Characterization and Classification of Soils of Madahalli Micro-watershed of Karnataka

Abstract

Detailed soil survey was carried out to characterize and classify the soils of Madahalli watershed, Chamrajanagar district, Karnataka using cadastral map overlaid on Cartosat-1(ortho corrected) image as a base. Three landform units were identified based on elevation and slope i.e. gently sloping lands (3-5%), very gently sloping lands (1-3%) and nearly level lands (0-1%) and mapped into 6 soil series and 30 phases of soil series. These soils were classified as Alfisols (Typic Rhodustalfs, Rhodic Paleustalfs) and Inceptisols (Typic Haplustepts). Alfisols are slightly deep to deep, dark reddish brown to strong brown in hue 2.5YR 3/4 to 2.5YR 4/6, sandy loam to sandy clay in texture with >35 per cent gravel. Inceptisols are very deep, yellowish brown to dark brown with hue 10YR 4/6 to 10YR 3/3, sandy clay loam to clay in texture. These soils are moderately acidic to moderately alkaline (pH 5.26 to 8.17). The organic carbon content varied from low to high (0.21 to 1.16%) and CEC of the soils ranged from 4.1 to 19.9 cmol (p+) kg-1.