At a glance
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Book DigestGeographyNCERTIndia SoilsVegetationForestsConservation
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research classifies Indian soils into several major groups. For CAPF, fix the soil to its region, parent material and best crops.
| Soil |
Where |
Features and best crops |
| Alluvial |
The Northern Plains, deltas and coastal plains |
The most widespread and fertile; rich in potash, poor in nitrogen; khadar (new) more fertile than bhangar (old). Crops: wheat, rice, sugarcane, pulses. |
| Black (regur) |
The Deccan Trap (Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat) |
Formed from weathered basaltic lava; rich in iron, lime and magnesium; moisture-retentive and develops cracks on drying. Ideal for cotton ("black cotton soil"). |
| Red and yellow |
Eastern and southern Deccan, parts of the Western Ghats foothills |
Formed on crystalline metamorphic rocks; red from iron oxide; generally less fertile, needs fertiliser. Crops: millets, pulses, groundnut. |
| Laterite |
High-rainfall areas of the Western Ghats, the north-east, parts of the east |
Formed by intense leaching in heavy rain; poor in nutrients (lime, nitrogen) but used for tea, coffee, cashew; hardens into a building material (laterite bricks). |
| Arid (desert) |
Rajasthan, the Thar |
Sandy, saline, low in humus and moisture; cultivable only with irrigation. |
| Mountain/forest |
Himalayan slopes |
Thin, immature; supports forestry and, on terraces, tea and orchards. |
| Saline and alkaline (usar/reh) |
Arid and semi-arid irrigated tracts |
High salt content; reclaimed with gypsum and proper drainage. |
| Peaty/marshy |
Kerala, the Sundarbans, coastal Odisha |
High organic content (decayed vegetation), often waterlogged. |
Soil degradation (erosion, salinity, waterlogging, loss of fertility) is a major challenge addressed by contour bunding, terracing, afforestation, crop rotation and watershed management.
Determined mainly by rainfall and temperature, India's natural vegetation belts are:
- Tropical evergreen (rain) forests: very high rainfall (over 200 cm), the Western Ghats, the north-east and the Andamans; dense, multi-layered, no fixed leaf-shedding season (rosewood, mahogany, ebony).
- Tropical deciduous (monsoon) forests: the most widespread type; rainfall 70 to 200 cm; trees shed leaves in the dry season. Moist deciduous (sal, teak) and dry deciduous (teak, sandalwood, neem) sub-types.
- Thorn forests and scrub: low rainfall (below 70 cm), Rajasthan, the interior Deccan; acacia, babool, cacti and other xerophytes.
- Mangrove (tidal/littoral) forests: deltas and coasts (the Sundarbans, the largest, with the sundari tree); salt-tolerant, with stilt and breathing roots; vital storm and erosion buffers.
- Montane forests: by altitude in the Himalayas, from wet temperate (oak, chestnut), through coniferous (pine, deodar, silver fir), to alpine meadows and tundra near the snow line.
- Constitutional and legal: the 42nd Amendment (1976) added the protection of forests and wildlife to the Directive Principles (Article 48A) and the Fundamental Duties (Article 51A(g)); key laws are the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
- Community rights: the Forest Rights Act, 2006 recognises the rights of forest-dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional dwellers, an important human-rights dimension of conservation that the CAPF essay can engage with.
- Protected areas: national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, biosphere reserves, and species programmes such as Project Tiger (1973) and Project Elephant (1992); international labels include Ramsar wetlands and UNESCO biosphere reserves.
- Soil to crop (black soil and cotton, laterite and tea/coffee, alluvial and wheat/rice). Where regur soil occurs (Deccan Trap).
- The most widespread forest type (tropical deciduous/monsoon). The mangrove of the Sundarbans (sundari).
- Key conservation Acts and Articles (48A, 51A(g), Wildlife Protection Act 1972, Forest Rights Act 2006).
- Black (regur) soil is most suited to which crop? (a) rice (b) cotton (c) tea (d) jute. Answer: (b) cotton. Authored practice, not a verbatim PYQ.
- The most widespread natural vegetation type in India is: (Answer: tropical deciduous / monsoon forest.) Authored practice, not a verbatim PYQ.