The document discusses land capability classification, which groups land into classes based on inherent limitations from soil, topography, drainage and climate. It aims to guide land use according to capability. There are 8 land capability classes ranging from Class I land with few limitations to Class VIII land only suitable for wildlife or watershed use. Within classes II-IV are subclasses that further specify limitations from erosion (e), wetness (w), soil properties (s) or climate (c). The classification enables predicting safe land use and required conservation practices.

1. Land capability classification
Presented by:
Haramohan rath
Debasis Das
Ph. D Scholar
(Deptt.of Agronomy)
CoA,IGKV,Raipur(C.G)

2. Land capability classification
• Land capability classification (LCC) may be
defined as a system of grouping land in to various
classes based on inherent limitations imposed on
sustained use by soil attributes, topography,
drainage and climate.
• The guiding principle underlying LCC is “use land
according to its capability and treat it as per its
need”.
• It was developed by USDA.

3. NEED FOR LAND CAPABILITY
CLASSIFICATION
• The classification of land is quite essential and
rather a pre-requisite in any land-use planning and
development.
• It relates to climatic factors, soil characteristics,
slope and degree of erosion, water supply and
drainage and similar environmental conditions
affecting Land-use and productivity.
• It enables us to predict as how different soils can be
utilised with safety according to the qualification of
class or sub-class into which they are placed.

5. The Capability Classification provides three major
categories of soil grouping
(i) Capability unit
(ii) Capability classes
(iii) Capability sub-classes

6. Capability unit
• Capability Unit is a grouping of one or more
individual soil-mapping units having similar
potentials and continuing limitations or
hazards.
• Capability unit condenses and simplifies soils
information for planning individual tracts of
land, field by field
• Capability units are classified into class and
sub-class to furnish information about the
degree of limitation kind of conservation
problems and the management practices
needed.

7. Capability classes
The soil conservation service of the U.S.
Dept, of Agriculture classified lands into
eight Capability classes on the basis of
the topographic situations which are as
follows:

8. Land Class I
• Soils in land class I have either no or only slight,
permanent limitations or risks of damage.
• They are very good. They can be cultivated safely
with ordinary good farming methods.
• The soils are deep, productive, easily worked, and
nearly level.
• However, they are subject to fertility and puddle
erosion.
• Class I soils used for crops needed practices to
maintain soil fertility and soil structure. These
practices involve use of fertilizers and lime, cover
and green manure crops, crop residues and crop
rotations.

9. Land Class II
• Class II consists of soils, subject to moderate
limitations in use. They are subject to moderate
risks of damage. They are good soils. They can be
cultivated with easily applied practices.
• Soils in class II differ from class I in number of
ways. They differ mainly because of they have
gentle slopes a subject to moderate erosion, are
of moderate depths are subject to occasional
overflows, and are in need of drainage.
• These soils may require special practices such as
soil conserving rotations, water-control devices
or special tillage methods. They frequently need
a combination of practices.

10. Land Class III
• Soils in class III are subject to severe limitations in
use ofcropland. They are subject to severe risks or
damages.
• They are moderately good soils.
• They can be used regularly forcrops, provided
they are planted according to good rotations and
given the proper treatment.
• Soils in this class have moderately steep, slopes
and are subject to more sever erosion.
• They are inherently low in fertility.

11. • Class III soil is more limited or subject to
greater risks than the class II. These limitations
often restrict the choice of crops or the timing
of planting and tillage operations.
• These soils require cropping systems that
produce adequate plant cover. The cover is
needed to protect soil from erosion. It also
helps to preserve soil structure.
• Hay or fodder crops should be grown instead
of regular cultivating crops

12. Land Class IV
• Class IV land is composed of soils, which have very
severe permanent limitations or hazards if used for
cropland.
• The soils are fairly good. They may be cultivated
occasionally if handled with great care for the most
part.
• Soils in class IV have unfavourable characteristics.
They are frequently on steeps slopes and subject
to severe erosion. They are restricted in their
suitability for crop use.
• They should usually be kept in hay or pasture,
although a grain crop may be grown once in five or
six years.

13. Land Class V
• Soils in class V should be kept in permanent
vegetation. They should be used for pasture or
forestry. .
• Cultivation is not feasible, however, because
of wetness or other limitations. The land is
nearly level. It is subject to only slight erosion
by wind or water, if properly managed.
• Grazing should be regulated so that plant
cover is maintained.

14. Land Class VI
• Class VI soil should be used for grazing and
forestry and may have moderate hazards when in
use.
• They are subject to moderate permanent
limitations and are unsuited for cultivation. They
are steep, or shallow.
• Grazing should not be permitted to destroy the
plant cover.
• Class VI land is capable of producing forage or
woodland products when properly managed. If
the plant cover has been destroyed, the soils use
should be restricted until cover is re-established.

15. Land Class VII
• Soils in class VII are subject to severe
permanent limitations or hazards when used
for grazing or forestry.
• They are steep, eroded rough, shallow,
droughty or swampy. They are either fair or
poor for grazing or forestry and must be
handled with care.
• Where rainfall is ample, land should be used
for woodland. In other areas it should be for
grazing.

16. Land Class VIII
• Soils in class VIII are rough even for woodland
or grazing.
• They should be used for wildlife, recreation or
watershed uses

18. Capability sub-classes
• Within some of the main classes smaller sub-
classes are used to specify particular
problems.
• These are applied only to classes II, III and IV.
• Class codes e, w, s, and c are used for land
capability subclasses.

19. Subclass e (erosion hazards)
• It is soils for which the susceptibility to
erosion is the dominant problem or hazard
affecting their use.
• Erosion susceptibility and past erosion
damage are the major soil factors that affect
soils in this subclass.

20. Subclass w(wetness)
Subclass w is made up of soils for which excess
water is the dominant hazard or limitation
affecting their use.
Poor soil drainage, wetness, a high water table,
and overflow are the factors that affect soils in
this subclass.

21. Subclass s (limitations of the soil)
Subclass s is made up of soils that have soil
limitations within the rooting zone, such as
shallowness of the rooting zone, stones, low
moisture-holding capacity, low fertility that is
difficult to correct, and salinity or sodium
content.

22. Subclass c (climate)
• Subclass c is made up of soils for which the
climate (the temperature or lack of moisture)
is the major hazard or limitation affecting their
use.