This document discusses healthy soils and soil quality. It covers topics like soil pollution, soil quality monitoring, soil health cards, remote sensing, GIS, soil-based plant nutrient information systems, and quality of irrigation water. Soil pollution from excessive fertilizer and pesticide use, solid waste disposal, mining, and other sources is discussed. The effects of soil pollution include reduced fertility and nutrition imbalances. Remote sensing and GIS are important tools for soil surveys, agriculture monitoring, forestry, and land use mapping. Maintaining soil quality through sustainable practices is key to a healthy life.

1. HEALTHY SOILS FOR A HEALTHY LIFE
Sudhis Kumar. K
Assistant Director –SS-NC
Dept. of Soil Survey & Soil Conservation

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

4. 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.

6. Soil Formation

7. Young soil Developed soil

8. 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

9. SOIL SURVEY
A soil survey describes the characteristics of the soils,
classifies them, plots the boundaries of the soils on an
appropriate base map, and makes predictions about the
behavior of soils.
Thus soil survey provide basic information on soils for
planning developmental programmes.

10. Entisols
Mollisols
Alfisols Spodosols
Ultisols
Inceptisols
Histosols Vertisols
Soil variability

11. Oxisols Aridisols Gelisols Andisols

12. Soil Pollution

13. 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.

14. 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

15. 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.

16. 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.

17. 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.

18. 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.

19. 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.

20. 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.

21. DON’T USE EXCESS CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS

22. DON’T USE EXCESS CHEMICAL PESTICIDE

23. 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.

24. 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.

25. 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 again
5. Biomedical wastes should be carefully disposed off so that
it does not create any health hazard.

35. Irrigation water quality

36. Water Uses
Use 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

37. Basic Water Quality Parameters
• pH
• Specific conductance (EC)
• Salinity
• Total dissolved solids (TDS)
• Turbidity
• Dissolved oxygen (DO)
• Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)
• Temperature

38. 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

39. Solubility of Specific Ions
Based on Water pH
Toxic metals less available in water at pH 6 to 8.

40. 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

41. 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

42. 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

43. 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

44. Remote Sensing

45. • 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

47. 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

48. Types of REMOTE SENSING
Active Remote Sensing
Passive Remote Sensing

52. • Agriculture
• Forestry
• Geology
• Hydrology
• Sea Ice
• Land Cover & Land Use
• Mapping
• Oceans & Coastal Monitoring
Areas OF APPLICATION:

53. Source: Jensen (2000)
Application Domain

54.  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

55. 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

56. 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)
Nausharo
Firoz

57. 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

58. • 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

59. 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

60. GIS

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

62. 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

63. Representing the World: Projections
• 3-D to 2-D (at first)
– Projections change a round
world into a flat one.

64. 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.

65. 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

66. 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

67. 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)

68. 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

69. 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.

70. • 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.

71. What can GIS do?

72. 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.

73. 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.

74. 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

75. Data Examples
–Highways
–Roads
–Census Tracts

76. – 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)

77. GIS
USES
VARIOUS DATA
SOURCES
VARIOUS DATA
FORMATS
AND
MAPS IMAGE
DIGITAL
PRODUCTS
GPS
TEXT
DATA
TABULAR
DATA
MAPS
DATABASE
REPORTS
1
2
4 43

78. • 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

79. 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.

80.  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:

81. 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

82. • Soil Based Plant Nutrient Information System

103. ksudhiskumar@gmail.com
94957 79388