26
Bw 12-37 16.2 13.1 0.4 0.3 30.0 35.04 85.6 1.3 43.7 0.95 1.24

83
Sandalwood-supporting soils

The sandalwood-supporting soils had exchangeable calcium,

magnesium, sodium and potassium varying from 14.1 to 23.1
cmol(p+)kg-1, 11.3 to 15.6 cmol(p+)kg-1, 0.5 to 0.6 cmol(p+)kg-1and 0.3
to 0.4 cmol(p+)kg-1 respectively. The ESP of sandalwood-supporting
soils varied from 1.3 to 2.0 per cent whereas the EMP ranged from
38.3 to 44.0 per cent of these soils. The Ca2+ and Mg2+ ratio in
sandalwood-supporting soils varied from 1.2 to 1.55.

4.3.3.6 Cation exchange capacity (CEC)

The CEC is the most important parameter which governs

nutrient availability, rhizospheric microbial population and also in
understanding the clay mineralogical make-up of the soil thus have a
strong influence over agricultural productivity.

Teak-supporting soils

The CEC of the teak-supporting soils varied from 8.53 to 41.34

cmol(p+)kg-1 (Table 4.3). Pedon 4 showed lowest CEC may be
attributed to the non-expanding type mineral viz., kaolinite (Table 4.4).

The higher values of CEC of the soils mainly depend upon the
amount and the nature of clay, organic matter and pH (Brady, 1984).
High values of CEC suggest the dominance of smectite in these soils
except P4.

Sandalwood-supporting soils

The CEC of the sandalwood-supporting soils varied from 32.02

to 43.80 cmol(p+)kg-1 (Table 4.4). Relatively the CEC of sandalwood-
supporting soils is higher than the teak-supporting soils. The high CEC
clay ratio (0.38 to 1.28) related to the presence of smectite in black and
associated soils, were reported by Kaswala and Deshpande (1986)
Nimkar et al. (1992) and Balpande et al. (1996).

84
4.3.3.7 Base saturation

Base saturation provides an idea about the distribution of

different cations (Ca, Mg, Na and K) on clay complex, parent material
and weathering environment. It is frequently used as an indicator of soil
fertility and in soil classification (Soil Survey Staff, 1975).

Teak-supporting soils

The data (Table 4.3) indicated that all the teak-supporting soils
are high in base saturation, which varies from 53.8 to 94.1 per cent.
Gangopadhyay et al. (1989) also reported high base saturation (79 to
89 per cent) under teak.

Pedon 4 showed low base saturation varying from 53.8 to 69.2

per cent which may be due to higher leaching rates and low CEC of
such soils.

Significant positive correlation (Appendix-I) was observed

between CEC and base saturation (r = 0.802) at 1% level

Sandalwood-supporting soils

The base saturation of sandalwood-supporting soils (78.2 to

90.4 per cent) was on higher side as compared to the teak-supporting
soils. Correlation studies inferred that a positive correlation (Appendix-
I) was between CEC and base saturation (r = 0.362) at 1% level.

4.1.4 Micro-nutrient status of the soils

The knowledge of vertical distribution of micronutrient cations is

important as roots of forest trees go beyond the surface layer and draw
a part of their nutrient requirement from sub-surface layers of soil. The
distribution of micronutrients is presented in table 4.5.

85
Table 4.5 Micronutrient status of soil

TEAK-SUPPORTING SOILS
Fe Mn Zn Cu
Horizon Depth (cm) -1
(mg kg )
P1 – Parasia
A 0-13 56.40 60.34 2.54 9.84
P2 – Parasia
A 0-11 22.16 95.06 1.44 18.54
Bt 11-37 23.08 98.26 0.82 17.20
P3 – Parasia
A 0-12 60.14 65.46 1.72 12.30
Bw 12-31 40.90 30.96 0.98 9.38
P4 – Mohgaon
A 0-16 36.04 95.30 2.60 20.38
Bw1 16-42 14.12 87.38 0.72 14.00
Bw2 42-70 5.54 35.04 1.34 6.14
Bt1 70-105 2.24 18.40 0.60 2.02
Bt2 105-158 1.68 13.64 1.64 1.38
P5 – Gondatola
A 0-13 23.62 83.08 1.38 19.90
Bt 13-27 22.10 56.30 1.36 12.34
SANDALWOOD-SUPPORTING SOILS
P6 – Salaia (Reserved forest)
A1 0-11 16.84 54.16 1.34 10.24
A2 11-25 5.24 30.56 0.84 5.24
2A3 25-51 2.68 12.10 0.52 2.04
3A4 51-85 2.44 6.18 0.32 0.74
4A5 85-103 1.16 5.42 0.32 0.66
5A6 103-139 1.24 5.58 0.38 0.48
6A7 139-152 1.42 6.18 0.30 0.60
P7 – Salaia Lakhnadon
A 0-11 11.60 63.00 1.40 10.98
Bw 11-30 6.68 54.78 1.18 10.28
P8 – Salaia Lakhnadon
A 0-12 7.82 54.00 1.38 10.22
Bw1 12-37 8.20 35.38 1.08 6.68
Bw2 37-62 4.72 16.98 0.80 3.98
Bw3 62-86 2.90 13.44 0.60 2.18
Bw4 86-112 1.70 14.64 0.56 1.68
P9 – Lakhnadon
A1 0-14 9.66 55.36 2.18 10.64
A2 14-30 9.82 46.06 0.62 9.36
P 10 – SalaiDongri
A 0-12 14.94 53.82 1.26 9.68
Bw 12-37 7.44 78.52 0.48 7.60

86
Teak-supporting soils

The DTPA-extractable Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu in soils ranged from

1.68 to 60.14, 7.94 to 98.26, 0.6 to 2.92 and1.38 to 20.38 mg kg-1
respectively.

Sandalwood-supporting soils

The DTPA-extractable Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu in soils ranged

from1.16 to 16.84, 5.42 to 78.52, 0.30 to 2.18 and 0.60 to 10.98 mg kg-
1 respectively.

The results of the micronutrient status in soils indicate that all

the micronutrients are higher in surface soils which may be attributed to
higher organic matter content, which helps chelation of metal cations
with organic molecules and its retention in soils (Wani et al., 2014).The
significant positive correlation at 1% level between DTPA-Fe (r =
0.684), DTPA-Mn (r = 0.767), DTPA-Zn (r = 0.825), DTPA-Cu (r =
0.823) and organic carbon was observed which may be due to the
chelation of micronutrient cations with the formation of organic
complexes that protects it from leaching. (Goldberg et al., 2002).
Significant negative correlation at 1% level was observed between
DTPA-Fe (r = 0.649), DTPA-Mn (r = 0.676), DTPA-Zn (r = 0.665)
DTPA-Cu (r = 0.695) and pH.

4.1.5 Soil Classification

According to U.S. comprehensive system of soil classification

(Soil Survey Staff, 2014) a detailed description of studied soil is
presented in table 4.6. The soils of the area belong to order Entisols,
Inceptisols and Alfisols. Soil classification helps in organizing the
information about different soils in a manner to make it more
understandable and useful for scientific documentation of soils and
research in soil potential.

87
 Table 4.6 Classification of soils of the study area

Pedon Site Sub- Sub-

location Order Great-group Family
No. order group
Loamy,
Typic
P1 Parasia Entisols Orthents Usthorthent smectitic,
Usthorthent
hyperthermic
Typic Clayey,smectitic
P2 Parasia Alfisols Ustalfs Haplustalf
Haplustalf hyperthermic
Clayey,
Typic
P3 Parasia Inceptisols Ustepts Haplustept smectitic,
Haplustept
hyperthermic
Clayey-skeletal,
Typic
P4 Mohgaon Alfisols Ustalfs Rhodustalf kaolinitic,
Rhodustalf
hyperthermic
Clayey,
Typic
P5 Gondatola Alfisols Ustalfs Haplustalf
Haplustalf
Smectitic,
hyperthermic
Typic Fine, smectitic,
P6 Salaia Entisols Fluvents Ustifluvent
Ustifluvent hyperthermic
Salaia Typic Fine, smectitic,
P7 Inceptisols Ustepts Hapustept
Lakhnadon Hapustept hyperthermic
Salaia Typic Fine, smectitic,
P8 Inceptisols Ustepts Hapustept
Lakhnadon Hapustept Hyperthermic
Clayey,
Typic
P9 Lakhnadon Entisols Orthents Usthorthent smectitic,
Usthorthent
hyperthermic
Loamy,
Salai Typic
P10 Inceptisols Ustepts Haplustept smectitic,
Dongri Haplustept
hyperthermic

The soils of pedon 3, 7, 8 and 10 are placed in order Inceptisols

owing to ochric epipedon, cambic horizon (changes in colour, structure
and texture). The moisture regime for the region is Ustic so the sub-
order is Ustepts. At Great group level 3, 7, 8 and 10 soils are classified
as Typic Hapustepts representing central concept of Great group.

Pedon 1 and 9 is grouped into order Entisols having an ochric

epipedon followed by weathered basalt (absence of sub-surface
horizon) upto 50 cm depth and qualifies for Orthents at sub-order level
as they show non-fluvial nature and regular decrease of organic matter
with depth. However, Pedon 6 shows fluvial nature and the sediments
show varying texture and organic matter content due to stratification. At
great group level, Pedon 1 and 9 are classified as Ustorthents. These
pedons meet the central concept of Typic at sub-group level and hence
classified as Typic Ustorthents. At family level these pedons are
grouped as loamy (P1) and clayey (P9) textural family class with

88
smectitic mineralogy. Pedon 6 shared lithological discontinuity due to
deposition of sediments of different sources associated with
increase/decrease in organic carbon with depth and hence classified
as Ustifluvent at Great group level and Typic Ustifluvent at Subgroup
level. At family level, this pedon was grouped as Fine, smectitic,
hyperthermic Typic Ustifluvents. The soils of pedon 2, 4 and 5 have an
argillic horizon with clay skins with more than 35 percent base
saturation in the soil control section. Thus, qualify for order Alfisols.
Pedon 2, 4 and 5 are grouped under Ustalf as the soil moisture control
section is moist for more than 90 days but less than 180 days. Pedon 4
shows hue of 2.5 YR value, moist of 3 and dry value not more than one
unit higher than moist value in the upper 100 cm of argilllic horizon and
thus is grouped under Rhodustalf at the great group level. It meets the
central concept of Typic at sub-group level and hence classified as
Typic Rhodustalf (P4) and other two as Typic Haplustalf (P2 and P5).

4.2 Mineralogy, Elemental composition and genesis of black

and associated red soils
4.2.1 Mineralogical properties of soils

Identification of minerals in sand, silt, total clay and fine clay

fractions were done by diagnostic diffraction maxima explained in
Annexure III.

4.2.1.1 Mineralogy of sand fraction (2.0 - 0.05 mm)

A representative X-ray diffractogram of sand fraction for pedons

(P1, P2, P3, P4 and P5) of teak-supporting soils and pedons (P6, P7,
P8, P9 and P10) of sandalwood-supporting soils are presented in fig.
4.1 and 4.2. The dominant minerals found in sand fraction (2.0-0.05 mm)
of both teak and sandalwood-supporting soils are reported in table 4.7

Quartz was detected in appreciable proportions in all the soils.

Phlogopite (Mg-Mica) showed dominant peak in sand fraction of all
soils which justifies the origin of these soils from basaltic parent
material.

89
 (a)

(b)
Fig. 4.1 : Representative X-ray diffractograms of sand fractions
(2-0.05 mm) of Teak-supporting soils of (a) P1 - Parasia and
(b) P2 - Parasia

90
 (c)

(d)
Fig. 4.1 : Representative X-ray diffractograms of sand fractions
(2-0.05 mm) of Teak-supporting soils of (c) P3 - Parasia and
(d) P4 – Mohgaon

91
 (e)
Fig. 4.1 : Representative X-ray diffractograms of sand fractions
(2-0.05 mm) of Teak-supporting soils of (e) P5 – Gondatola

(a)
Fig. 4.2 : Representative X-ray diffractograms of sand fractions
(2-0.05 mm) of sandalwood-supporting soils of (a) P6 – Salaia
Reserve Forest

92
 (b)

(c)
Fig. 4.2 : Representative X-ray diffractograms of sand fractions
(2-0.05 mm) of Sandalwood- supporting soils of (b) P7-Salaia
and (c) P8-Salaia

93
 (d)

(e)
Fig. 4.2 : Representative X-ray diffractograms of sand fractions
(2-0.05 mm) of Sandalwood- supporting soils of (d) P9-Salaia
and (e) P-10 Salaia.

94
Table 4.7 Dominant minerals found in sand (2.00 -0.05 mm) fraction

Pedon Q He Si Mn Ill Ph Fe Zr An Cr Go Di Co F MCa Ca Le Li M Lz Mc R

TEAK-SUPPORTING SOILS
P1 – Parasia + + + + + + + + + + + + +
P2 – Parasia + + + + + + + + + + +
P3 – Parasia + + + + + + + +
P 4 – Mohgaon + + + + + + + + + + +
P 5 – Gondatola + + + + + + + +
SANDALWOOD-SUPPORTING SOILS
P 6 - Salaia (Reserved)
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
forest
P 7 – Salaia Lakhnadon + + + + + + +
P 8 – Salaia Lakhnadon + + + + + + + + + + + +
P 9 – Lakhnadon + + + + + + + + + + + +
P 10 – SalaiDongri + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

Q=Quartz; He=Hematite; Si=Siderite; Mn=Manganite; Ill=Illmenite; Ph= Phlogopite; Fe=Ferrihydrite; Zr=Zircon; An=Anatase; Cr=Cristobalite;
Go=Goethite; Di=Diaspore; Co=Corrumdum; F=Feldspar; MCa=Monohydrocalcite; Le=Lepidocrocite; Li=Lithiophorite; M=Magnetite-; Lz=Lizardite;
Ca-Calcite; Mc=Mackinawite. (+ indicate presence of mineral)

95
Heavy minerals viz. rutile, illeminite and zircon were also detected in
minor amounts. Rutile was present in sandalwood-supporting soils (P6,
P8, P9 and P10). Zircon was present in traces in all the soils barring
P1,P2, P3 and P7. Hematite imparted redder colouration in P1, P2, P4,
P7, P8 and P9 due to well oxidized condition. Diaspore was found in
P3, P4, P6 and P7. Lizardite is present in all the soils except P5, P8
and P10. The persistence of minerals like diaspore, hematite may be
considered as being form during the course of weathering and
apparently accumulate in the sand fraction (Bhattacharyya and Ghosh,
1990). This thought was supported by accumulation of resistant
minerals like quartz, zircon and anatase.

4.2.1.2 Mineralogy of the silt fractions (0.05 -0.002 mm) of soils

A representative X-ray diffractogram of silt for pedons (P1, P2,

P3, P4 and P5) of teak-supporting soils and pedons (P6, P7, P8, P9
and P10) of sandalwood-supporting soils are presented in figure (4.3
and 4.4).

Smectite was identified by the appearance of 1.4 nm peak in

Ca-saturated samples which shifted to 1.7 nm on glycolation. The small
hump at 1.4 nm after heating to 550ºC for 1 hr indicated the presence
of chlorite. The presence of vermiculite was ascertained by the 1.4 nm
peak in CaEG treated samples and reinforcement of the 1.0 nm peak
of the K treated samples at 25ºC and 110ºC. The peak around 1.0 nm
with its 002 reflection at 0.49 nm indicates the presence of mica. The
presence of kaolin was ascertained by the appearance of 0.72 nm with
its 002 reflection at 0.359 nm and in K-saturation when heated up to
300ºC and disappearance of this peak after subsequent heating to
550ºC. The peak at 0.42 nm indicates the presence of quartz in all the
samples. The feldspar peaks were detected between 0.318 to 0.319
nm for Ca-feldspar and at 0.326 to 0.323 nm for K-feldspar. Silt is
composed of both muscovite and biotite because the ratio of the peak
height of 001 and 002 reflection of mica is more than one (Pal and
Deshpande, 1987).

96
 (a)

(b)
Fig. 4.3 : Representative X-ray diffractograms of silt fractions
(0.05-0.002 mm) of Teak-supporting soils of (a) P1 - Parasia and
(b) P2 - Parasia; Ca = Ca saturated; Ca-EG = Ca saturated plus
ethylene glycol vapour treated; K-saturated and heated to 25,
110, 300, 550°C; Sm = Smectite, Vm = vermiculite; Kl = Kaolin;
F = Feldspars; Q = Quartz

97
 (c)

(d)
Fig. 4.3 : Representative X-ray diffractograms of silt fractions
(0.05-0.002 mm) of Teak-supporting soils of (c) Parasia and
(d) Mohgaon; Ca = Ca saturated; Ca-EG = Ca saturated plus
ethylene glycol vapour treated; K-saturated and heated to
25, 110, 300, 550°C; Sm = Smectite, Vm = vermiculite;
Kl = Kaolin; F = Feldspars; Q = Quartz

98
 (e)
Fig. 4.3 : Representative X-ray diffractograms of silt fractions(0.05-0.002
mm) of Teak-supporting soils of (e) P5 – Gondatola; Ca = Ca
saturated; Ca-EG = Ca saturated plus ethylene glycol vapour
treated; K-saturated and heated to 25, 110, 300, 550°C;
Sm = Smectite, Vm = vermiculite; Kl = Kaolin; F = Feldspars;
Q = Quartz

(a)
Fig. 4.4 : Representative X-ray diffractograms of silt fractions (0.05-0.002
mm) of sandalwood-supporting soils of (a) P6 – Salaia Reserve
Forest; Ca = Ca saturated; Ca-EG = Ca saturated plus ethylene
glycol vapour treated; K-saturated and heated to 25, 110, 300,
550°C; Sm = Smectite, Vm = vermiculite; Kl = Kaolin;
F = Feldspars; Q = Quartz

99
 (b)

(c)
Fig. 4.4 : Representative X-ray diffractograms of silt fractions (0.05-
0.002 mm) of sandalwood-supporting soils of (b) P7-Salaia and
(c) P8-Salaia; Ca = Ca saturated; Ca-EG = Ca saturated plus
ethylene glycol vapour treated; K-saturated and heated to 25,
110, 300, 550°C; Sm = Smectite, Vm = vermiculite;
Kl = Kaolin; F = Feldspars; Q = Quartz

100
 (d)

(e)
Fig. 4.4 : Representative X-ray diffractograms of silt fractions (0.05-
0.002 mm) of sandalwood-supporting soils of (d) P9-Salaia
and (e) P-10 Salaia; Ca = Ca saturated; Ca-EG = Ca
saturated plus ethylene glycol vapour treated; K-saturated
and heated to 25, 110, 300, 550°C; Sm = Smectite,
Vm = vermiculite; Kl = Kaolin; F = Feldspars; Q = Quartz

101
Table 4.8 Semi-quantitative estimate (relative per cent) of minerals
present in silt fraction (0.05-0.002 mm)

TEAK-SUPPORTING SOILS
Horizon Depth (cm) Sm Ch Vm M Kl Q KF PF
P1 – Parasia
A 0-13 12 Nil 14 5 Nil 29 28 14
P2 – Parasia
A 0-11 22 Nil 8 19 Nil 31 9 10
Bt 11-37 12 Nil 6 13 Nil 51 9 5
P3 – Parasia
A 0-12 Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 86 7 7
Bw 12-31 Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 81 10 9
P 4 – Mohgaon
A 0-16 Tr Nil Tr 5 Tr 76 6 Tr
Bw1 16-42 Tr Nil Tr 6 Tr 76 9 Tr
Bw2 42-70 Tr Nil Tr 5 Tr 76 7 Tr
Bt1 70-105 Tr Nil Tr 5 Tr 81 6 Tr
Bt2 105-158 Tr Nil Tr 7 Tr 83 4 Tr
P 5 – Gondatola
A 0-13 Tr Nil Tr 5 Nil 76 8 5
Bt 13-27 Tr Nil Tr 6 5 76 Tr Tr
SANDALWOOD-SUPPORTING SOILS
Horizon Depth (cm) Sm Ch Vm M Kl Q KF PF
P 6 - Salaia (Reserved) forest
A1 0-11 8 Nil Nil 3 Nil 23 40 26
A2 11-25 9 Nil Nil 10 Nil 24 30 28
2A3 25-51 14 Nil 8 5 Nil 25 29 15
3A4 51-85 12 Nil Tr 7 Nil 24 26 14
4A5 85-103 8 Nil Tr 8 Nil 20 29 12
5A6 103-139 17 Nil 11 6 Nil 18 37 9
6A7 139-152 12 Nil 6.5 6 Nil 12 47 Tr
P 7 – Salaia Lakhnadon
A 0-11 9 Nil 7 Tr Nil 47 30 6
Bw 11-30 12 Nil 5 Tr Nil 45 27 7
P 8 – Salaia Lakhnadon
A 0-12 12 Nil 6 8 Nil 22 48 Tr
Bw1 12-37 5 Nil 8 5 Nil 15 65 Tr
Bw2 37-62 8 Nil 9 8 Nil 24 50 Tr
Bw3 62-86 7 Nil 8 5 Nil 21 56 Tr
Bw4 86-112 7 Nil 7 8 Nil 19 57 Tr
P 9 – Lakhnadon
A1 0-14 9 Nil Nil Tr Nil 70 10 6
A2 14- 30 8 Nil Nil Tr Nil 68 15 8
P 10 – SalaiDongri
A 0-12 6 Nil 7 14 Nil 54 10 9
Bw 12-37 Tr Nil 9 11 Nil 62 7 5

Teak-supporting soils

The semi-quantitative estimates of minerals in silt fraction of

teak-supporting soils are presented in table 4.8. Quartz (29-83%) was
the dominant mineral in the silt fraction of all teak-supporting soils. In

102
P1, P3, P4 and P5 second most dominant mineral was K-feldspar (4-
29%) followed by Ca-feldspar (≤ 5-14%) except in P4 and P5. In P1
secondary minerals followed the order smectite>vermiculite>mica. In
P4 and P5, mica was present in smaller amount with traces of other
secondary minerals. However in P3, these secondary minerals were
not detected.A different trend was observed in P2 viz.,
Quartz>Smectite>Mica>K-feldspar>Ca-feldspar>vermiculite.

Sandalwood- supporting soils

The semi-quantitative estimates of minerals in silt fraction of

sandalwood-supporting soils are presented in Table 4.8. Pedon 6
showed variation in mineralogy along with depth which may be
attributed to its fluvial deposition with time. In general, P6 was
dominated with K-feldspar followed by Quartz, Ca-Feldspar, Smectite
and Mica respectively. Pedon 7, 9 and 10 showed preponderance of
Quartz (45-70%) followed by K-feldspar (7-30%). The minerals in P8
followed the order K-Feldspar> Quartz > Smectite >Mica >Vermiculite>
Ca-Feldspar.

4.2.1.3 Mineralogy of the Total clay (<0.002 mm) fraction of soils

Presence of smectite was established by basal reflection around

1.4 nm of Ca-saturated samples which expand to around 1.7 nm on
glycolation. On K-saturation the peak in the form of hump was
indentified in the ranged of 1.2 to 1.4 nm. This peak got reinforced on
heating at 110ºC and 300ºC till at 550ºC. Presence of mica was
confirmed by peak around 1.0 nm which was not affected by
glycolation, K-saturation and heating. The X-ray intensity ratio of peak
heights of 001 and 002 basal reflections of mica was greater than unity
in the clay fractions thus indicate precence of both biotite and
muscovite (Pal et al., 2001). If muscovite minerals were present alone
the ratio would have been very close to unity (Tan, 1982). In the event
of a mixture of these two micas, both will contribute to the intensity of
the 1.0 nm reflections, whereas contribution of biotite to the 0.5 nm
reflection would be nil or negligible, thus giving a higher value to the

103
intensity ratio of these reflections. Presence of vermiculite was
established by peak around 1.4 nm in CaEG saturated samples which
on K-saturation and subsequent heating collapsed to 1.0 nm (25ºC to
300ºC). Small amount of vermiculite which was not detected around
1.4 nm region on Ca-saturation and was detected by the reinforcement
of 1.0 nm peak on K-saturation at 25ºC to 110ºC. The 0.72 nm and
0.359 nm peak indentified in Ca-saturated indicated the presence of
kaolin. It was confirmed by its persistence on K-saturation and heating
up to K300ºC and total disappearance at K550ºC. Quartz was
ascertained by presence of 0.42 nm peak. Ideally smectite on K-
saturation register a strong peak at 1.2 nm which gradually collapses to
1.0 m on thermal treatment (550). In present case smectite peak on K-
saturation at 25˚C register number of small peak in 1.4 to 1.1 nm
region which on further heating gradually collapsed toward 1.0 nm
which indicate presence of hydroxyl inter layering in these smectite.
Quartz in total clay fraction was identified with peak at 0.42 nm.
feldspar was also confirmed by peak at 0.3 nm. A closer examination of
diffractogram indicates (fig 4.5 and 4.6) that the shift of 0.72 nm peak
on glycolation, smectite of Sm/K is also found. In the present study the
smectites peak on K-saturation on thermal treatment registered a
plateau between 1.2 to 1.3 nm with tailing towards low angle sides.
Besides, the K-saturated samples heated to 550ºC also produces a
broad base of 1.0 nm peak showing a shoulder and broadening on low
angle side. These criteria are indicative of chloritization of smectite
interlayers (Wildman et al., 1968) due to induction of hydroxyl –
interlayering at higher soil pH condition (Jackson, 1973) whereas Pal et
al., (1999) had a thought that humid tropical climate and acid
weathering under plenty of Al in soil was more conducive for hydroxyl
inter layering phenomenon. The smectite was little chloritized as
evidenced by the broadening towards the low angle side of 1.0 nm
peak in K-saturated sample after subsequent heating to 550ºC. Such
chloritization is common in black soil (Pal and Deshpande, 1987a,
Balpande, 1993, Kadu, 1997, Pal et al., 2000, Deshmukh, 2009).

104
 (a)

(b)
Fig. 4.5 : Representative X-ray diffractograms of total clay fractions
(<0.002 mm) of Teak-supporting soils of (a) P1 - Parasia and
(b) P2 - Parasia; Ca = Ca saturated; Ca-EG = Ca saturated
plus ethylene glycol vapour treated; K-saturated and heated
to 25, 110, 300, 550°C; Sm = Smectite, Vm = vermiculite;
Kl = Kaolin; F = Feldspars; Q = Quartz

105
 (c)

(d)
Fig. 4.5 : Representative X-ray diffractograms of total clay fractions
(<0.002 mm) of Teak-supporting soils of (c) P3- Parasia and (d)
P4-Mohgaon; Ca = Ca saturated; Ca-EG = Ca saturated plus
ethylene glycol vapour treated; K-saturated and heated to 25,
110, 300, 550°C; Sm = Smectite, Vm = vermiculite; Kl = Kaolin;
F = Feldspars; Q = Quartz

106
 (e)
Fig. 4.5 : Representative X-ray diffractograms of total clay fractions
(<0.002 mm) of Teak-supporting soils of (e) P5 – Gondatola;
Ca = Ca saturated; Ca-EG = Ca saturated plus ethylene glycol
vapour treated; K-saturated and heated to 25, 110, 300,
550°C; Sm = Smectite, Vm = vermiculite; Kl = Kaolin; F =
Feldspars; Q = Quartz

(a)
Fig. 4.6 : Representative X-ray diffractograms of total clay fractions
(<0.002 mm) of Sandalwood-supporting soils of (a) P6 –
Salaia Reserve Forest; Ca = Ca saturated; Ca-EG = Ca
saturated plus ethylene glycol vapour treated; K-saturated
and heated to 25, 110, 300, 550°C; Sm = Smectite, Vm =
vermiculite; Kl = Kaolin; F = Feldspars; Q = Quartz

107
 (b)

(c)
Fig. 4.6 : Representative X-ray diffractograms of total clay fractions
(<0.002 mm) of Sandalwood-supporting soils of (b) Salaia
and (c) Salaia; Ca = Ca saturated; Ca-EG = Ca saturated plus
ethylene glycol vapour treated; K-saturated and heated to 25,
110, 300, 550°C; Sm = Smectite, Vm = vermiculite; Kl =
Kaolin; F = Feldspars; Q = Quartz

108
 (d)

(e)
Fig. 4.6 : Representative X-ray diffractograms of total clay fractions
(<0.002 mm) of Sandalwood-supporting soils of (d) P9-Salaia
and (e) P-10 Salaia; Ca = Ca saturated; Ca-EG = Ca saturated
plus ethylene glycol vapour treated; K-saturated and heated
to 25, 110, 300, 550°C; Sm = Smectite, Vm = vermiculite;
Kl = Kaolin; F = Feldspars; Q = Quartz

109
Table 4.9 Semi-quantitative estimate (relative per cent) of minerals
present in total clay fraction (< 0.002 mm)
TEAK-SUPPORTING SOILS
Horizon Depth (cm) Sm Ch Vm M Kl Q F
P1 – Parasia
A 0-13 35 Nil 21 8 16 9 11
P2 – Parasia
A 0-11 25 Nil 9 9 34 7 15
Bt 11-37 35 Nil 8 13 30 8 6
P3 – Parasia
A 0-12 33 Nil 17 13 20 7 10
Bw 12-31 26 Nil 25 10 14 11 14
P 4 – Mohgaon
A 0-16 6 Nil 7 Tr 70 Tr 7
Bw1 16-42 Tr Nil Tr Tr 76 Tr 6
Bw2 42-70 Tr Nil 6 Tr 75 Tr 6
Bt1 70-105 Tr Nil Nil 5 80 10 Tr
Bt2 105-158 Tr Nil Nil 5 78 10 Tr
P 5 – Gondatola
A 0-13 34 Nil 14 9 18 10 15
Bt 13-27 36 Nil 8 11 22 5 17

SANDALWOOD-SUPPORTING SOILS
Horizon Depth (cm) Sm Ch Vm M Kl Q F
P6 - Salaia (Reserved forest)
A1 0-11 47 Nil 33 6 5 Tr 6
A2 11-25 67 Nil 5 6 Tr 9 10
2A3 25-51 52 Nil 22 6 Nil 5 13
3A4 51-85 55 Nil 25 6 Nil 5 9
4A5 85-103 35 Nil 30 8 Nil 11 15
5A6 103-139 56 Nil 25 5 Nil Tr 10
6A7 139-152 54 Nil 18 6 13 Tr 7
P7 – Salaia Lakhnadon
A 0-11 47 Nil 18 5 7 6 17
Bw 11-30 22 Nil 15 8 15 17 23
P8 – Salaia Lakhnadon
A 0-12 41 Nil 27 10 8 5 9
Bw1 12-37 45 Nil 34 Tr 7 Tr Tr
Bw2 37-62 46 Nil 34 Tr 7 Tr 6
Bw3 62-86 47 Nil 39 Tr 9 Tr Tr
Bw4 86-112 40 Nil 35 6 8 8 Tr
P 9 – Lakhnadon
A1 0-14 35 Nil 30 5 13 7 9
A2 14-30 23 Nil 12 5 20 25 15
P 10 – SalaiDongri
A 0-12 51 Nil 17 Tr 8 Tr 18
Bw 12-37 38 Nil 21 Tr 10 8 20

110
Teak-supporting soils

The semi-quantitative estimates of minerals in total clay fraction

of teak-supporting soils (P1, P2, P3, P4 and P5) are presented in table
4.9. X-ray diffractogram of total clay fraction of teak-supporting soils
are shown in figure 4.5. In general, Pedon 1, 3 and 5 were found
dominant in smectite (21-36 %) whereas kaolin (14-22%) was sub-
dominant in P3 and P5 with appreciable amount of vermiculite, mica
with traces of quartz and feldspar. In Pedon 2 it was observed that
there was little variation in smectite and kaolin contents throughout the
depth followed by vermiculite, feldspar, quartz and mica. Pedon 4 was
dominated by kaolin (70-80%) in their mineral suit with minor amounts
of quartz and feldspar.

Sandalwood- supporting soils

The semi-quantitative estimates of minerals in total clay fraction

of sandalwood-supporting soils (P6, P7, P8, P9 and P10) are
presented in table 4.9. In general it was observed that smectite (22-
67%) was dominant in all sandalwood-supporting soils. Vermiculite (21-
27%) was present in appreciable amount in P8 and P9 as compared to
other pedons. P7 and P10 followed the order of smectite>feldspar>
vermiculite>kaolin. Pedon 6 (Typic Ustifluvent) had abrupt variation in
vermiculite (5-30%) and smectite (35-67%) content throughout depth
which may be attributed to fluvial mineral assemblage with time
interval.

4.2.1.4 Mineralogy of the fine clay fractions soils

X-ray diffractogram of fine clay fraction (Table 4.10) of teak-

supporting pedons (P1, P2, P3, P4, P5) and sandalwood-supporting
pedons (P6, P7, P8, P9 and P10) are shown in figure 4.7 and 4.8.

The fine clay had well crystallised smectite and it yields sharp basal
reflection on glycolation and show regular series of higher order
reflection. The presence of vermiculite could be explained as a
weathering product of biotite inhibiting weathering of muscovite.
Plagioclase can readily give rise dioctahedral smectite as a first
weathering product over an aridic to humid climate range.

111
 (a)

(b)
Fig. 4.7 : Representative X-ray diffractograms of fine clay fractions
(<0.0002 mm) of Teak-supporting soils of (a) P1 - Parasia and
(b) P2 - Parasia; Ca = Ca saturated; Ca-EG = Ca saturated plus
ethylene glycol vapour treated; K-saturated and heated to 25,
110, 300, 550°C; Sm = Smectite, Vm = vermiculite; Kl = Kaolin;
F = Feldspars; Q = Quartz

112
 (c)

(d)
Fig. 4.7 : Representative X-ray diffractograms of fine clay fractions
(<0.0002 mm) of Teak-supporting soils of (c) P3-Parasia and
(d)P4- Mohgaon; Ca = Ca saturated; Ca-EG = Ca saturated
plus ethylene glycol vapour treated; K-saturated and heated to
25, 110, 300, 550°C; Sm = Smectite, Vm = vermiculite; Kl =
Kaolin; F = Feldspars; Q = Quartz

113
 (e)
Fig. 4.7 : Representative X-ray diffractograms of fine clay fractions
(<0.0002 mm) of Teak-supporting soils of (e) P5 – Gondatola;
Ca = Ca saturated; Ca-EG = Ca saturated plus ethylene
glycol vapour treated; K-saturated and heated to 25, 110,
300, 550°C; Sm = Smectite, Vm = vermiculite; Kl = Kaolin;
F = Feldspars; Q = Quartz

(a)
Fig. 4.8 : Representative X-ray diffractograms of fine clay fractions
(<0.0002 mm) of sandalwood-supporting soils of
(a) P6 – Salaia Reserve Forest; Ca = Ca saturated; Ca-EG =
Ca saturated plus ethylene glycol vapour treated; K-
saturated and heated to 25, 110, 300, 550°C; Sm = Smectite,
Vm = vermiculite; Kl = Kaolin; F = Feldspars; Q = Quartz

114
 (b)

(c)
Fig. 4.8 : Representative X-ray diffractograms of fine clay fractions
(<0.0002 mm) of sandalwood-supporting soils of (b) P7-Salaia
and (c) P8-Salaia; Ca = Ca saturated; Ca-EG = Ca saturated
plus ethylene glycol vapour treated; K-saturated and heated to
25, 110, 300, 550°C; Sm = Smectite, Vm = vermiculite;
Kl = Kaolin; F = Feldspars; Q = Quartz

115
 (d)

(e)
Fig. 4.8 : Representative X-ray diffractograms of fine clay fractions
(<0.0002 mm) of sandalwood-supporting soils of (d) P9-Salaia
and (e) P-10 Salaia; Ca = Ca saturated; Ca-EG = Ca saturated
plus ethylene glycol vapour treated; K-saturated and
heated to 25, 110, 300, 550°C; Sm = Smectite, Vm = vermiculite;
Kl = Kaolin; F = Feldspars; Q = Quartz

116
Table 4.10 Semi-quantitative estimate (relative per cent) of
minerals present in fine clay fraction (< 0.0002 mm)

TEAK-SUPPORTING SOILS
Horizon Depth (cm) Sm Ch Vm M Kl Q F
P1 – Parasia
A 0-13 42 Nil 28 12 13 Tr Tr
P2 – Parasia
A 0-11 33 Nil 12 10 38 Tr Tr
Bt 11-37 37 Nil 9 15 28 Tr Tr
P3 – Parasia
A 0-12 29 Nil 17 8 19 15 12
Bw 12-31 25 Nil 20 10 21 13 10
P 4 – Mohgaon
A 0-16 7 Nil 10 Tr 69 Tr 6
Bw1 16-42 8 Nil 6 6 66 6 6
Bw2 42-70 8 Nil 9 6 71 Tr Tr
Bt1 70-105 8 Nil 7 Tr 75 Tr 7
Bt2 105-158 7 Nil 6 Tr 78 Tr Tr
P 5 – Gondatola
A 0-13 21 Nil 32 10 18 9 10
Bt 13-27 17 Nil 27 9 19 12 15

SANDALWOOD-SUPPORTING SOILS
Horizon Depth (cm) Sm Ch Vm M Kl Q F
P 6 - Salaia (Reserved) forest
A1 0-11 55 Nil 25 14 Nil Tr Tr
A2 11-25 52 Nil 29 10 Nil Tr Tr
2A3 25-51 54 Nil 32 8 Nil Tr Tr
3A4 51-85 59 Nil 24 10 Nil Tr Tr
4A5 85-103 65 Nil 22 Tr Nil Tr Tr
5A6 103-139 55 Nil 28 12 Nil Tr Tr
6A7 139-152 51 Nil 22 18 Nil Tr Tr
P 7 – Salaia Lakhnadon
A 0-11 55 Nil 32 Tr 8 Tr Tr
Bw 11-30 38 Nil 33 6 12 Tr 6
P 8 – Salaia Lakhnadon
A 0-12 42 Nil 36 8 Nil 6 8
Bw1 12-37 43 Nil 35 7 7 Tr Tr
Bw2 37-62 45 Nil 29 9 9 Tr Tr
Bw3 62-86 51 Nil 28 8 6 Tr Tr
Bw4 86-112 49 Nil 27 6 7 7 Tr
P 9 – Lakhnadon
A1 0-14 35 Nil 30 11 9 7 Tr
A2 14- 30 43 Nil 29 Tr 18 Tr Tr
P10 – SalaiDongri
A 0-12 42 Nil 29 8 12 Tr 7
Bw 12-37 52 Nil 24 Tr 9 Tr 10
117
Teak- supporting soils

According to semi-quantified data, the fine clay fraction of P1,

P3 and P5 were dominated with smectite (13–42%) followed by
vermiculite (17-32%), kaolin (13-21%), mica (8-12%) with traces of
quartz and feldspar. Pedon 2 had approximately similar proportion of
smectite and kaolin in the mineral suit. P4 had preponderance of kaolin
(66-78%) followed by smectite with traces of mica, quartz and feldspar.

Sandalwood- supporting soils

In general, the fine clay fraction (<0.0002 mm) of all

sandalwood-supporting soils contained dominant proportion of smectite
(35-65%) followed by vermiculite (22-36%) with traces of quartz and
feldspar. Mica and Kaolin were present in smaller amount (~6-14%) in
all the pedons and kaolin was absent in P6.

4.2.2 Elemental analysis

Teak-supporting soils

The SiO2 content (Table 4.11) varied from 18.10 to 51.43 per
cent and SiO2 content increased with depth. The large proportion of
SiO2 in different horizon of pedons might be due to siliceous nature of
materials. The Al2O3 content varied from 1.46 to 12.94 in teak-
supporting soils which followed an increasing trend with depth. The
Fe2O3, CaO, MgO, MnO, TiO2 and K2O varied from 5.69 to 40.11,
0.025 to 1.046, 0.010 to 0.891, 0.055 to 0.269, 0.520 to 0.767 and
0.038 to 1.133 per cent respectively.

In general, ratio (Table 4.12) of silica/alumina (SiO2/Al2O3) in

teak-supporting soils ranged from 4.0 to 22.1 which decreased with
depth in P2, P4 and P5. Lower ratios of SiO 2/Fe2O3 (2.1) in P2 and
Fe2O3/ Al2O3 (0.6) in P1 and P3 were observed, as compared to other
pedons. Decrease in ratio with depth attributed to in-situ weathering
after depositional cycle and can be confirmed by molar ratios of
SiO2/Fe2O3 (2.1 to 7.0) and Fe2O3/ Al2O3 (0.6 to 8.5) which showed
narrow variation within the profile.

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Table 4.11 Elemental composition of soils

TEAK-SUPPORTING SOILS
Depth SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 CaO MgO MnO TiO2 K2O SiO2/ SiO2/ Fe2O3/ SiO2/ TiO2/
Horizon
(cm) % Al2O3 Fe2O3 Al2O3 R2O3 Al2O3
P1 – Parasia
A 0-13 51.43 12.94 7.34 0.492 0.891 0.102 0.61 1.133 4.0 7.0 0.6 2.5 0.05
P2 – Parasia
A 0-11 26.13 1.63 12.77 0.775 0.104 0.147 0.542 0.197 16 2.1 7.8 1.8 0.33
Bt 11-37 27.37 2.43 12.49 0.216 0.028 0.227 0.566 0.283 11.3 2.2 5.1 1.8 0.23
P3 – Parasia
A 0-12 39.41 9.05 5.69 1.046 0.778 0.102 0.52 0.69 4.4 6.9 0.6 2.7 0.06
Bw 12-31 52.17 11.95 10.74 0.69 0.759 0.141 0.565 0.818 4.4 4.9 0.9 2.3 0.05
P 4 – Mohgaon
A 0-16 18.1 1.98 8.1 0.227 0.132 0.162 0.607 0.319 9.2 2.2 4.1 1.8 0.31
Bw1 16-42 32.22 1.46 12.35 0.031 0.01 0.08 0.672 0.252 22.1 2.6 8.5 2.3 0.46
Bw2 42-70 33.31 6.57 13.4 0.123 0.05 0.078 0.767 0.333 5.1 2.5 2 1.7 0.12
Bt1 70-105 32.11 7.22 13.12 0.025 0.01 0.065 0.616 0.358 4.5 2.5 1.8 1.6 0.09
Bt2 105-158 37.01 8.33 14.11 0.032 0.015 0.055 0.625 0.32 4.4 2.6 1.7 1.7 0.08
P 5 – Gondatola
A 0-13 41.23 2.11 12.57 0.204 0.028 0.269 0.564 0.31 19.6 3.3 6 2.8 0.27
Bt 13-27 42.6 2.38 13.4 0.55 0.158 0.148 0.658 0.038 17.9 3.2 5.6 2.7 0.28

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 SANDALWOOD-SUPPORTING SOILS
Depth SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 CaO MgO MnO TiO2 K2O SiO2/ SiO2/ Fe2O3/ SiO2/ TiO2/
Horizon
(cm) (%) Al2O3 Fe2O3 Al2O3 R2O3 Al2O3
P6 – Salaia (Reserved forest)
A1 0-11 34.84 2.3 10.01 0.748 0.083 0.261 0.586 0.33 15.1 3.5 4.4 2.8 0.25
A2 11-25 36.11 4.55 9.23 1.153 0.668 0.166 0.709 0.55 8.0 3.9 2.0 2.6 0.16
2A3 25-51 33.27 1.97 9.92 1.974 0.058 0.163 0.568 0.54 16.9 3.4 5.0 2.8 0.29
3A4 51-85 28.36 0.73 9.58 1.034 0.045 0.133 0.573 0.51 38.9 3.0 13.1 2.8 0.79
4A5 85-103 38.78 2.35 11.6 1.393 0.034 0.224 0.575 0.87 16.5 3.3 4.9 2.8 0.25
5A6 103-139 28.08 1.48 8.55 0.623 0.025 0.131 0.258 0.50 18.9 3.3 5.8 2.8 0.17
6A7 139-152 27.94 1.36 8.48 0.780 0.023 0.190 0.320 0.62 20.5 3.3 6.2 2.8 0.24
P7 – Salaia Lakhnadon
A 0-11 27.49 4.42 12.25 1.406 1.383 0.245 0.670 0.14 6.2 2.2 2.8 1.7 0.15
Bw 11-30 23.47 2.47 11.18 1.648 2.769 0.152 0.590 0.25 9.5 2.1 4.5 1.7 0.24
P8 – Salaia Lakhnadon
A 0-12 35.37 2.53 10.43 0.990 0.032 0.346 0.790 0.24 14.0 3.4 4.1 2.7 0.31
Bw1 12-37 35.69 4.62 8.65 0.860 0.028 0.23 0.597 0.37 7.7 4.1 1.9 2.7 0.13
Bw2 37-62 28.00 3.28 7.25 1.320 0.085 0.082 0.778 0.42 8.5 3.9 2.2 2.7 0.24
Bw3 62-86 28.8 1.65 9.26 1.450 0.075 0.170 0.610 0.45 17.5 3.1 5.6 2.6 0.37
Bw4 86-112 21.37 0.39 7.71 1.558 0.098 0.099 0.578 0.49 55.4 2.8 20 2.6 1.50
P9 – Lakhnadon
A1 0-14 24.13 1.09 12.32 1.243 0.051 0.252 0.840 0.33 22.1 2.0 11.3 1.8 0.77
A2 14-30 24.15 1.84 11.43 3.578 2.521 0.205 0.780 0.31 13.1 2.1 6.2 1.8 0.42
P10 – SalaiDongri
A 0-12 24.27 0.35 8.32 3.085 0.787 0.178 0.690 0.30 69.3 2.9 23.8 2.8 1.97
Bw 12-37 21.43 0.32 7.39 2.870 0.680 0.230 0.720 0.36 67.0 2.9 23.1 2.8 2.25

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Effects of in-situ weathering were acquired by calculation of SiO2/R2O3.
This ratio characterises the degree of silicate destruction and Si
removal in a leaching environment. Colman (1982) suggested that this
ratio should decrease during weathering, because of the greater
stability of Al and Fe relative to Si. In most of the soils, the ratio
decreases in the B horizons and increases below, which testifies the in-
situ weathering of the parent materials of the B and C horizons. The
silica-sequioxide (SiO2/ R2O3) ratio is used to determine the types of
soil formed from the chemical weathering of the parent rocks. True
laterite is assigned a ratio of 1.33; lateritic soil 1.33 to 2.0 and non-
lateritic if the value is greater than 2.00 (Nesbitt and Young 1984,
Adeola et al., 2016). In P4 (Typic Rhodustalf) the silica-sequioxide
(SiO2/ R2O3) ratio ranged from 1.6 to 2.3 which implies that the soil are
formed on weathered laterite due to the influence of acid leaching
(eluviation) TiO2/Al2O3 ratio ranged from 0.05 to 0.46.

Sandalwood-supporting soils

In the sandalwood-supporting soils the SiO2 content varied from

21.37 to 36.11 per cent which depicted a declining trend with depth.
The Al2O3 content varied from 0.32 to 4.62 per cent which followed
irregular trend. The Fe2O3, CaO, MgO, MnO, TiO2 and K2O varied from
7.25 to 12.32, 0.623 to 3.578, 0.007 to 2.769, 0.082 to 0.346, 0.258 to
0.840, 0.148 to 0.872 respectively.

The molar ratio SiO2/Al2O3, SiO2/Fe2O3, Fe2O3/ Al2O3, and

TiO2/Al2O3 in sandalwood-supporting soils varied from 6.2 to 69.3, 2.0
to 4.2, 1.9 to 23.8 and 0.2 to 2.3 per cent respectively. The higher
SiO2/Al2O3 ratio in P10 indicates its less maturity as compared to P6
and P7. Silica-sequioxide (SiO2/ R2O3) ratio ranged from 1.79 to 2.83
per cent which indicated that the soils are less weathered. TiO2/Al2O3
ratio showed lithological discontinuity in pedon 6 which may be
attributed to its fluventic nature. This disconformities may be due to
differential weathering, difference in source of parent material or it may
be attributed to time lag in deposition of material.

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4.2.3 Genesis of soils

Teak-supporting soils

Ten pedons were studied for their morphological, physical,

chemical and mineralogical properties to comprehend the genesis of
these soils. Most of the soils have developed from similar parent
material with an annual rainfall of 1330 mm. Therefore, the difference
found in these soils may be accounted for the difference in their
vegetation, topographic position and the progressive changes in the
landscape

The pedon 1 (Typic Ustorthent) is highly eroded than the other

soils. This soil is very shallow (18 cm) indicating that it is developed in-
situ from the weathered basalt. The pH of this soil is slightly acidic (6.3)
and the colour is in hue of 5YR. Mineralogy of the soils indicate that
smectite is the dominant mineral followed by vermiculite and kaolin
(Sm/K interstratified mineral). The presence of substantial amount of
smectite in the red soils are not uncommon (Pal and Deshpande,
1987b) in soils developed from basalt.

Pedon 2 and 3 showed Munsell colour notation of 5 YR and 10

YR respectively. These soils are in close association and developed on
plateau underlain by basalt. Teak forest on P2 site (40-45 years) is
older than that on P3 site (20-25 years). The older teak forest might
have favoured eluviation (acid leaching) in P2 resulting in the formation
of argillic horizon. Samndi and Jibrin (2012) studied the pedogenesis of
soils under teak plantation of various ages and opined that the main
pedogenic processes under teak were braunification, mineralization
and lessivation. Floral pedoturbation encouraged illuviation, thus
resulting into formation of clay films on ped surfaces and in the Bt
horizons.

Pedon 5 is shallow (27 cm) and its genesis is similar to P2 with

hue of 10 YR at surface and 7.5 YR at sub-surface. The only difference
is that this site supports younger teak forest (35-40 years) than P2 site
(40-45 years). These teak-supporting Alfisols (P2 and P5) contain both

122
dioctahedral smectite and kaolin (0.7 nm mineral) in their clay fractions.
Such soils however, show presence of both smectite and kaolinite (Pal
and Deshpande, 1987) which suggests the transformation of smectite
to kaolinite through an intermediate phase of smectite–kaolinite (Sm–
Kl) interstratifications identifiable by broad basal reflections of kaolinite
at 0.74–0.75 and 0.35 nm. These observations indicate that SAT
Alfisols have both smectite and 0.7 nm clay minerals that are basically
related to quite contrasting chemical environments, indicating the
influence of humid and SAT climates at different geological times in the
past. (Bhattacharyya et al., 1993). However, present research indicated
that aged teak forest might have played an active role in the genetic
development of soils.

The pedon 4 developed over laterized basalt had pH ranging

from slightly acidic to moderately acidic (5.9 to 6.3) and its colour is in
hue of 5 YR to 2.5 YR. The teak forest on this site is the oldest one
(50-55 years). XRD analysis of the clay fraction indicates that kaolin
(>65%) is the dominant mineral followed by smectite with traces of
mica, quartz and feldspar. The presence of substantial amount of
kaolin in this soil is improbable as all the soil forming factors are
uniform. This focuses our attention to the active role of aged teak forest
which might have accelerated the laterization process. The subsequent
increase in Al2O3 content (Table 4.11) with depth confirms the active
laterization process. Kaolinization is the dominant pedogenic process
in teak-bearing soils which has resulted in the loss of bases (Dhar,
1984). Samndi and Jibrin (2012) also confirmed the leaching of bases
and subsequent increase in aluminium content with depth indicating
that the bases were leached to greater extent than other elements in
soils supporting teak forests.

Sandalwood-supporting soils

The pedon 6 (Typic Ustifluvent) exhibited lithological

discontinuity and which confirmed by marked variation in sand/silt ratio
(Sidhu et al., 1976 and Ray et al., 1997) and their occurrence on foot-
slope possibility of deposition of eroded soil from top at different time

123
interval. In total clay fraction considerable variation in vermiculite and
smectite content throughout depth was observed. Fine clay fraction
contained dominant proportion of smectite followed by vermiculite. In
general the fluvial soils deposited over a period are rich in smectite.

The pedon 9 and 10 are in close association on either side of

the river. P9 and P10 had hue of 2.5 YR and 10 YR, respectively. Both
the pedons were located on escarp slope. The mineralogy showed
dominance of smectite in both pedons. It is probable that the
meandering river might have deposited the alluvium along its path.
Therefore material deposited is mixed alluvium, eroded from different
geological formation. Geomorphic process like erosion, deposition,
pleneplanation, slope inversion (Birkeland, 1999) etc.have vital role in
assemblage of parent material vis-a-vis their influence on soil formation
(Yang et al., 2006).

The pedon 7 is shallow (30 cm) with hue of 5YR to 2.5YR

whereas, P8 is deep (112 cm) with hue of 10YR developed over basalt.
Both the soils are closely associated red-black complex at lower
topographic position. The mineralogical study revealed that smectite is
found dominant in both the soils. The alluvium derived from Deccan
basalt is invariably very high in smectite clay (Pal and Deshpande.,
1987). This high amount of smectite indicates that it is transported
material from the higher elevation. The basalt rock is releasing
plagioclase temporally give rise to dioctachedral smectite as the first
weathering product over a wide range of climate i.e. aridic to humid
climate (Tardy et al., 1973; Pal and Deshpande., 1987a). Due to
erosional process these material has deposited in the lower topography
position wherein deposition of bases is maximum and their leaching is
minimum. Thus, smectite continued to exist in the present condition.

4.3 Development of Minimum datasets for soil quality

The soil quality indicators in terms of morphological, physical,

chemical properties generate a huge data. This makes it difficult to

124
assess soil quality. It is the fact that assessment of soil parameters
actually influencing soil quality and hence it is necessary to reduce the
number of parameters. In other words assessing soil quality should
have proper interpretation of dataset to arrive at minimum dataset
(MDS). In the present research work, the data selected for soil physical
and chemical properties of the pedons have been used as values. The
data of physical and chemical properties of teak and sandalwood
supporting soil pedons are presented in table 4.2, 4.3 and 4.4, and
micronutrient data are presented in table 4.5.

Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was performed using

SPSS (version 20.0) for total 21 soil parameters. The objective of PCA
was to reduce the dimension of data while minimizing the loss of
information (Armenise et al., 2013). Principal Components (PC) with
high eigen values were considered best representatives explaining the
variability (Andrews et al., 2002). PCs with eigen values >1 (Kaiser,
1960) were selected since PC with eigen value <1 accounts for less
variation than generated by a single variable. The retained PCs were
subjected to varimax rotation to maximize the correlation between PC
and the soil properties by distributing the variance (Waswa et al.,
2013). Under each PC, highly weighted variables were selected as soil
quality indicators. Multivariate correlation coefficients were used to
check for redundancy and correlation between the variables. If the
variables are well-correlated (r = 0.70), then variable with highest factor
loading (absolute value) was retained as indicator among the well-
correlated variables (Andrews and Carroll, 2001). Further, Expert
opinion (EO) was taken into account for selection of the MDS amongst
these indicators from respective Principal Components (PCs)
specifically that affecting crop growth. These selected MDS were
further used for computing soil quality index (SQI) of all soils.

Teakwood-supporting soils

The results obtained from PCA indicated five PCs with eigen
values >1 (Table 4.13) and soil variables from each PC were
considered for selection of relevant indicators. The indicators selected

125
from PC 1 were 33 kPa, 1500 kPa, CEC, Ca2+ and Mg2+. However, 33
kPa was retained as MDS because it had high loading factor and even
good correlation with selected parameters. Bulk density (BD), Na+, K+,
ESP, EMP and Ca/Mg ratio were chosen as indicators from PC 2 and
BD was selected as MDS as the roots of teak proliferate deeper to
extract the nutrients and water. From PC3 indicators viz., EC, total clay
and Zn were selected and Zn was retained as MDS because of higher
loading factor. Electrical conductivity (EC) was not considered in MDS
as it was within safe limit (<1 dsm-1) in all the pedons. DTPA-Cu was
rejected and Mn was selected as indicator from PC 4. According to
Arun Prasad et al. (1990) reported that Mn are related with teak growth
and pH was selected from PC 5.

Sandalwood -supporting soil

The results obtained from PCA indicated six PCs with eigen
values >1 (Table 4.13) and soil variables from each PC were
considered for MDS. The soil parameters selected from PC 1 were pH,
OC, Fe, Mn, Zn, and Cu. However, multivariate correlation between
these parameters indicated high correlation amongst OC and
micronutrients (Annexure II). Therefore, OC was retained as MDS
because it had high loading factor and even good correlation with
selected parameters. Sand, silt, 33 kPa and 1500 kPa were chosen
from PC2 as indicators and silt had highest factor loading was included
as MDS. From PC3, CEC, EMP and Ca/Mg ratio were selected
amongst which Ca/Mg ratio was retained in MDS. In PC 4, 5 and 6 the
parameters viz. total clay, base saturation (BS) and CaCO3
respectively were retained as MDS because each component had only
one indicator with highest factor loading.

126
Table 4.12 Eigenvalue and variance data for the PCs

TEAK-SUPPORTING SOILS

Component PC1 PC2 PC3 PC4 PC5

Total 6.04 5.96 4.61 3.02 1.65
% of Variance 26.26 25.93 20.02 13.14 7.17
Cumulative % 26.26 52.19 72.21 85.35 92.52
weightages 0.28 0.28 0.22 0.14 0.08
Rotated Component Matrixa
pH(1:2) 0.039 0.075 -0.128 -0.215 0.893
EC(1:2) 0.348 0.029 0.907 0.001 -0.043
OC 0.255 0.458 0.576 0.592 0.024
CaCO3 0.726 0.149 0.285 0.202 0.481
Sand -0.475 -0.686 0.491 -0.093 0.059
Silt 0.019 0.683 0.593 0.351 0.147
Total clay 0.444 0.250 -0.826 -0.121 -0.145
Fine clay 0.633 -0.169 -0.655 -0.018 0.263
WDC 0.518 0.330 -0.716 -0.056 -0.162
33 kPa 0.936 0.259 -0.108 0.058 -0.089
1500 kPa 0.828 0.336 -0.329 -0.125 -0.145
BD -0.077 -0.910 0.049 -0.286 0.079
CEC 0.879 0.382 -0.082 0.204 0.039
BS 0.669 0.641 0.067 -0.036 0.046
ESP 0.009 0.923 -0.132 0.115 0.165
EMP 0.381 0.907 0.040 0.081 -0.020
Ca/Mg ratio -0.423 -0.885 -0.011 -0.116 -0.026
Fe 0.182 0.672 0.453 0.134 -0.455
Mn 0.168 0.162 0.009 0.935 -0.144
Zn 0.042 0.073 0.811 0.106 -0.377
Cu 0.393 0.123 0.020 0.870 -0.187
Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.
Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.
a. Rotation converged in 9 iterations.

127
 SANDALWOOD-SUPPORTING SOILS
PC1 PC2 PC3 PC4 PC5 PC6
Total 5.56 4.03 3.42 2.75 1.94 1.26
% of Variance 26.48 19.19 16.28 13.09 9.25 6.00
Cumulative % 26.48 45.68 61.96 75.05 84.30 90.31
weightage 0.29 0.21 0.18 0.14 0.10 0.07
Rotated Component Matrix a

pH(1:2) -0.806 -0.335 0.041 0.249 0.221 0.250

EC(1:2) 0.278 -0.447 -0.004 0.419 0.297 0.598
OC 0.970 -0.053 -0.006 0.062 -0.005 0.084
CaCO3 -0.547 0.329 0.106 -0.030 -0.168 0.624
Sand -0.076 -0.947 -0.036 -0.285 -0.004 -0.056
Silt 0.121 0.947 -0.068 -0.164 0.001 0.058
Total clay -0.061 0.262 0.198 0.889 0.006 0.013
Fine clay -0.315 0.191 0.097 0.903 -0.075 0.042
WDC 0.298 0.533 0.051 0.467 0.015 -0.516
33 kPa -0.179 0.815 0.213 0.341 -0.223 -0.123
1500 kPa -0.171 0.812 0.217 0.343 -0.255 -0.102
BD 0.003 -0.225 -0.350 -0.358 0.713 0.205
CEC -0.218 0.169 0.833 0.168 0.139 0.061
BS 0.098 -0.109 0.326 0.154 0.850 -0.117
ESP -0.092 0.042 -0.663 0.065 -0.514 -0.026
EMP 0.042 -0.042 -0.938 -0.119 0.072 0.016
Ca/Mg ratio -0.027 0.059 0.954 0.087 -0.054 -0.015
Fe 0.886 -0.010 -0.226 -0.172 0.097 0.141
Mn 0.840 -0.018 -0.085 -0.261 0.285 -0.212
Zn 0.932 -0.044 0.177 0.150 -0.116 0.026
Cu 0.945 -0.033 -0.127 -0.118 0.180 -0.137

Table 4.13 PCA-derived minimum datasets

TEAK-SUPPORTING SOILS
Component PC1 PC2 PC3 PC4 PC5

MDS 33 kPa BD Zn Mn pH (1:2)

SANDALWOOD-SUPPORTING SOILS

Component PC1 PC2 PC3 PC4 PC5 PC6

Ca/Mg Total
MDS OC (%) Silt BS (%) CaCO3
ratio clay

128
4.4 SQI vis-a-vis growth of teak and sandalwood

The SQI from MDS was computed as per the method described
by Karlen and Stott (1994).

SQI = £ Wi Mi

where, Wi = weight of ith indicator and Mi = marks of ith indicator class

A valid SQI helps to interpret data from different soil

measurements and show whether management and land-use are
having the desired results for productivity, environmental protection
and health (Granatstein and Bezdicek 1992). Masto et al. (2007) stated
that the soil quality concept provides a tool to help quantify the
combined biological, chemical, and physical response of soil to crop
management practices.

In the present study SQIs (soil quality indices) vis-a-vis crop

growth (viz., diameter at breast height, girth and volume) are
considered. Volume estimation of selected trees was done according to
procedure outlined by (Chakrabarti and Gaharwar, 1995) for teak.

The details of growth parameters in relevance to SQI is

presented in table 4.14 and 4.15.

Growth of Teak

Good growth and high quality teak are associated with deep,
flat, well drained alluvial soils especially calcium rich soils developed
over volcanic substrata such as igneous and metamorphic
soils.(Tewari,1992).

Temperature conditions under which teak grows vary from a

minimum of 2.20C in winter to a summer of 47.8 0C.However, teak
thrives best with monthly minimum temperature of 13.0 and maximum
of 400C; an annual precipitation between 1270-3800 mm with marked
dry season of 3 to 5 months i.e < 50 mm rain (Pandey and Brown,

129
2000). The study area receives rainfall of 1329.8 per annum with
minimum and maximum temperature 18.9 and 31.3 oC respectively
which is favourable for teak growth.

The growth of teak in P1 is better (Annual volume increment

(AVI) (0.0203 m3) as compared to other teak-supporting pedons which
had higher SQI (0.83). In general, it was observed that better the SQI,
better is the growth of teak. The AVI (0.0065 m 3) of teak was least in
P4 with relatively lower SQI (0.62) which may be due to its lateritic
nature (Table 4.14). Laterites become sufficiently hard on exposure
and are thus subjected to intense surface runoff. Besides, laterite soils
are deficient in calcium and other plant nutrients and being highly
porous do not retain much moisture (Griffith and Gupta, 1947).
Estimated SQI values were found highly correlated (r= 0.98) with
annual volume increment (AVI).

Table 4.14 Growth of Teak at different sites and their SQI

Mean Annual increment

DBH Girth Volume*
Location Age age Girth Volume SQI
(cm) (cm) (m3)
(years) (cm) (m3)
P1 35-40 37.5 30.67 96.3 0.762 2.57 0.0203 0.83
P2 40-45 42.5 38.06 119.5 0.762 2.81 0.0179 0.80
P3 20-25 22.5 20.29 63.7 0.341 2.83 0.0152 0.74
P4 50-55 52.5 29.39 92.3 0.341 1.76 0.0065 0.62
P5 35-40 37.5 33.12 104 0.762 2.77 0.0203 0.79

(*Volume estimation of selected trees was done according to procedure outlined by

(Chakrabarti and Gaharwar, 1995) for teak )

Growth of Sandalwood

Sandalwood is capable of growing on all type of soils at

elevation from sea level to 1800 m in rainfalls of 500-3000 mm (Troup,
1921; Venkatesan, 1980). Annual rainfall ideally should be 600 to 1600
mm, and annual minimum of about 100C and maximum of about 350C.
There should be plenty of sun, although seedling should be protected
against excessive drought or heat. The formation of heartwood is said
to be best in drier region at altitudes between 600-900 m, with
moderate temperatures and rainfall of 800-1000 mm spread over
several months.

130
 The tree flourishes well in different types of soil like sand, clay,
red soil, lateritic loam and even in black cotton soils. Waterlogged soils
should be avoided, while rich, fairly moist, fertile, iron-rich clay soils
give best growth (Neil, 1990b).

Though sandalwood is considered to be a slow-growing tree

under forest conditions (1 cm girth/year), it can grow at a rate of 5 cm
of girth or more per year under favorable soil and moisture conditions.
The heartwood formation in sandalwood starts around 10-15 years of
age. Assuming well grown 250 trees under natural conditions, an
annual increment of 1 kg of heartwood per year per tree may be
obtained, which gives an overall increment of 250 kg of heartwood per
year (Venkatesan, 1980, Rai, 1990).

The growth of sandalwood (Annual girth increment AGI=1.11

cm) is optimum in P9 which is in compliance with its higher SQI (0.71)
whereas P6 had AGI= 1.03 cm with lowest SQI (0.54) (Table 4.15).
The AGI of sandalwood trees is found relevant with the soil quality
(r = 0.81)

Table 4.15 Growth of Sandalwood at different sites and their SQI

Mean age Girth Annual Girth Increment

Location Age SQI
(years) (cm) (cm)

P6 30-35 32.5 33.38 1.03 0.54

P7 20-25 22.5 24.17 1.07 0.68
P8 25-30 27.5 28.78 1.05 0.68
P9 20-25 22.5 24.88 1.11 0.71
P10 15-20 17.5 19.33 1.10 0.66

131
4.5 Soil-site suitability assessment for teak and sandalwood

Soil-site suitability studies provide information on the choice of

crops to be grown on best suited soil unit for maximizing crop
production per unit of land, labour and inputs.

Each plant species require specific soil site conditions for its
optimum growth for rationalizing land use the soil-site suitability for
different crops need to be determined. This suitability models provides
guidelines to decide the policy of growing most suitable crops
depending on the suitability of each soil unit.

Many workers attempted (Sehgal et al.,1989; Sys et al.,1991;

Davidson, 1992; Naidu et al.,2006) to identify land specific suitability
criteria for different annual crops through land evaluation approach with
the help of soil parameters. However, the soil-site suitability criteria for
teak is obtained from previous literature (Table 4.16) (Patil, 2000). The
suitability criteria for sandalwood is not developed so far. Therefore, an
attempt has been made in the present study to propose the soil-site
suitability sandalwood in Seoni district of Madhya Pradesh (Table
4.18).

Soil-site suitability for Teak

The computation of limitation level for soil and site

characteristics indicated (Table 4.17) that Pedon 1, 2, 3 and 5 showed
severe limitation of depth and texture, hence classified under
unsuitable for teak. However, pedon 4 was classified as marginally
suitable for teak.

132
 Table 4.16 Soil-site suitability criteria for teak

Suitability class/Degree of limitation

S1 S2 S3 N
Soil properties 1 2 3 4
(None/ (Very
(Moderate) (Severe)
Slight) severe)
SITE CHARACTERISTICS
Slope (%) <5 6-8 8-15 15-30
Drainage Well Moderate Imperfect Poor
SOIL CHARACTERISTICS
Depth (cm) >150 100-150 50-100 <50
c (non- C(expandin ls,c,>
Texture Scl,cl,l
expanding type) g type) sc 60%,
6.5-7.5 6.0-6.5 5.5-6.5 <5.5
pH
7.5-8.5 < 8.5
CEC
>20 15-20 10-15 <10
(cmol(p+)kg-1 )
Base saturation
80-90 70-80 60-70 <60
(%)
Organic carbon
>1.0 0.6-0.8 0.4-0.6 <0.4
(%)

Table 4.17 Soil-site suitability assessment of teak based on some

relevant properties

Parameters P1 P2 P3 P4 P5
Slope (%) 3-8 1-3 1-3 3-8 3-5
Drainage Well Well Well Well Well
Depth (cm) 18 52 52 158 42
c (expanding
Texture l c>60 c>60 c>60
type)
pH 6.30 6.27 4.50 6.34 6.28
CEC
29.9 31.0 29.5 13.7 41.3
(cmol(p+)kg-1 )
Base saturation (%) 87.9 87.3 79.9 62.4 87.5
Organic carbon (%) 2.82 1.69 1.34 0.95 1.37
Suitability N N N S3 N

133
Soil-site suitability for sandalwood

The severe limitation of clay content (smectitic) has resulted in

grouping of all sandalwood soils as unsuitable (Table 19). Sandalwood
is prevalent mostly on red loams (Neil et al., 1986, Rangasamy et al.,
1986).

The soil-suitability assessment method focuses more on

limitations rather than merits. Hence, in present work it is observed that
even though PCA derived soil quality is in compliance with crop growth
but on the contrary the soils are classified as marginal/unsuitable.

Table 4.18 Proposed soil-site suitability criteria for Sandalwood

Suitability class/Degree of limitation

S1 S2 S3 N
Soil properties
1 2 3 4
(None/Slight) (Moderate) (Severe) (Very Severe)
SITE CHARACTERISTICS
Mean annual
maximum temp >35 28-35 22-28 <22
0
( C)
Total rainfall (mm) >1250 1000-1250 750-1000 <750
Elevation (m) >650 550-650 450-550 <450
Slope (%) 3-5 5-8 8-15 15-30
Drainage Well Moderate Imperfect Poor
SOIL CHARACTERISTICS
Depth (cm) >150 100-150 50-100 <50
6.6-7.3 7.4-7.8 >7.8
pH 6.1-6.5
4.5-5 3.5-4.5 <3.5
<25
25-35 >35 35-60
(smectitic
(smectitic) (smectitic) (smectitic)
Clay (%) type)
25-35 35-50 <35 (Non <25 (non-
(mixed) (mixed) expanding) expanding)
CEC
>30 20-30 20-10 <10
(cmol(p+)kg-1)
Base saturation
80-90 70-80 60-70 <60
(%)
Organic carbon
>0.8 0.4-0.6 0.4-0.2 <0.2
(%)

134
Table 4.19 Soil-site suitability assessment of sandalwood based
on some relevant properties
Parameters P6 P7 P8 P9 P10
Mean annual
maximum 31.3 31.3 31.3 31.3 31.3
temp (0C)
Total rainfall (mm) 1329.8 1329.8 1329.8 1329.8 1329.8
Elevation (m) 462 469 464 564 565
Slope (%) 3-8 8-15 3-5 15-30 30-50
Drainage Mod. Mod.
well well well
well well
Depth (cm) 152 52 112 30 37
Clay (%) 22.28 25.62 42.19 37.31 31.52
pH 7.43 6.86 7.05 7.02 6.93
CEC
35.09 39.01 37.86 35.05 34.78
(cmol(p+)kg-1)
Base saturation
84.29 88.62 82.27 86.30 85.46
(%)
Organic carbon
0.33 0.85 0.64 1.41 0.81
(%)
Suitability N N N N N

135
 Chapter V

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

Forest occupy a substantial portion of India’s area as per Forest

Survey of India (2015), the forest cover in the country is 70.17 million
ha which accounts for 21.42 per cent of the total geographical area.

Teak (Tectona grandis) is a species of significant ecological and

socio-economic importance throughout the tropics. It is a unique
species whose timber is the most aristocratic amongst the timbers of
India. Sandalwood (Santalum album L.) is one of the most valuable
trees in the world. Sandalwood and its products are one of the finest
perfumery materials since ages.

Black and associated red soils developed from basalt support

teak and sandalwood on different landforms from ages in Seoni district
of Madhya Pradesh. The growth of teak and sandalwood are
influenced by combined effect of edaphic factors and age. Variations in
tree growth are strongly related to the soil quality. A comprehensive
and complete knowledge of basic edaphic and pedogenic processes
along with mineralogical studies will aid considerably in understanding
the genesis of black and associated red soils supporting teak and
sandalwood of Seoni district, Madhya Pradesh.

Virtually no systematic study has been carried out on genesis of

black and associated red soils of Seoni district, Madhya Pradesh, their
quality and suitability for teak and sandalwood. Therefore, the present
investigation was undertaken with the following objectives

136
Objectives of the study

 To study the physical and chemical properties of black and

associated red soils.
 To study the genesis of soil and mineralogy in different soil
fractions.
 To find out the minimum soil parameters for soil quality.
 To assess the soil-site suitability for teak and sandalwood.

To achieve these objectives, natural teak and sandalwood-

supporting black and associated red soils were selected for soil
sampling. Representative five pedons from teak-supporting soils and
five from sandalwood-supporting soils were exposed. The girth of ten
trees was measured at each site for studying the growth parameters.

The morphological, physical, chemical and mineralogical

properties were studied.

Geology of the selected sites consists of Deccan trap with

sporadic occurrence of lameta, intertrappean beds, laterite capping and
Meso-Proterozoic to recent alluvium. The area under study is
represented by plateaus, footslopes and escarp slopes. The climate is
sub-tropical which receives rainfall of 1329.8 per annum with minimum
and maximum temperature 18.9 and 31.3 0C, respectively. The soil
moisture regime is Ustic and temperature regime is Hyperthermic.

The teak-supporting soils are very shallow (18 cm) to very

deep (158 cm). The sandalwood-supporting soils are shallow (30 cm)
to very deep (152 cm).

In teak-supporting soil colour ranged from dusky red to very dark

greyish brown and in sandalwood-supporting soil colour ranged from
dusky red to very dark greyish brown. Texture of soil under teak-
supporting soils is dominantly clay barring P1 while, sandalwood-
supporting soils varies from sandy clay to clay. The teak-supporting
soils showed an increase in clay with depth owing to stable terrain and

137
relatively moist pedo-environment. However, uneven distribution of clay
was observed in sandalwood-supporting soils.

The bulk density showed significant positive correlation with

organic carbon and negative with sand content in teak-supporting soils
whereas in sandalwood-supporting soils did not show significant
relationship.

Correlation studies indicated that water retention at 33 kPa and

1500 kPa had significantly positive correlation with total clay. In
general, the available water capacity of sandalwood-supporting soils
was higher as compared to teak-supporting soils.

The pH of the teak-supporting soils is moderately acidic to

neutral (5.9-6.9) and that of sandalwood-supporting soils is neutral to
moderately alkaline (6.7 to 8.0).

In general, organic carbon content is higher in teak-supporting

soils than sandalwood-supporting soils. Differences in organic carbon
content observed under both cover types can be attributed to the
differences in vegetation type, litter fall and age of the forest stands.

Both the teak and sandalwood-supporting soils are non-

calcareous in nature (0.34-3.33 %) having positive correlation with pH
and base saturation.

Calcium was the dominant exchangeable cation in both teak and

sandalwood supporting soils followed by magnesium, sodium and
potassium, indicating presence of calcium bearing minerals in parent
rocks.

The CEC and base saturation of the sandalwood-supporting

soils is higher than teak-supporting soils. High CEC values suggest the
dominance of smectite in sandalwood-supporting soils. The lowest
CEC (8.53-17.11 cmol (p+) kg-1) in P4 is due to dominance of kaolinitic
clay mineralogy.

138
 The DTPA-extractable Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu teak-supporting soils
ranged from 1.68 to 60.14, 7.94 to 98.26, 0.6 to 2.92, 1.38 to 20.38 and
0.014 to 0.16 mg kg-1 respectively whereas, in sandalwood-supporting
soils ranged from 1.16 to 16.84, 5.42 to 78.52, 0.30 to 2.18 and 0.6 to
10.98 mg kg-1 respectively. These DTPA-extractable micronutrients
showed significant positive and negative relationship with OC and pH
respectively.

According to Soil Taxonomy, the soils of P1 and P9 are

classified as Typic Usthorthent at sub-group level whereas at family
level, considering the texture, thermal regime and mineralogy they are
further classified as Loamy, smectitic, hyperthermic and clayey
smectitic, hyperthermic respectively. Pedon 2 and 5 are classified as
Clayey, smectitic, hyperthermic family of Typic Haplustalf. Pedon 3 and
10 are classified as clayey, smectitic, hyperthermic Typic Haplustept
and Loamy, smectitic, hyperthermic Typic Haplustept respectively.
Pedon 7 and 8 are classified as Fine, smectitic, hyperthermic Typic
Haplustept. Pedon 6 is classified as Fine, smectitic, hyperthermic Typic
Ustifluvent and P4 as Clayey-skeletal, kaolinitic, hyperthermic Typic
Rhodustalf.

The higher SiO2/Al2O3 ratio in sandalwood-supporting soils (6.2-

69.3) indicate that they are less matured than teak-supporting soils
(4.0-22.1). Further, the silica-sequioxide (SiO2/R2O3) ratio does not
show wide variation with depth which testifies less weathering of the
parent material. In Pedon 4 (Typic Rhodustalf), the silica-sequioxide
(SiO2/ R2O3) ratio (1.6 to 2.3) implies the active role of vegetation in
removal of bases via acid leaching (eluviation). The increasing
aluminium content also confirms the same. In teak-supporting soils,
the TiO2/Al2O3 ratio showed narrow variation throughout depth whereas
in P6 the variation was noteworthy might be due to its fluventic nature.

Quartz was detected in appreciable proportions in sand fraction

(2.0-0.05 mm) of all the studied soils. Phlogopite (Mg-Mica) showed
dominant peak in sand fraction of all soils which justifies the origin of
these soils from basaltic parent material. Heavy minerals viz. rutile,

139
illeminite and zircon were also detected in minor amounts. Heavy
minerals viz. rutile, illeminite and zircon were also detected in some
amounts. Rutile was present in sandalwood-supporting soils (P6, P8,
P9 and P10). Zircon was present in traces in all the soils except P1,
P2, P3 and P7. Hematite imparted redder colouration in P1, P2, P4,
P7, P8 and P9 due to oxidized condition. Diaspore was found in P3,
P4, P6 and P7. Lizardite is present in all the soils except P5, P8 and
P10.

In general, the semi-quantified data of silt fraction (0.05 -0.002

mm) revealed that quartz was the most dominant mineral followed by
feldspar, mica with relatively smaller proportion of other minerals.

The XRD diffraction analysis of total clay fraction (<0.002 mm)

indicate that the teak-supporting soils are dominant in smectite
followed by vermiculte (P1) and kaolin (P3, P5) mica with traces of
quartz and feldspar. On the contrary, Pedon 4 was dominated by
kaolin. In P2, it was observed that there was little variation in smectite
and kaolin content throughout the depth. In general, most of the
sandalwood-supporting soils were dominant in smectite followed by
vermiculite. Pedon 6 (Typic Ustifluvent) had abrupt variation in
vermiculite (5-30%) and smectite (35-67%) content through depth
which may be attributed to fluvial mineral assemblage with time
interval.

In general, the fine clay fraction (<0.0002 mm) of both teak and
sandalwood-supporting soils contained dominant proportion of smectite
followed by vermiculite with traces of quartz and feldspar. P4 had
preponderance of kaolin followed by smectite with traces of mica,
quartz and feldspar.

Most of the soils are developed from similar parent material with
an annual rainfall of 1330 mm. Therefore, the difference found in these
soils may be accounted for the difference in their vegetation,
topographic position and progressive changes in the landscape.

140
 The soils supporting teak forests of varied ages revealed that
older teak forests have favoured more floral pedoturbation and
encouraged illuviation forming Bt horizons than the younger ones.
Pedon 5 support the oldest (50-55 years) amongst all teak forests in
Seoni district, M.P. XRD analysis of P4 indicated that the kaolin
(>65%) is the dominant mineral followed by smectite with traces of
mica, quartz and feldspar. The subsequent increase in Al2O3 content
with depth confirms the active laterization process.

In general, the sandalwood-supporting soils are evidences of

alluvium deposits on escarp slope/ foot slope with the lapse of time.
Therefore, time being a limiting factor resulted in formation of Entisols
and/ or Inceptisols. This alluvium is derived from deccan basalt is
invariably very high in smectitic clay. This high amount of smectite
indicate that it is transported from higher elevation or by fluvial action..
Thus, the present day climate and topography restricts the further
transformation of smectite to kaolin.

In the present research work, for selection of minimum dataset

(MDS) and soil quality assessment, Principal Component Analysis
(PCA; SPSS V.20.0) was performed for 21 soil parameters of teak-
supporting and sandalwood-supporting soils.

The results obtained from PCA indicated five PCs with

eigenvalues >1 (Table 4.13) and soil variables from each PC were
considered for selection of relevant indicators. MDS were selected
amongst these indicators based on correlation (r = 0.70) and expert
opinion (EO) from respective Principal Components (PCs) specifically
those affecting crop growth. The MDS selected for teak-supporting
soils were 33 kPa, bulk density, DTPA-Zn, Mn and pH whereas for
sandalwood-supporting soils they were OC, silt, Ca/Mg ratio, total clay,
CaCO3 and base saturation. These selected MDS were further used for
computing soil quality index (SQI) of all studied soils.

The growth of teak in P1 is better (Annual volume increment

(AVI) (0.0203 m3) as compared to other teak-supporting pedons which

141
had higher SQI (0.83). In general, it was observed that better the SQI,
better is the growth of teak. The AVI (0.0065 m 3) of teak was least in
P4 with relatively lower SQI (0.62) which may be due to its lateritic
nature.

The growth of sandalwood (Annual girth increment AGI=1.11

cm) is optimum in P9 which is in compliance with its higher SQI (0.71)
whereas P6 had AGI= 1.03 cm with lowest SQI (0.54). The AGI of
sandalwood trees is found in reliance with the soil quality. In general, it
is observed that the SQI relatively influences the growth of teak and
sandalwood.

The pedon 1, 2, 3 and 5 showed severe limitation of depth and

texture, hence classified under unsuitable for teak. However pedon 4
was classified as marginally suitable for teak. The severe limitation of
clay content (smectitic) render the pedon 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 as
unsuitable for sandalwood.

Conclusion

 The XRD analysis of teak-supporting soils revealed that

kaolinization is a noticeable pedogenic process which is discounted
in sandalwood-supporting soils. The mineral transformation pathway
is as follows

Smectite → (Chloritised) smectite → (Chloritised) Sm/K → Kaolin

 Teak forests have pronounced effect in pedogenesis as they

transformed embryonic soils into genetically developed matured
soils which is implicated from the encouraged illuviation and
formation of Bt horizons. However, such kind of pedogenic effect
was not observed in sandalwood forests.

 The PCA-derived minimum datasets for teak-supporting soils are 33

kPa, bulk density, DTPA-Zn, Mn and pH whereas for sandalwood-
supporting soils they are organic carbon, silt, Ca Mg ratio, total clay,
CaCO3 and base saturation. PCA derived SQI are well correlated
with growth of naturally occurring teak and sandalwood

142
 Majority of the teak-supporting soils showed severe limitation of
depth and texture, whereas the sandalwood-supporting soils had
severe limitation of clay content (smectitic). Limitation method for
crop suitability emphasis more on limitation and masks the merits of
soil. Inspite of good SQI the site classified as poor/unsuitable

143
 Chapter VI

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168
 VITA

1 Name of student : Choudhari Pushpajeet Lokpal

2 Date of Birth : 07/06/1987
3 Name of the College : Post graduate institute, Dr. P.D.K.V.,
Akola
4 Residential address : 53/A, Ovi Apartment, Near Paunjai
Mandir, Wadgaon-Budruk, Pune
Pin- 411041

5. Academic qualifications
Sr. Name of Year in Division/ Name of awarding
No. Degrees which Class university
awarded obtained
1. B. Sc. 2009 II Dr. B.S.K.K, Dapoli
(Agriculture)
2. M. Sc. 2011 I Dr. P.D.K.V, Akola
(Agriculture)

1. Research papers published : 3

2. Field of interest (in which you desire to work): Teaching and
research

Place : Akola
Date : 30/05/2017 Signature of Student

169
 ANNEXURE - I
DESCRIPTION OF PEDONS

Pedon 1 (P1) :
Classification : Loamy, smectitic, hyperthermic Typic
Usthorthent
Location : Village: Parasia, Tehsil- Lakhnadon,
Dist- Seoni, (Madhya Pradesh)
Latitude: : 22O 41’ 01” N
Longitude: : 79O 31’ 04” E
Elevation : 598 m
Geology : Basalt
Parent material : Basalt
Physiographic : Plateau (nearly 10 m above shoulder slope)
position
Topography : Gently sloping
Slope : 3-8 % (0-50 m)
Drainage : Somewhat excessively drained
Erosion : Severe
Vegetation : Teak, Dhawa, Lendi, Tendu, Charoli, Saj,
Salai
Land use : Moderately dense forest and fully stocked
(35-40 years old)

Horizon Description of profile

A 0-13 cm, Dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) to dark brown
(5YR 3/2); loam; moderate medium sub-angular blocky
structure; slight hard, friable, slightly sticky and slightly
plastic; Coarse fragments 20 to 25 per cent by volume;
medium fine roots; medium, many pores; slightly acidic (pH
6.3); abrupt irregular boundary.
Cr 13-55 cm, Weathered Basalt.

170
Pedon 2 (P2):
Classification : Clayey, smectitic, hyperthermic
Typic Haplustalf
Location : Village: Parasia, Tehsil- Lakhnadon,
Dist.- Seoni, (Madhya Pradesh)
Latitude: : 22O 40’ 13”N
Longitude: : 79O 30’ 42”E
Elevation : 621 m
Geology : Basalt
Parent material : Basalt
Physiographic : Plateau
position
Topography : Very gently sloping
Slope : 1-3 % (50 - 150 m)
Drainage : Well drained
Erosion : Moderate
Vegetation : Teak, Charoli
Land use : Moderately dense forest and fully
stocked (40-45 years old)

Horizon Description of profile

A 0 - 11 cm, Dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) to (5YR 3/3);
clay; moderate medium sub-angular blocky structure;
Slightly hard, friable, sticky and plastic, gravels
fragments 1- 2 per cent; medium, few roots, medium
many pores; neutral (pH 6.7) clear smooth boundary.
Bt 11 - 37 cm, Dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4); clay; strong
medium sub-angular blocky structure; Slightly hard,
friable, very sticky very plastic; gravels fragments 1- 2
per cent; medium, few roots; medium many pores;
slightly acidic (pH 6.1); abrupt smooth boundary; thin
patchy argillans.
Cr 37-52+ cm, Weathered Basalt.

171
Pedon 3 (P3):
Classification : Parasia (Clayey, smectitic, hyperthermic
Typic Haplustept)
Location : Village: Parasia, Tehsil- Lakhnadon, Dist.-
Seoni, (Madhya Pradesh)
Latitude: : 22O 40’ 16”N,
Longitude: : 79O30’ 49”E
Elevation : 618 m
Geology : Basalt
Parent material : Basalt
Physiographic position : Plateau
Topography and slope : Very gently sloping (1-3 %, 50-150 m)
Slope : 1-3 % (50-150 m)
Drainage : Well drained
Erosion Moderate
Vegetation : Teak, Lendia,Saj,Tendu, Charoli, Mahua,
Palas, Beheda
Land use : Moderately dense forest and fully stocked
(20-25 years old teak)

Horizon Description of profile

A 0-12 cm, Dark brown (10YR 3/3), clay; moderate medium
sub angular blocky; slightly hard, friable, sticky and plastic;
coarse gravels fragments 1-2 per cent; common very fine
roots; medium many pores, slightly acidic (pH 6.1); clear
smooth boundary.
Bw 12-31 cm, Dark brown (10YR 3/3), clay; moderate strong
sub angular blocky; slightly hard, friable, sticky and plastic;
coarse gravels fragments 1-2 per cent; common fine roots;
medium many pores, slightly acidic (pH 6.2); abrupt
irregular smooth boundary.
Cr 31-52 cm, Weathered Basalt.

172
Pedon 4 (P4):
Classification : Clayey-skeletal, kaolinitic, hyperthermic
Typic Rhodustalf
Location : Village: Mohgaon Tehsil- Lakhnadon, Dist-
Seoni, (Madhya Pradesh)
Latitude: : 21O 54’ 25”N
Longitude: : 79O 31’ 35”E
Elevation : 644 m
Geology : Basalt
Parent material : Laterized basalt
Physiographic position : Plateau
Topography : Gently sloping
Slope : 3-5% (50 - 150 m)
Drainage : Well drained
Erosion : Moderate
Vegetation : Teak, Tendu, Ledia, Saj, Bhilwa, Bamboo,
Mahua, Kumbi
Land use : Moderately dense forest and fully stocked
(50-55 years old teak)

Horizon Description of profile

A 0-16 cm, Dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3); clay; weak
fine sub angular blocky structure; Slightly hard, friable,
sticky plastic; Coarse gravel fragments 50-60 per cent,
fine, many roots, medium, many pores; moderately
acidic (pH 5.9); clear smooth boundary.
Bw1 16-42 cm, Dark reddish brown (2.5 YR 3/3-2.5 YR 3/4);
clay; weak fine granules; Slightly hard, friable, sticky
plastic ; Coarse gravel fragments 60-65 per cent; fine,
many roots, medium, many pores; slightly acidic (pH
6.2); abrupt smooth boundary; thin patchy argillans.
Bw2 42-70 cm, Dark reddish brown (2.5 YR 3/4) to Dark red
(2.5 YR 3/6); clay; weak fine granules; Slightly hard,

173
 friable, sticky plastic ; Coarse gravel fragments 60-65
per cent; fine, many roots, medium, many pores;
slightly acidic (pH 6.1); clear smooth boundary; thin
patchy argillans.
Bt1 70-105 cm, Dark reddish brown (2.5 YR 3/4) to Dark
red (2.5 YR 3/6); clay; weak fine granules; Slightly
hard, friable, sticky plastic ; Coarse gravel fragments
75-80 per cent; medium, few roots, medium, few
pores; slightly acidic (pH 6.2); clear smooth boundary;
thin patchy argillans.
Bt2 105-158 cm, Dark reddish brown (2.5 YR 3/4) to Dark
red (2.5 YR 3/6); clay; weak fine granules; Slightly
hard, friable, sticky plastic ; Coarse gravel fragments
75-80 per cent; medium, few roots, medium, few
pores; slightly acidic (pH 6.3); clear smooth boundary;
thin patchy argillans.

Pedon 5 (P5):
Classification : Clayey, smectitic, hyperthermic Typic
Haplustalf
Location : Village: Gondatola, Tehsil- Lakhnadon, Dist-
Seoni, (Madhya Pradesh)
Latitude: : 21O 53’ 52”N
Longitude: : 79O 31’ 53”E
Elevation : 631 m
Geology : Basalt
Parent material : Basalt
Physiographic position : Subdued plateau
Slope : 3-5 % (50 - 150 m)
Drainage : Well drained
Erosion : Moderate
Vegetation : Teak, Lendia, Dhawa, Mahua, Palas, Tendu
Land use : Moderately dense forest and fully stocked
(35-40 years old teak)

174
Horizon Description of profile
A 0 – 13 cm, Very dark greyish brown (10YR 3/2); clay;
strong medium sub angular blocky structure; hard,
friable, sticky plastic; coarse gravels fragments less
than 1-2 per cent, fine, common roots, many fine
pores; slightly acidic (pH 6.4); abrupt smooth
boundary.
Bt1 13-27 cm, Dark brown (7.5YR 3/2); clay; moderate fine
sub angular blocky structure; friable, sticky plastic
coarse gravels fragments 1-2 per cent; many few
roots; coarse few pores; slightly acidic (pH 6.5);clear
smooth boundary.
Cr 27-57 cm, Weathered Basalt.

Pedon 6 (P6):
Classification : Fine, smectitic, hyperthermic Typic
Ustifluvent
Location : Village: Salaia (Reserve Forest 50) Tehsil-
Lakhnadon, Dist- Seoni, (Madhya Pradesh)
Latitude: : 22O 51’ 18”N
Longitude: : 79O 40’ 09”E
Elevation : 462 m
Geology : Basalt
Parent material : Basaltic alluvium
Physiographic position : Foot slope
Topography : Gently sloping
Slope : 3-8 % (0-50 m)
Drainage : Moderately well drained
Erosion : Very slow
Vegetation : Teak, Lendia,Dhawa,Saj,Tendu, Charoli,
Mahua, Palas, Aonla, Bamboo, Pipal, Khair
Land use : Moderately dense forest and fully stocked
(30-35 years old sandalwood plantation)

175
Horizon Description of profile
A1 0 - 11 cm, Very dark greyish brown (10YR 3/2); clay;
moderate medium sub angular blocky structure; friable,
sticky plastic; coarse gravels fragments less than 1-2
per cent, fine, common roots, many fine pores;
neutral (pH 6.7);clear smooth boundary.
A2 11 - 25 cm, Very dark greyish brown (10YR 3/2); clay;
strong medium sub angular blocky structure; friable,
sticky plastic; coarse gravels fragments less than 1-2
per cent, medium, common roots, many fine pores;
neutral (pH 7);clear smooth boundary.
2A3 25-51 cm, Very dark greyish brown (10YR 3/2); clay;
moderate medium sub angular blocky structure; friable,
slightly sticky slightly plastic; coarse gravels fragments
less than 1-2 per cent, common roots, common fine
pores; neutral (pH 7.3); clear irregular boundary.
3A4 51 – 85 cm, Very dark grayish brown (10YR 5/4-10YR
3/4); sandy clay; moderate medium sub-angular blocky
structure; friable, slightly sticky slightly plastic; coarse
gravels fragments less than 1-2 per cent, common
roots, common many pores; slight effervescence;
slightly alkaline (pH 7.7);clear smooth boundary.
4A5 85 - 103 cm, Very dark grayish brown (10YR 4/6-10YR
3/4);clay; moderate medium sub-angular blocky
structure; friable, slightly sticky slightly plastic; coarse
gravels fragments less than 1-2 per cent, few roots,
common many pores; slight effervescence; slightly
alkaline (pH 8.0); clear gradual boundary.
5A6 103 - 139 cm, Very dark grayish brown (10YR 5/4-
10YR 3/4);clay; moderate medium sub-angular blocky
structure; friable, slightly sticky slightly plastic; coarse
gravels fragments < 1-2 per cent, fine few roots,
common many pores; slight effervescence; slightly
alkaline (pH 8.0); clear gradual boundary.

176
6A7 139-152 cm, Very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/4);clay;
moderate medium sub-angular blocky structure;
friable, slightly sticky slightly plastic; coarse gravels
fragments less than 1-2 per cent, fine few roots,
common many pores; slight effervescence; slightly
alkaline (pH 8.0); clear gradual boundary.

Pedon 7 (P7):
Classification : Fine, smectitic, hyperthermic Typic
Haplustept
Location : Village: Salaia, Tehsil- Lakhnadon, Dist.-
Seoni, (Madhya Pradesh)
Latitude: : 22O 51’ 30”N
Longitude: : 79O 40’ 16”E
Elevation : 469 m
Geology : Basalt
Parent material : Basalt

Physiographic position : Foot slope

Topography : Gently sloping

Slope : 8-15% (0-50 m)
Drainage : Well drained
Erosion : Moderate
Vegetation : Salai, Dhawai, Bamboo, Teak, Ber, Saj,
Khair, Tendu
Land use : Moderately dense forest and fully stocked
(20-25 years old sandalwood plantation)

Horizon Description of profile

A 0-11 cm, Dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3); clay; moderate
medium sub angular blocky structure; slight hard, friable,
sticky plastic; coarse gravel fragments 5-10 per cent;
common fine roots; few medium, many fine pores; neutral
(pH 6.8); clear smooth boundary.
Bw 11-30 cm, Dark reddish brown (2.5YR 3/6-2.5YR 4/3); clay;

177
 moderate medium sub angular blocky structure; slight hard,
friable, sticky plastic; coarse gravel fragments 5-10 per
cent; common medium roots; few medium, many fine
pores; neutral (pH 6.9); abrupt smooth boundary.
Cr 30-52+ cm, Weathered Basalt.

Pedon 8 (P8):
Classification : Fine, smectitic, hyperthermic Typic
Haplustept
Location : Village: Salaia, Tehsil- Lakhnadon,
Dist- Seoni, (Madhya Pradesh)
Latitude: : 22O 51’ 18” N
Longitude: : 79O 40’ 13” E
Elevation : 464 m
Geology : Basalt
Parent material : Alluvium
Physiographic position : Foot slope (Upper portion)
Topography : Gently sloping plain (slightly undulating)
Slope : 3-5% (150 – 300 m)
Drainage : Moderately well drained
Erosion : Very slow
Vegetation : Plantation of sandalwood and bamboo,
Palas, Saj, Teak, Khair, Aonla, Tendu
Land use : Moderately dense forest and fully stocked
(15-20 years old sandalwood)

Horizon Description of profile

A 0-12 cm, Very dark greyish brown (10YR 3/2); clay;

medium weak sub-angular blocky structure; friable; sticky
plastic; Coarse gravels fragment 2-5 percent; fine, many
roots; fine many pores; neutral (pH 7.1); clear smooth
boundary.
Bw1 12-37 cm, Very dark greyish brown (10YR 3/2); clay;

178
 medium moderate sub-angular blocky structure; firm; very
sticky very plastic; Coarse gravels fragment 2-5 percent;
few medium roots; fine many pores; neutral (pH 6.9); clear
smooth boundary.
Bw2 37-62 cm, Very dark greyish brown (10YR 3/2; clay;
medium strong sub-angular blocky structure; firm; very
sticky very plastic; Coarse gravels fragment 2-5 percent;
common medium roots; fine many pores; neutral (pH 6.9);
clear smooth boundary.
Bw3 62-86 cm, Very dark greyish brown (10YR 3/4); clay;
medium moderate sub-angular blocky structure; friable;
sticky plastic; Coarse gravels fragment 2-5 percent;
common medium roots; fine many pores; neutral (pH 7.2);
clear smooth boundary.
Bw4 86-112 cm, Very dark greyish brown (10YR 4/3); silty clay;
medium moderate sub-angular blocky structure; friable;
sticky plastic; Coarse gravels fragment 2-5 percent; few
medium roots; fine many pores; neutral (pH 7.2); clear
smooth boundary.

Pedon 9 (P9):
Classification : Clayey, smectitic, hyperthermic Typic
Usthorthent
Location : Village: Salaia, Tehsil- Lakhnadon, Dist-
Seoni, (Madhya Pradesh)
Latitude: : 22O 39’ 48” N
Longitude: : 79O 40’ 14”E
Elevation : 564 m
Geology : Basalt
Parent material : Basalt
Physiographic position : Escarp slope (20 m below plateau)
Topography : Moderately steep sloping
Slope : 15-30% (0 - 50 m)
Drainage : Well drained

179
Erosion : Very severe
Vegetation : Teak, Natural Sandalwood, Karonda,
Charoli
Land use : Thin forest, Sparse vegetation (20-25 years
old sandalwood plantation)
Horizon Description of profile
A1 0-14 cm, Dark reddish brown (2.5YR 3/3) to dusky red
(2.5YR 3/2); sandy clay; medium moderate sub-angular
blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, sticky plastic; coarse
gravels fragments 10-15 per cent; many fine roots;, medium
many pores; few medium; neutral (pH 6.9); clear smooth
boundary.
A2 14 - 30 cm, Dark reddish brown (2.5YR 2.5/3) to dusky red
(2.5YR 2.5/2); clay loam; fine moderate sub-angular blocky
structure; slightly hard, friable, sticky plastic; coarse gravels
fragments 10-15 per cent; many fine roots;, medium many
pores; few medium; neutral (pH 7.1); abrupt smooth
boundary.
Cr 30-50+cm, Weathered Basalt.

Pedon 10 (P10):
Classification : Loamy, smectitic, hyperthermic Typic
Haplustept
Location : Village: SalaiDongri , Tehsil- Lakhnadon,
Dist- Seoni, (Madhya Pradesh)
Latitude: : 22O 39’ 46”N
Longitude: : 79O 40’ 15”E
Elevation : 564 m
Geology : Basalt
Parent material : Basalt
Physiographic position : Scarp slope

Topography : Steeply sloping

Slope : 30-50 % (0 - 50 m)

180
Drainage : Well drained
Erosion : Severe
Vegetation : Teak, Sandalwood, Karonda, Seharu
Land use : Thin forest, Sparse vegetation

Horizon Description of profile

A 0-12 cm Very dark greyish brown (10YR 3/2);clay loam;

medium moderate sub-angular blocky structure; friable;
sticky plastic; Coarse gravels fragment 10-15 percent;
fine, many roots; medium many pores; neutral (pH 7.0);
clear wavy boundary.
Bw 13-37 cm, Very dark greyish brown (10YR 3/2) to dark
brown;clay loam; medium moderate sub-angular blocky
structure; slightly hard friable; sticky plastic; Coarse
gravels fragment 10-15 percent; medium, many roots;
medium common pores; neutral (pH 6.9); clear wavy
boundary.
Cr 37-53+cm, Weathered Basalt.

181
Annexure- II Pearson correlation between relevant soil properties
Teak-supporting soils
Total 33 1500
Variables pH EC OC CaCO3 Sand Silt WDC AWC BD CEC BS ESP EMP Ca:Mg Fe Mn Zn Cu
clay kPa kPa
pH 1
EC -.128 1
OC -.083 .637* 1
CaCO3 .305 .474 .526 1
Sand -.111 .248 -.223 -.267 1
Silt .053 .548 .864** .405 -.243 1
Total clay **
.075 -.566 -.303 .014 -.814 -.366 1
WDC .060 -.434 -.131 .106 -.886** -.207 .974** 1
* *
33 kPa -.059 .221 .297 .691 -.671 .140 .560 .627* 1
1500kPa -.040 -.001 .076 .509 -.754** -.038 .747** .765** .937** 1
** **
AWC -.074 .510 .563 .795 -.369 .382 .126 .250 .840 .598* 1
BD * * *
.091 .003 -.582 -.209 .675 -.660 -.253 -.338 -.324 -.347 -.204 1
CEC .053 .233 .479 .757** -.709** .277 .514 .595* .945** .880** .803** -.492 1
** ** * * *
BS .141 .347 .504 .538 -.731 .487 .409 .530 .727 .684 .607 -.642 .797** 1
ESP .126 -.120 .382 .248 -.690* .634* .282 .353 .271 .312 .138 -.897** .381 .594* 1
* ** * * * ** ** **
EMP .036 .199 .580 .437 -.771 .655 .348 .438 .604 .628 .411 -.878 .715 .823 .819** 1
Ca:Mg -.068 -.183 -.582* -.491 .789** -.642* -.372 -.461 -.643* -.657* -.455 .870** -.755** -.826** -.818** -.996** 1
* ** * **
Fe -.386 .518 .686 .161 -.385 .722 -.063 .062 .365 .305 .364 -.624 .392 .494 .452 .730 -.696* 1
Mn *
-.284 .095 .686 .218 -.270 .417 .009 .090 .243 .074 .444 -.467 .395 .233 .213 .298 -.324 .322 1
Zn -.395 .763** .601* .053 .236 .550 -.556 -.392 -.043 -.247 .285 -.085 -.034 .206 -.079 .088 -.041 .552 .183 1
Cu * * **
-.285 .156 .707 .370 -.363 .388 .116 .226 .446 .254 .629 -.423 .563 .307 .164 .329 -.364 .374 .943 .225 1
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

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 Sandalwood-supporting soils
1500 Ca:M
Variables pH EC OC CaCO3 Sand Silt TC WDC 33 kPa AWC BD CEC BS ESP EMP Fe Mn Zn Cu
kPa g
pH 1
EC .268 1
OC -.684** .375 1
CaCO3 .244 .494* -.064 1
Sand .286 .244 -.047 .196 1
Silt -.403 -.381 .091 -.349 -.877** 1
TC *
.132 .181 -.066 .223 -.497 .019 1
WDC -.377 -.253 .273 -.303 -.646** .474* .490* 1
33 kPa -.105 -.370 -.205 -.390 -.838** .661** .550* .572* 1
1500kPa -.132 -.382 -.197 -.353 -.841** .654** .570* .530* .963** 1
AWC .034 -.135 -.118 -.292 -.378 .328 .194 .393 .576* .334 1
BD .215 .294 .040 .106 .318 -.109 -.465 -.378 -.539* -.555* -.200 1
CEC .223 -.025 -.208 -.176 -.201 .002 .414 .004 .432 .429 .211 -.270 1
BS .147 .261 .100 .246 .038 -.158 .207 .114 -.207 -.200 -.117 .393 .402 1
ESP -.043 -.224 -.034 -.220 -.026 .061 -.056 -.008 .038 .082 -.117 -.057 -.517* -.561* 1
EMP -.098 .001 .022 .258 .119 .014 -.273 -.189 -.275 -.284 -.099 .360 -.725** -.246 .492* 1
Ca:Mg .071 -.016 -.016 -.256 -.124 -.001 .260 .182 .278 .286 .106 -.350 .744** .257 -.529* -.997** 1
Fe -.729** .247 .827** .076 -.013 .126 -.200 .117 -.334 -.339 -.141 .275 -.428 .045 .009 .240 -.224 1
Mn -.762** .092 .749** -.072 .056 .084 -.268 .185 -.294 -.295 -.132 .251 -.252 .266 -.232 .204 -.171 .797** 1
Zn -.684** .304 .949** -.085 -.077 .046 .078 .310 -.093 -.071 -.111 -.184 .000 .102 -.115 -.122 .131 .713** .662** 1
Cu -.796** .184 .898** -.051 .014 .080 -.172 .242 -.277 -.273 -.140 .192 -.278 .233 -.068 .204 -.183 .875** .926** .821** 1

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

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Annexure-III Diagnostic diffractions maxima for a part of minerals found
in soils

Minerals Diffraction spacing (nm)

Kaolinite 0.715, 0.357, 0.238

Halloysite 0.107-0.100, 0.76, 0.340

Antigorite and related
0.73, 0.363, 0.242
serpentine minerals
Mica, Illite 0.101, 0.498, 0.332

Attapulgite 0.102 – 0.105, 0.645, 0.544

Vermiculite 0.144, 0.718, 0.479, 0.360

Chlorite 0.143, 0.718, 0.479, 0.359, 0.287, 0.239

Smectites 0.177, 0.885, 0.590, 0.433, 0.354

Quartz 0.334, 0.426, 0.182

Dolomite 0.288, 0.219, 0.180

Calcite 0.304, 0.229, 0.210

Aragonite 0.340, 0.198, 0.327

Anatase 0.351, 0.189, 0.238

Rutile 0.326, 0.169, 0.249

Gypsum 0.756, 0.306, 0.427

Feldspars 0.318 – 0.324

Amphiboles 0.840 – 0.848

Gibbsite 0.485, 0.437, 0.239

Goethite 0.418, 0.245, 0.270

Hematite 0.269, 0.259, 0.169

*Source: (Rich and Kunze, 1964)

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