STUDY OF SOIL PROFILE AND ITS CHARACTERISTICS

Introduction

Examination of a vertical section of a soil in the field shows the presence of more or less
distinct horizontal layers which is known as profile and the individual layers are known as
horizons. Horizons can be grouped into upper, middle and lower according to the position they
occupy in the pedo unit. Those in the upper position occur at or near the surface and are often
strongly influenced by biological activity. Usually they contain higher amount of organic matter.
In a humid environment the greatest amount of water passes through them. Consequently, they
lose significant amounts of material, either in solution or in suspension. The middle position
includes those horizons that are influenced less strongly by biological processes. On the other
hand they receive and sometimes retain some of the material washed in from above. Where an
upper horizon is very thick it may be regarded as extending into the middle position. The lower
position is occupied by relatively unaltered material as in the case of many soils developed on
Pleistocene or Holocene sediments, but in a dry environment there may be accumulation of
calcium carbonate or calcium sulphate.

The various layers comprising a soil profile are not always distinct and well developed.
The transition from one horizon to the other is often so gradual that the demarcation of
boundaries is rather difficult.

Significance

i. The study of characteristics of a soil profile helps in assessing the agricultural value of
land.
ii. It also helps in delineating the areas affected by different problems, such as salinity,
sodicity, waterlogging and the presence of a hardpan in the soil, and in interpreting its
behavior towards use and for developing rational land use plans.
iii. It is pre-requisite for classification of soils.

Materials for Profile study

1. Digging tools (Spade, pick-axe, shovel, augar, etc.)

2. Cutting knife with a wooden handle
3. Measuring tape
4. Munsell colour chart
5. Dilute HCl (10%)
6. Water bottle
7. Magnifying lens (X10 or X20)
8. Soil pH kit (containing test tubes, universal indicator, Barium sulphate and pH chart)
9. Tray with shoulders
10. Profile description proforma and a hard clip-board
11. Sampling bags with polyethylene lining
12. Copying pencil
Procedure :

1. Selection of profile site

The profile site should be selected in such a way that:
- It represents the normal conditions prevailing in the area,
- It is away from a tree, an irrigation channel/ditch/river, human inhabitation, road, etc., as
these prevent/obliterate the normal development of a soil if possible, virgin area should
be preferred.
2. Digging of Soil Profile
The pit should be dug in such a way that the sun is at the back of the person when he
describes the soil profile. Dig a pit of the dimensions of about 2 meters long. 1.25 metres wide
and 1.5 metres deep (in case of deep soils/upto the bed-rock/parent material in case of shallow
soils/upto the water table in case of water logged soils).

3. General Description of Profile and its site

The general description of a soil profile should include:
1. Profile number should be indicated as per the name of the locality.
2. Location of the profile associated with the longitude and latitude of the site with distance
and direction from a benchmark reference point
3. Date of the study along with the name of the instructor
4. Soil name (Family, series, e.g. coarse, loamy, mixed, hyperthermic, loamy sand)
5. Higher category of classification (USDA soil Taxonomy:1975)
6. Climatic conditions, e.g. monthly and annual rainfall and temperature data
7. Vegetation e.g grasses, shrubs, forest, etc. and land use i.e. wheat, paddy or fallow
8. Parent material e.g. alluvium, mica schist, granite, etc.
9. Physiographic position of the site, e.g. terrace, flood-plan, depression, plateau, vally
bottom, etc.
10. Landform of surrounding area, e.g. flat and almost flat (slopes < 1%); undulating (slopes
between 1 and 5%); rolling (slopes between 5 and 15%);hilly (slopes between 15 and
25%); mountainous (great range in elevation)
 11. Elevation (in metres above the mean sea level). It can be measured with an altimeter. It
can also be noted from the topographical maps.
12. Hydrology. It includes the description of drainage class, depth of ground water, moisture
condition in the soil profile and artificial drainage, if installed.
Drainage class: it is a summation of run off, soil drainage and permeability. Based on
these parameters the drainage classes recognized are poorly drained, imperfectly drained,
excessively drained etc.
Depth of Ground Water Table: note the depth of ground water in metres.
Moisture condition: whether moisture or dry in the moisture control section.
Artificial drainage: note the type of drainage system that has been installed
13. Biological activity. Record observations on following aspects. Biospores, e.g. krotovinas
and aggrotubules, root development, etc.
14. Erosion intensity, e.g. slight (e1), moderate (e2) and severe (e3).
15. Presence of salt or alkali. Record the kind of salts, if any.
16. Human influence, if any. Record the influence of tillage, leveling, use of amendments,
heavy manuring, etc.
17. Presence of surface stones or rock outcrops. Record per cent area covered by stones or
rock outcrops.
4. Examination and Description of Soil Profile
Mark different layers on the basis of characteristics that can be visually observed or
measured in the field, such as colour, texture, structure, consistence and presence of
carbonates. Describe each horizon for the following characteristics:
(i) Horizon symbol,
(ii) Depth of each horizon/layer (cm)
(iii) Soil colour (whether wet or moist or dry)
(iv) Mottling (if any)
(v) Soil texture
(vi) Soil structure
(vii) Soil consistence when (a) dry (b) moist, (c) wet
(viii) Cutans (ped coatings), pressure faces, slicken-sides, etc.
(ix) Nodules/concretions and cementation (if any)
(x) Content of carbonates, soluble salts, etc.
(xi) Roots
(xii) Nature of the boundary with the horizon below
 (xiii) pH
(xiv) Hard pans
(xv) Pores
(xvi) Lithorelics
(xvii) Artefacts
(xviii) Features of biological origin
5. Depth of each horizon/layer: record the depth from the top to the bottom of a particular
horizon is centimeters, e.g. 0-15 cm, 15-37 cm,17-80 cm, 80-128 cm etc.
6. Nature of boundary with the horizon below: The vertical change from one horizon to the
other varies in distinctness and outline. Depending upon the vertical distance over which the
change takes place five classes of distinctness are used as under:
Abrupt (a): Change takes place within 2 cm
Sharp (s): Change takes place within 2-5 cm
Clear (c): Change takes place within 5-10 cm
Gradual (g): Change takes place within 10-20 cm
Diffuse (d): Change takes place > 20 cm
The outline of horizon boundaries varies considerably from soil to soil. The different types of
outlines are described below:
Smooth (s): almost straight
Wavy (w): gently undulating
Lobate (1): with regular lobes

Irregular (ir): strongly undulating and mamillated

Tongued(t): forming tongues into the underlying horizon, shallow tongues and deep
tongues.
Usually when an horizon is thin the change in distinctness is sharp or very sharp. On the
other hand as horizons increase in thickness they tend to have merging boundaries but there
are several situations where the departures from these generalization exits. Some thick
horizons may have atleast one sharp boundary.