Recently, the Global Soil Conference (GSC) 2024 was held in New Delhi, highlighting the importance of soil health for food security, climate change mitigation, and ecosystem services.
Global Soil Conference 2024
- The GSC 2024, organised by the Indian Society of Soil Science (ISSS) in collaboration with the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS), aims to address challenges in sustainable soil/resource management.
- The event aimed to foster a global dialogue on how caring for soils can drive sustainability across various sectors.
- Theme: Caring Soils Beyond Food Security: Climate change mitigation & Ecosystem Services.
- Key Highlights of GSC 2024: Soil health was recognized as a pressing issue, with soil degradation affecting productivity and posing a threat to global food security. Around 30% of India’s soil is reportedly compromised due to erosion, salinity, pollution, and loss of organic carbon. The conference underscored the importance of international cooperation in tackling soil erosion, which aligns with Sustainable Development Goal 15 (SDG 15) of the United Nations. SDG 15 aims to protect, restore, and promote the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, manage forests sustainably, combat desertification, halt land degradation, and halt biodiversity loss.
The ISSS was established in 1934, in Calcutta under the Societies Registration Act xxi of 1860. The Society organises seminars, and conferences to promote soil science knowledge. IUSS is a non-profit, non-governmental scientific society. It is part of the International Science Council (ISC). The IUSS promotes soil science research and its applications, fostering global collaboration among scientists.
Concerns Regarding Soil Health in India
- Soil Degradation: Over one-third of India’s land is at risk of degradation due to unsustainable farming practices and wrong soil management practices.
- Soil Erosion and Loss of Fertility: India loses 15.35 tonnes of soil per hectare annually, reducing crop productivity and causing a loss of 13.4 million tonnes of rainfed crops.This leads to significant economic losses, along with increased floods, droughts, and a 1-2% annual reduction in reservoir capacity.
- Soil salinity: Salinity harms soil health by reducing water infiltration, nutrient uptake, and soil aeration, leading to decreased crop productivity. It disrupts soil structure, promotes salt-tolerant organisms, and accelerates soil degradation, ultimately making the land infertile.
- Low Organic Content and Nutrient Levels: A major concern is the organic content in the Indian soil is inordinately low (around 0.54%), indicating a deficiency in essential nutrients, which affects soil fertility and agricultural productivity. Over 70% of Indian soils suffer from either soil acidity or alkalinity, which disrupts the natural nutrient cycle. Additionally, essential nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are often deficient in Indian soils, further exacerbating the health crisis.
- Desertification: It leads to soil degradation by reducing organic matter, nutrient content, and moisture retention. It results in the loss of soil fertility, causing lower agricultural productivity. Desertification accelerates erosion, reduces biodiversity, and makes land unsuitable for farming, worsening food insecurity.
- Diversion of Fertile Land: A significant amount of fertile agricultural land is being diverted for non-agricultural purposes, contributing to the loss of valuable soil resources.
India’s Initiatives for Soil Conservation
- Soil Health Card (SHC) Scheme
- Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana.
- Zero Budget Natural Farming
- Natural Farming Mission.
Key Facts About Soil in India
- Classification of Soils: India’s varied relief features, landforms, climatic realms, and vegetation types have contributed to the development of various types of soils.
- Historically, Indian soils were classified into two main groups: Urvara (fertile) and Usara (sterile). The Soil Survey of India, established in 1956, and the National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning have classified Indian soils based on the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Soil Taxonomy, considering genesis, colour, composition, and location.
Major Soil Types in India
| Soil Type | Distribution | Characteristics | Main Crops Grown |
| Alluvial Soils | Northern plains, river valleys, deltas of the east coast, and plains of Gujarat | Vary from sandy loam to clay; rich in potash, poor in phosphorus; Khadar (new alluvium) and Bhangar(older alluvium); colour ranges from light grey to ash grey | Rice, wheat, sugarcane, cotton |
| Black Soil | Deccan Plateau (Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu) | Clayey, deep, impermeable; swells and becomes sticky when wet, shrinks and develops cracks when dry; retains moisture for long periods; rich in lime, iron, magnesia, alumina, and potash; poor in phosphorus, nitrogen, and humus | Cotton, sorghum, pulses, millets |
| Red and Yellow Soil | Eastern and southern Deccan Plateau, parts of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, southern Ganga plain | Develops on crystalline igneous rocks; red due to iron diffusion, yellow when hydrated; fine-grained soils are fertile, coarse-grained soils in uplands are less fertile; poor in nitrogen, phosphorus, and humus | Wheat, rice, millets, pulses, groundnut |
| Laterite Soil | High temperature and rainfall areas (Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Assam) | Result of intense leaching; rich in iron oxide and potash, poor in organic matter, nitrogen, phosphate, and calcium | Cashew, tea, coffee, rubber, coconut |
| Arid Soil | Western Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana | Sandy and saline; poor in moisture and humus; high evaporation and calcium content create ‘kankar’ layers; poor nitrogen, normal phosphate; colour ranges from red to brown | Barley, cotton, millet, pulses |
| Saline Soil | Western Gujarat, eastern coastal deltas, Sunderbans (West Bengal), areas with excessive irrigation (Punjab, Haryana) | High in sodium, potassium, and magnesium; infertile; saline due to dry climate and poor drainage; poor nitrogen and calcium; salt crust formation due to capillary action in irrigated areas | Rice, wheat, barley (with gypsum treatment) |
| Peaty Soil | Areas with heavy rainfall and high humidity (Northern Bihar, southern Uttarakhand, coastal West Bengal, Odisha, Tamil Nadu) | High organic matter and humus content; heavy and black; can be alkaline; organic matter up to 40-50%; found in waterlogged and swampy areas | Rice, jute |
| Forest Soil | Forested areas with sufficient rainfall, Himalayas, Western and Eastern Ghats | Varies in structure and texture; loamy and silty in valleys, coarse-grained in upper slopes; acidic and low in humus in snow-bound areas; fertile in lower valleys | Tea, coffee, spices, tropical fruits |