HEALTHY SOILS FOR A HEALTHY LIFE

Sudhis Kumar. KAssistant Director –SS-NC

Dept. of Soil Survey & Soil Conservation

Topics

• Soil pollution • soil quality monitoring • soil health card• Remote sensing • GIS• Soil Based Plant Nutrient Information System• Quality of irrigation water

Soil

The unconsolidated mineral or organic material on the immediate surface of

the Earth that serves as a natural medium for the growth of plants.

Soil Formation

Young soil Developed soil

Soil Survey

• Soil survey is the study and mapping of soils in their natural environment

• It is the systematic examination, description, classification and mapping of soils in an area

SOIL SURVEY

A soil survey describes the characteristics of the soils,classifies them, plots the boundaries of the soils on anappropriate base map, and makes predictions about the behavior of soils.

Thus soil survey provide basic information on soils for planning developmental programmes.

Entisols

Mollisols

Alfisols Spodosols

Ultisols

Inceptisols

Histosols Vertisols

Soil variability

Oxisols Aridisols Gelisols Andisols

Soil Pollution

Soil, and pollution

POLLUTION- An undesirable change in the physical chemical or biological

characteristics of air, water or soil.

SOIL POLLUTION- The undesirable change in physical, chemical and biological

characteristics of soil, which are harmful for all living beings.

KINDS OF SOIL POLLUTION-

1) Agricultural pesticides

2) Disposal of solid wastes on land

3) Mining activities

4) Biological agents

5) Radioactive pollutants

6) Heavy metal pollutants

Agricultural practices-

The use of indiscriminate use of inorganic nutrients

for a long time gradually declines the soil fertility.

The intensive inappropriate tillage practices lowers

the capability of soil.

Disposal of solids wastes on land

The solid wastes are mostly generated from industrial, domestic and urban and agricultural sources.

The solid wastes generated in Indian cities mainly contains sludge, glass materials, metallic cans, fibers, waste paper, packing materials, leather.

Mining activities-

The top layer of soil is generally damaged or destroyed during both shaft and strip mining practices.

The uncontrolled mine fires may also destroy the productivity of the areas near mines.

Biological agents-

The major sources of biological agents causing soil pollution are human excreta, animal and bird excreta, municipal wastes, faulty sanitation.

The industrial parasites are among the most threatening biological agents.

Radioactive pollutants-

Huge amounts of radio-active substances result from nuclear device explosion, nuclear testing laboratories, nuclear power plants and weapons.

All these are responsible for enhancing soil pollution.

Heavy metal pollutants

• Heavy metals in soil are basically due to industrial discharges.

• Certain heavy metals eg. Zn, Cu, Ni, Cd and Pb are also present in significant levels in sewage sludge and reach the soil where they become part of life cycle and affects adversely.

DON’T USE EXCESS CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS

DON’T USE EXCESS CHEMICAL PESTICIDE

Effects of soil pollution

1. Soil fertility is adversely affected if pesticide remain in soil for longer period.

2. Excessive use of fertilizers and pesticide chemicals does not allow microbial flora and fauna in soil to flourish.

3. Excessive use of nitrogen and phosphatic fertilizer makes the soil deficient in other micronutrients like Zn, Cu etc. and causes nutrition imbalance.

4. Pesticides like DDT, dieldrin etc. are known to seep gradually through soil into ground water and thus contaminate public drinking water supplies.

5. People in contact with pesticides are extremely prone to get poisoned.

6. Some of the industrial wastes are extremely toxic for organisms.

7. Solid urban wastes and industrial wastes produce foul and offensive odour.

8. Heavy metals and other toxic substances can destroy beneficial microorganisms of the soil.

9. Radioactive pollutants can cause a number of undesirable disease of digestive system if they enter our body through food chain.

Control of soil pollution-

1. Adoption of sustainable agriculture having organic farming and use of biofertilizers, bio-integrated pest management and proper water management, composting etc.

2. Adoption of suitable and proper industrial and urban wastes management.

3. Adequate controlled use of heavy metal and toxic substances.

4. Non-biodegradable wastes can be recycled and used again5. Biomedical wastes should be carefully disposed off so that it

does not create any health hazard.

SOIL HEALTH CARD

Irrigation water quality

Water UsesUse Typical quality parameters

Public Water Supply Turbidity, TDS, inorganic and organic compounds, microbes

Water contact recreation Turbidity, bacteria, toxic compounds

Fish propagation and wildlife DO, chlorinated organic compounds

Industrial water supply Suspended and dissolved constituents

Agricultural water supply Sodium, TDS

Shellfish harvesting DO, bacteria

Basic Water Quality Parameters

• pH• Specific conductance (EC)• Salinity• Total dissolved solids (TDS)• Turbidity • Dissolved oxygen (DO)• Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)• Temperature

pH

• Measures hydrogen ion concentration

• Negative log of hydrogen ion concentration

• Ranges from 0 to 14 std. units • pH

– 7 neutral– 0 - 7 acidic – 7 - 14 alkaline

Thanks to Phil Brown

Solubility of Specific IonsBased on Water pH

Toxic metals less available in water at pH 6 to 8.

Conductivity

• Measures electric conductivity (EC) of water

• Higher value means water is a better electrical conductor

• Increases when more salt (e.g., sodium chloride) is dissolved in water

• Indirect measure of salinity• Units are μmhos/cm at 25o

C or μsiemens/cm

Thanks to Phil Brown

Salinity

• Classification of Ground Water• Composition Based on Total Dissolved

Solids Content

Salts in Sea Water

Type of Water Dissolved salt content (mg/l)

Fresh water < 1,000 mg/l

Brackish water 1,000 - 3,000 mg/l

Moderatly saline water

3,000 - 10,000 mg/l

Highly saline water 10,000 - 35,000 mg/l

Sea water > 35,000 mg/l

Salinity and irrigation

• Low salinity water – used for most crops

• Medium salinity water – used with moderate amount of leaching (potatoes, corn,

wheat, oats, and alfalfa) • High salinity water – Cannot be used on soils having restricted drainage.

• Very high salinity water – Can be used only on certain crops only if special

practices are followed

Designated-Best-Use Class of water Criteria

Drinking Water Source without conventional treatment but after disinfection

A

Total Coliforms Organism MPN/100ml shall be 50 or less

pH between 6.5 and 8.5

Dissolved Oxygen 6mg/l or more

Biochemical Oxygen Demand 5 days 20°C 2mg/l or less

Outdoor bathing (Organised) B

Total Coliforms Organism MPN/100ml shall be 500 or less pH between 6.5 and 8.5 Dissolved Oxygen 5mg/l or more

Biochemical Oxygen Demand 5 days 20°C 3mg/l or less

Drinking water source after conventional treatment and disinfection

C

Total Coliforms Organism MPN/100ml shall be 5000 or less pH between 6 to 9 Dissolved Oxygen 4mg/l or more

Biochemical Oxygen Demand 5 days 20°C 3mg/l or less

Propagation of Wild life and Fisheries D

pH between 6.5 to 8.5 Dissolved Oxygen 4mg/l or more

Free Ammonia (as N) 1.2 mg/l or less

Irrigation, Industrial Cooling, Controlled Waste disposal E

pH betwwn 6.0 to 8.5

Electrical Conductivity at 25°C micro mhos/cm Max.2250

Sodium absorption Ratio Max. 26

Boron Max. 2mg/l

  Below-E   Not Meeting A, B, C, D & E Criteria

Standards fixed by Central Pollution Control Board

Remote Sensing

• Remote Sensing:– The art and science of obtaining information

about an object without physically contact between the object and sensor

– The processes of collecting information about Earth surfaces and phenomena using sensors not in physical contact with the surfaces and phenomena of interest.

– There is a medium of transmission involved i.e. Earth’s Atmosphere.

Remote Sensing

Energy Source or Illumination (A)

Radiation and the Atmosphere (B)

Interaction with the Target (C)

Recording of Energy by the Sensor (D)

Transmission, Reception, and Processing (E)

Interpretation and Analysis (F)

Application (G) Source: Canadian Centre for Remote Sensing

Remote Sensing Process Components

Types of REMOTE SENSINGActive Remote SensingPassive Remote Sensing

• Agriculture• Forestry• Geology• Hydrology• Sea Ice• Land Cover & Land Use• Mapping• Oceans & Coastal Monitoring

Areas OF APPLICATION:

Source: Jensen (2000)

Application Domain

Urbanization & Transportation◦ Updating road maps◦ Asphalt conditions◦ Wetland delineation

Agriculture◦ Crop health analysis◦ Precision agriculture◦ Compliance mapping◦ Yield estimation

Natural Resource Management◦ Habitat analysis◦ Environmental assessment◦ Pest/disease outbreaks◦ Impervious surface mapping◦ Lake monitoring◦ Hydrology◦ Landuse - Landcover monitoring◦ Mineral province◦ Geomorphology

Applications of remote sensing and GIS

Agriculture

• Crop acreage estimation

• Crop modeling for yield &

production forecast / estimation

• Crop & Orchard monitoring

Scope

• Timely availability of crop

statistics for decision making &

planning

• Crop growth monitoring

• Soil status monitoring

• Regular reports regarding total

area under cultivation

Benefits

Banana Plantation – Muhammad Pur (Ghotki)

FFC Goth Macchi Mar 05, 2006, RecoveryJan 12, 2006, DamageDec 16, 2005, Pre-Frost

Forestry

• Satellite image based forest

resource mapping and updation

• Forest change detection

• Forest resource inventory

• GIS database development

Scope

• Availability of baseline information

• Planning for aforestation strategies

• Futuristic resource planning

• Sustainability of environment

• Wild life conservation & development

for recreation purpose

Benefits Sarhad Reserve Forest (Ghotki)

NausharoFiroz

Landuse / Landcover Mapping

• Monitoring dynamic changes

• Urban/Rural infrastructure

• Waterlogging & salinity

Scope

• Assessment of spatial distribution of

land resources

• Infrastructure monitoring

• Availability of usable land

• Future planning for better land

management for socio-economic

development

Benefits

• Use of Remote Sensing and GIS technology in these areas of sustainable agricultural management.

•

Cropping System Analysis

Cropping system map generated through integrated use of temporal digital satellite data and GIS

Urban & Regional Planning

• Mapping & updation of

city/town maps

• Urban sprawl monitoring

• Town planning

• Facility management

• GIS database development

Scope

• Better decision support, planning

& management

• Rapid information updation

• Infrastructure development

monitoring

• Spatial information analysis

Benefits

GIS

Enter GIS

• A computer-based tool for holding, displaying, and manipulating huge amounts of spatial data.

Map Concepts

• What is a map?– What are some properties of maps?– Vector vs. raster: two digital mapping methods

• Maps reflect the databases we create• Mapping the third dimension: examples of

3-D maps

Representing the World: Projections

• 3-D to 2-D (at first)– Projections change a round

world into a flat one.

What is in a picture?

• Example: The Mercator projection has straight meridians & parallels that intersect at right angles, as opposed to the Robinson projection. – Any one projection cannot simultaneously

preserve all these qualities of the world: shape, area, direction, and distance.

This is what happens when projections mix!

• Notice the boundary lines do not line up

• Points that are placed on the wrong projection will be misaligned as well

Raster vs. Vector: types of GIS map representation

• Vector vs. Raster• Two basic ways that spatial data can be

represented• Raster:

– Data represented by pixels with values, creating a grid

– Allows certain types of operations not possible with vector data

– Map algebra is possible with multiple data layers – creating index maps

• Vector: – Data stored as points, lines, and

polygons– Uses less memory than raster format– Does not loose positional accuracy

How is all this done?• GIS stores data in a relational

database structure (‘3-D spreadsheets’)– e.g. employee names linked to

store number, store number linked to shipment arrival

– any data can be linked by a common attribute to any other data • Example shown here is a list of

counties (geographic data) by income code (demographic data)

High End 3-D Representation

• Surfaces are made from Triangular Irregular Networks (TIN) that interpolate 3-D surfaces from 2-D contour values.

• Uses: – Hydrology: surface and

underground flows– Line-of-Sight analysis– Pollution Plume tracking– Customer analysis– Soil erosion potential

3-D Rendering Example

Beaty, NV

USGS 7.5 Minute quad in 3-D

A 3-D rendering of the terrain

Elevation measurements can be easily converted into 3-D.

• How many data points are contained in this image? Thousands? More?– Even without statistical measurement (which can be done) the pattern of pollution

can be seen. Location and density of wells is also clear.– Line of sight analysis allows us to determine where to put a house or power plant

where it could or could not be seen from major roads. Notice the roads actually track up the hills on the right side of the image.

What can GIS do?

Proximity Analysis• Two or more data layers are overlaid • GIS creates buffers around features on a particular layer• This allows analyses such as flood zone delineation.

Query and Overlay Analyses

• Query building is a data exploration operation– Example statement: ‘([acres] > 500 AND [age] > 55)’– This would highlight all land parcels of greater than 500 acres owned by people

older than 55 years old in a data set loaded into the GIS.

Spatial Analysis

• Raster data can also be used to create surfaces

• Other raster data uses: – Density analysis– Proximity analysis– Least-cost paths– Line-of-sight– Hydrology analysis

Data Examples

–Highways–Roads–Census Tracts

– Map contains data for each street– Each address in the city can be

geocoded – that is its location estimated in a systematic way

– Length of each street segment - block

– Streets can be sorted by length, name, income, home value, race, age - all provided by the Census Bureau (TIGER)

GIS

USES

VARIOUS DATASOURCES

VARIOUS DATAFORMATS

AND

MAPS IMAGE DIGITALPRODUCTS GPS TEXT

DATATABULAR

DATA

MAPS

DATABASE

REPORTS

1

2

4 43

• Maximize the efficiency of planning and decision making

• Provide efficient means for data distribution and handling

• Elimination of redundant data base - minimize duplication

• Capacity to integrate information from many sources

• Complex analysis/query involving geographical referenced data to generate

 

GIS OBJECTIVES

Geospatial data are better maintained in a standard format.

Revision and updating are easier.Geospatial data and information are easier to search,

analysis and represent.More value added product.Geospatial data can be shared and exchanged freely.Productivity of the staff improved and more efficient.Time and money are saved.Better decision can be made.

Facilities Management: Locating underground pipes & cables, planning facility maintenance,

telecommunication network services Environmental and Natural Resources Management:

Environmental impact analysis, disaster management and mitigation Street Network: Locating houses and streets, car navigation, transportation planning Planning and Engineering: Urban planning, regional planning, development of public facilities Land Information: Taxation, zoning of land use, land acquisition

Area: GIS Application:

Courses conducted at the Directorate of Soil Survey and Soil Conservation

• Basics of Remote sensing and GIS & Global Navigation System

• Applications of RS & GIS for Natural Resources

• Applications of Microwave Remote Sensing for Natural Resource

Management

• Contact Number 0471 2339800

• Soil Based Plant Nutrient Information System

KERALA STATE SOIL MUSEUM

ksudhiskumar@gmail.com94957 79388