Lithology & Soil Characteristics Related to Forest Vegetation (Book)

Title

Lithology & Soil Characteristics Related to Forest Vegetation

Subtitle

Role of Parent Material and Soils in Sustainable Afforestaion and Rehabilitation

Summary

For sustainable management of forest vegetation in the area, geology, soil and biota are important factors. Scientific investigation may be helpful in improving and regenerating degraded hills by protection of slopes through raising vegetation suited to parent material and soil. Soils are considered to be our basic treasure. It is one of our precious natural resources which when managed skilfully will continue to supply food, fibre, fodder and timber etc. indefinitely. Living beings are dependent on soil and productive soil depends on living beings. Each of the different kinds of soils requires special management practice which changes from season to season. Geological studies have special importance in forestry where vegetation growth lasts over a long period and depends to a large extent on the minerals as a source of nutrients in the soil.

The knowledge of mineralogical behaviour of soils at natural sites and at degraded sites opens up possibilities of optimal management inputs to augment production of the biomass from undisturbed site as well as from degraded site after suitable amelioration. In the present intensified programme of raising large scale plantation, especially of fast growing species, the fertility potential depends largely on the mineralogical composition of the soil. The underlying parent material plays a vital role in determining the success or other-wise of the plantations especially over a number of rotations in a given year. For development of good forest cover, the content and nature of the minerals present in the soil is important in diagnosing the fertility potential and other aspects of soil, forest community and parent material relationship in forestry. This book provides in-depth knowledge to the managers, foresters and land users to have a thorough knowledge about the content and nature of minerals present in the soil in diagnosing the fertility status and other soil-plant-parent material relationship in forestry. It will also be useful to work out proper requirement of nutrients for a particular species for a sustainable activity on such sites.

The study was conducted in Raipur and Jaunpur ranges of Mussoorie Forest Division in Garhwal Himalaya which are situated between 30020’30” to 30027’20” N latitude and 78007’40” to 78015’20” E longitude at an altitude ranging between 900 and 2200 m above msl. The rugged topography of the area is intersected by criss-cross streams with two perennial rivers, the Song and its tributary Bandal. Despite rich natural forest, most of the sites in the study area are degraded because of mining, erosion and biotic interference etc.

The study area experiences typical moist temperate climate with mean maximum and minimum temperature ranging between 300C and 30C respectively. Severe winter extends from middle of December to end of March with the entire area at higher altitude having temperature often below zero. Mean annual rainfall of the area is 2500 mm with 60 percent received during monsoon followed by 20 percent during post monsoon, 10 percent during winter months and 10 percent during pre monsoon months. The soil of the area is developed under udic moisture regime and messic temperature regime.

Geologically, the rocks of the study area are mainly of Precambrian to early Cambarian in age with Recent and Sub-Recent river terraces. The study area mainly constitutes the low grade metamorphics of phyllites and quartzites belonging to Chandpur and Nagthat formations and carbonates, argillaceous-arennaceous, unmetamorphosed sediments of Krol and Tal formations. On the rock exposures of quartzites, phyllites, limestones, dolomites, black shales and phosphorite etc., a variety of soils are present having different types of vegetation in the natural forests. The samples were collected from Maldeota, Satengal and Dhanaulti soil-bedrock profiles which provided wide range of lithological variations in parent materials (bed rocks), altitude and vegetation.

Sand mineralogy of the study area indicated that the distribution of light minerals is appreciably high as compared to heavy minerals in all the three soil profiles studied. Light and heavy mineral suites vary from one pedon to other. Apparently these varied mineral assemblages suggest the nature of alluvium which is derived from varied rock types. The presence of low to moderate amount of weatherable minerals suggests their podzolic nature.

Soils of Maldeota and Dhanaulti belonged to mollisols and of Satengal to inceptisols, latter is being reported for the first time. All these polypedons are members of fine sandy loam, mixed, messic family. These soils developed from different parent materials are in equilibrium with geogenic factors. All pedogenic processes are active in the study area. General relief of the area governs properties of the soils. The soils are generally acidic in nature with pH increasing with depth.

The X-ray diffraction studies of clay fractions shows that the forest soils of different areas of Mussoorie Forest Division is characterised by illite as the dominant mineral in the silicate clay associated with appreciable amount of kaolinite, mixed layer minerals, chlorite and small amounts of vermiculites, calcite and quartz. Trace element studies of rocks and clay fractions show significant correlations between the trace elements (viz. V, Cr, Co, Ni, Zn, Bo etc) available in rocks and corresponding clay fractions.

It was observed that mollisols occur on dolomite, limestones, quartzite, black shale in Dhanaulti and Maldeota whereas inceptisols occur only on quartzites and phyllites of Satengal area. Vegetation of the study area is a climatic climax and falls under group 12/C-Himalayan moist temperate forest and moist deciduous forest of Cahmpion and Seth (1968). Dominant species at Dhanaulti are Cedrus deodara, Pinus roxburghii, Rhododendron arboretum, at Satengal Pinus roxburghii, Quercus leucotrichophora and at Maldeota Shorea robusta, Lannea coromandalica, Dalbergia sissoo, Cassia fistula and Acacia catechu.

One of the significant findings of the present study is that Quercus leucotrichophora has been recorded at low altitude of 943m which otherwise generally occurs at more than 1500m altitude, such as at Satengal, where it is one of the dominant species in the inceptisols developed on the quartzites and phyllites of Satengal Clippe. The occurrence of Quercus leucotrichophora on the black shale (mollisols) at low altitude of Maldeota may be suggested due to the parent material which supports Quercus leucotrichophora.

The other very significant finding is about the occurrence of inceptisols on altitudinal highs represent the younger most feature of the area i.e., the Satengal Clippe. Lesser Himalaya terrain was developed subsequent to the collision of Indian plate with Eurasian plate during post Eocene (~50 million years) time. Most of the Lesser Himalaya terrain was exposed during the Cambrian time due to regression of the sea from this area. Consequently, prior to nappe formation during post collision, Lesser Himalayan soil formations initially started in Cambrian. The apparent approximate gap of 450 million years between the nappe formation and older soil formation process might have created the difference of formation of mollisols and inceptisols into two different regimes. This phenomenon needs to be investigated during future studies.

Present study has also indicated that relief and age acting on geology of Mussoorie Forest Division govern the existing soil whereas effect of altitude and climate on geology gives rise to natural vegetation. Climate and aspect on a particular site have given rise to existing floristic composition and also different pedogenic processes active at any site.

Thus, the findings of the present study provided diagnostic support to determine the interrelationship between geology, soil and vegetation to work out potential productivity of soil and as a useful tool for sustainable management of such sites. Further, it is also concluded that the geology, floristic composition and soil are in perfect harmony with each other in Mussoorie Forest Division.

Keywords

Sustainable Afforestation, Rehabilitation of site, Role of Rock and Soil, Parent Material

Language

English

Publisher

VDM Verlag Dr. Müller Aktiengesellschaft & Co. KG, Dudweiler Landstr, 125 a, D - 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany

Author

Dr Hishmi Jamil Husain having 10 years national and international experience in the field of Environment Management and Sustainable Development. He did BSc. (Hon) Geology, from Aligarh Muslim University, (India). Finished MSc. Forestry Economics & Management from Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, (India). Completed Post Graduate Diploma in Universalization of Socio-economic Securities for the Poor in from Institute of Social Studies, (The Hague, The Netherlands), Executive Master in e Governance from Ecole Polytechnique Federale De Lausanne, Lausanne, (Switzerland) and Ph.D in Lithology and Soil Characteristics in Relation to Forest Vegetation of Garhwal Himalaya from Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, (India). For different trainings and study he has visited countries USA, Canada, Switzerland, Malaysia, Australia, The Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Estonia, South Korea and China etc. Got several fellowships and recognitions some are Swiss Agency for Development & Cooperation (SDC) Fellowship, UNDP Fellowship, World Bank Fellowship. Nominated as Reviewer by Elsevier Science Publishing Group, the Netherlands, Biography published in The Contemporary Who’s Who, Raleigh U.S.A., Author of Encyclopedia Earth, National Council for Science and the Environment, Washington DC, U.S.A. , Member in the Board of Scientific Journal-Amer-Eurasian Journal of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences, International Digital Organization for Scientific Information, McGill University Macdonald Campus, Montreal, Canada, Member of Research Board of Advisors of the American Biographical Institute, Raleigh U.S.A. Life member of Indian National Science Congress, Member of National Intellectual Property Organization, Member of the Global Association of online Foresters, Member of the Indian Association of Soil and Water Conservationist. Presently working as Advisor Environment with Rio Tinto.

ISBN-10: 3639069455
ISBN-13: 978-3639069457
Link:http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Hishmi+Husain&x=10&y=18