10th Standard, Social, Geography CHAPTER 12 – INDIA – SOILS
EXERCISES
I Fill in the blanks with suitable words:
1. The soil deposited by rivers is called alluvial soil.
2. Black soil area is called Deccan Trap.
3. In Rajasthan Desert soil is also mainly found.
4. The widely spread soil in India is alluvial soil.
5. For growing ragi and oil seeds, Red soil is suitable.
II Answer the following questions in brief:
6. What are the types of soils found in India?
Answer: The types of soils found in India are,
1. Alluvial soil 2. Black soil 3. Red soil 4. Laterite soil 5. Desert soil and
6. Mountain soil.
7. What is meant by soil conservation? List out its methods.
Answer: Prevention of soil erosion and protecting the fertility of the soil is known as Conservation of Soil. Methods of soil conservation are as follows.
i. contour ploughing.
ii. constructrion of bunds around the agricultural land.
iii. development of terraced agricultural fields.
iv. prevention of deforestation
v. encouragement of afforestation.
vi. control of livestock grazing.
vii. planned use of water.
viii. construction of check dams etc.
8. What is soil erosion? What are the reasons for it?
Answer: Transportation of surface soil by various natural forces is called soil erosion. Running water, winds and sea waves are the main causes of soil erosion.
The important reasons for soil erosion are,
1. Deforestation 2. Over grazing 3.Unscientific methods of cultivation. 4. Over irrigation 5. Briskly flowing water and floods. 6. Use of Top layer of the soil to manufacture of bricks, tiles and pots.
9. What are the effects of soil erosion?
Answer: The effects of soil erosion are,
1) Soil erosion leads to accumulation of silt in the river beds, thereby causing floods.
2) With accumulation of silt in river course changing direction of rivers course.
3) Due to accumulation of silt, the storage capacity of the reservoirs and lakes get reduced.
4) Due to soil erosion, the volume of water percolating down gets reduced.
5) Due to this, natural springs dry up.
6) As India is mainly dependent on agriculture, its productivity is reduced.
10. Which types of soils are found in the Himalayan Mountains?
Answer: Mountain soils are found in the Himalayan Mountains. It contains plenty of decayed organic matter. This soil is found on the lower slopes of the mountains.
III Activities:
1. Visit the office of the Assistant Director of Agriculture in your taluk and make a list of the various kinds of soil found in the taluk and their uses.
2. By rearing animals does soil erosion occur? Discuss with your teacher.
Yes, animal rearing can contribute to soil erosion, primarily through overgrazing and the physical disturbance of soil by animal hooves and activities. When animals graze on vegetation, they can remove or damage the plants that help hold the soil in place, making it more vulnerable to erosion by wind and water.
Animals create trails as they move across the land, which can become pathways for water and wind to erode the soil.
Grazing animals, if not managed properly, can consume plants faster than they can regrow, leading to a reduction in plant cover. This exposes the soil to wind and water, increasing the risk of erosion.
Additional questions and answers
- What are the main crops grown on Alluvial soil?
Answer: The main crops grown on alluvial soil are wheat, paddy, sugarcane, cotton and jute.
- Name the areas which alluvial soils are found.
Answer: The areas which alluvial soils are found in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa, Punjab, Haryana and Brahmaputra valley of Assam. Besides, Narmada and Tapti valley and the coastal plains on both sides of the peninsular plateau also have this kind of soils.
- What are the other names of Black soil?
Answer: The other names of Black soil are Regur soil and Black Cotton soil.
- Mention the areas which Black soils are found.
Name: The areas which Black soils are found in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Western areas of Andhra Pradesh and North Karnataka.
- What are the major crops grown on Black soil?
Answer: The major crops grown on Black soil are Cotton, jowar, wheat, onion, chilli, tobacco, oil seeds, lemon and grapes.
- Where is Red soil found? What are the major crops growing in this soil?
Answer: Red soil found in from Kanyakumari in the South to Jhansi in Madhya Pradesh in the North, from Gujarat’s Kutch area to Raj Mahal hills in the Jharkhand area.
The major crops growing in this type of soil are ragi, tobacco and oil seeds. Areas having irrigation facility grow paddy, sugarcane, cotton etc.
- Laterite soil is found in which normal areas? Why it found there?
Answer: Laterite soil is found normally in the areas receiving more than 200 cms of rainfall. Because of having rainfall, the minerals of the soil get washed off leaving behind ferric oxide and aluminium in the surface soil.
- Where is Laterite soil found? What are the major crops growing in this soil?
Answer: Laterite soil is extended over the Western Ghats, the Vindhyas, the Satpuras, the Rajmahal hills and Poorvachal region. It is suitable for the cultivation of coffee and tea and other plantation crops.
- Where Desert soil is formed? Mention the crops growing n this soil?
Answer: Desert soil is formed in the regions of less rainfall and high temperature. It is distributed in the areas of North-west Rajasthan and adjoining areas of Punjab, Haryana, Kutch area of Western Gujarat and the Western parts of the Aravalli mountains. Jowar, Sajje and dates are grown in this soil.
- Where is Mountain soil found? What are the major crops growing in this soil?
Answer: Mountain soil found on the lower slopes of the mountains. Foothills of the Himalayas, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, West Bengal and other mountainous regions have this type of soil. The major crops growing in this soil are coffee, tea, spices and fruits.
IV Project:
1. Take a small amount of soil from your neighbourhood or your farm and, with the help of your teacher, get it tested at a soil testing center. Learn about the suitability of that soil for various crops.
