Agriculture soil is precious and limited resources irreversible degradation of this resource implies not only ruining the main assets of current farmers, but also reducing the farming opportunities of future generations. Therefore, soil protection policies need to have a special focus on sustainable use and management of agricultural soils with a view to safeguarding the fertility and agronomic values of agricultural land. The book has been written in concise and in simple understandable English so that aspirants of competitive examination in soil science specially benefitted. Since soil science is a major descipline in the field of agriculture. The ASRB conducted NET, ARS examination time to time for soil science as a major subject. The Author hopes that the efforts of preparing book Soil Science: A Competitive Approach will be fulfilled as it will help the students of Soil science. This will also prove as an important reference for state agriculture universities, institutions, libraries, bookshelves, etc.
Dr. Subhash Chand born on 25th July, 1972 in a small village i.e. Nagala Kalyan, Bharatpur, Rajasthan in a farmer family. Presently working as a Professor-cum Chief Scientist of Soil Science, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir ,Campus -Shalimar, Srinagar-190025 UT of Jammu and Kashmir. He is life time member of six Scientific Societies viz. Indian Science Congress Association- Kolkata, Indian Association of Soil and Water Conservationist -Dehradun, Indian Society of Soil Science-New Delhi, Soil Conservation Society of India-New Delhi, Indian Society of Remote Sensing –Dehradun, Indian Society of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning-Nagpur. Dr Subhash did his B.Sc. (Ag). Honours and M.Sc. (Ag). Honours in Soil Science from Rajasthan Agriculture University, Bikaner in 1995 & 1997 respectively. He earned his Ph.D. (Ag) in Soil Science form Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur in 2001. He received Best PG Course Work Seminar Award & Somani Book Award (essay competition) by ISSS, Udaipur Chapter during 1995-1997. and PG University Merit Scholarship during his PG Dr Subhash is a elected member of Association of Soil and Water Conservationist-Dehradun for 2022-23. He was also a Councillor–North zone of ISSS & LUP-Nagpur for 2014-15. Dr Subhash has 20 years of experience of Teaching of UG, PG and Ph.D., Research and Extension in SAU System. He is member of editorial board of several national and international journal of repute. He has presented his work at Humboldt University of Berlin ,Germany in 2010. He Co-Chaired Technical and Parallal sessions at GBPUAT-Pantnagar and RARI-Gurgapura. He has authored eight books. In total, he published 143 publications including popular articles, research papers, conference seminar papers, etc. in soil sciences. He was also awarded Bhoominirman Award and Prashasti Patra in 2011 by Bhoominirman Group at Indore for his work.
1. Introduction to Soil Science ............................................................. 1
1.1 What is soil? .............................................................................. 1
1.2 Importance of soil in our daily lives ..................................... 7
1.3 The fascinating world of soil microorganisms ................... 9
2. Soil Formation .................................................................................. 11
2.1 How does soil form? .............................................................. 11
2.2 Factors influencing soil formation (climate, parent material, organisms, topography, time) ............... 12
2.3 Soil horizons and their characteristics ............................... 14
3. Soil Composition.............................................................................. 17
3.1 The three main soil particles (sand, silt, clay) .................. 17
3.2 Soil texture and its significance........................................... 18
3.3 Soil organic matter and its role in soil health ................... 20
4. Soil Properties................................................................................... 23
4.1 Soil structure and its importance........................................ 23
4.2 Soil colour and what it reveals ............................................ 24
4.3 Soil pH and its effects on plant growth ............................. 25
5. Soil Fertility and Nutrient Management ..................................... 27
5.1 Essential nutrients for plants ............................................... 27
5.2 Soil testing and nutrient analysis ........................................ 28
5.3 Fertilizers and their impact on soil and the environment ........................................................................... 29
6. Soil Erosion and Conservation ...................................................... 31
6.1 Causes and consequences of soil erosion .......................... 31
6.2 Soil conservation techniques (contour farming, terracing, cover cropping).................................................... 32
6.3 The role of vegetation in preventing erosion .................... 33
7. Soil and Water ................................................................................. 35
7.1 Soil’s role in water filtration and purification .................. 35
7.2 Groundwater recharge ......................................................... 36
7.3 Managing soil to prevent water pollution ........................ 37
8. Soil and Climate Change ............................................................... 39
8.1 Soil’s role in carbon sequestration ...................................... 39
8.2 Climate-smart soil management practices ........................ 40
8.3 The impact of climate change on soil health .................... 41
9. Urban Soil Science ........................................................................... 45
9.1 Challenges of soil in urban environments ......................... 45
9.2 Soil contamination and remediation.................................. 46
9.3 Sustainable urban gardening and farming ....................... 47
10. Fun with Soil Experiments............................................................. 51
10.1 Hands-on experiments to explore soil properties ............ 51
10.2 Creating your own mini soil laboratory ............................ 52
10.3 Soil-related science projects for kids .................................. 53
11. The Future of Soil Science .............................................................. 57
11.1 Emerging trends and technologies in soil science............ 57
11.2 Careers in soil science ........................................................... 58
11.3 The importance of soil science in addressing global challenges .................................................................... 60
12. Conclusions ...................................................................................... 63
12.1 The wonder and importance of soil in our world ........... 63
12.2 Encouraging responsible soil stewardship ........................ 64
13.3 A call to action for preserving our soil resources ............ 65
13. Important Question/s and Answers (Multiple/Objective type) .............................................................. 69
14. Some Important Question/s & Answer/s .................................. 81
15. FAQ on Soil Science, Major and Micro-nutrients ..................... 97
16. Some Important Question/s with answers (Short types) ......105
17. Some Important Terms .................................................................139
18. Nutrient-Water-Plant Interaction vis-a-vis Input Use Efficiencies ...................................................................173
