Characterization and Classification of Soils of Chamba Block of Tehri Garhwal District of Uttarakhand, India: A Case Study from Lesser Himalayas

In the present study, an attempt was made to characterize and classify the soils occurring on different topography in the Chamba block of Tehri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand. A detailed soil survey was carried out by simple random sampling and studying master profiles using Landscape Ecological Unit’s map on 1:10000 scale to study the soils. The high-resolution remote sensing data product derived from the IRS-R2, specifically the LISS-IV data and GIS approaches were used. Nine representative pedons (covering all the soil types) were studied for their morphological, physical and chemical properties. These soils were very shallow to deep, dark grayish brown to dark brown/dark yellowish brown, brown to dark yellowish brown, dark grayish brown to olive brown and very dark grayish brown to dark yellowish brown in colour. Structure of the surface soils varied from sub-angular blocky to disturbed to single grain.Soil texture varied fromsandy loam to sandy loam, sandy loam to loam, loamy sand to sand and loam to clay loam in texture, strongly acidic to acidic (<5.5-6.5) and neutral (6.5-7.5) in reaction. The electric conductivity exhibited a range from 0.17 to 1.83 dS m-1 within surface horizons and from 0.02 to 0.80 dS m-1 within the sub-surface horizons, accompanied by organic carbon content categorized as medium (0.50-0.75%) to high (>0.75%). The exchangeable cations, specifically Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, and K+, demonstrated variability ranging from 4.90 to 10.40, 1.30 to 4.00, 0.39 to 1.01, and 0.44 to 1.27 cmol p+kg-1, respectively, in surface horizons. Base saturation (BS) varied from 80 to 92% in surface horizons and from 68 to 91% in the sub-surface horizons. The cation exchange capacity (CEC) varied between 8.6 to 19.9 cmol p+kg-1 in surface horizons and from 2.7 to 17.2 cmol p+kg-1 in the sub-surface horizons. The soils were classified within the Entisols and Inceptisols orders. To ensure sustainable agricultural production within these soils, it is imperative to implement appropriate management strategies to mitigate the impacts of soil degradation.