ir suitability
irrigation is
t crops. This
1aximize the
ation water.
irrigability
>P) Phase-II
in Andhra
RS-LISS-II /
e command
| of satellite
s of soils, at
as per Soil
litability for
veloped by
,1970).
Iso assessed
ies, maize,
ig the FAO
igar Project
1 was found
58-3, 3.37%
der class-6.
vealed that
ation, 9635
hectares for
>s for jowar
'kgram etc.
in Krishna-
88 percent
ies
evelopment
soils were
RS-LISS-II
ke Andhra
ryana etc.
n hectares
lard visual
the level of
Agriculture
,000 scale
int parts of
Karnataka,
isin block,
icts of U.P
aluated for
sment and
The roil
1 of action
resources.
anagement
Jihar state,
itral Mine
located at
epared at
' Standard
with soil
ysical and
IAPRS & SIS, Vol.34, Part 7, “Resource and Environmental Monitoring", Hyderabad, India, 2002
chemical properties and soil classification as per soil taxonomy
(NRSA,1994b). The soil information along with other
thematic information viz. land use / land cover, hydro-
geomorphology etc., was used to assess the environmental
impact of coal mining and in suggesting preventive measures
for undertaking environmentally sustainable coal mining.
Map Soil series Soil classification
symbol (Dominant)
2 Peddapaya L.S. Lithic Ustorthent
8 Kondajutturu L.S. Lithic Ustorthents
9 Ghani L.S. Ruptic Ustorthents
10 Yerraguntla F.Typic Haplusterts
11 Yerraguntla F.Typic Haplusterts
14 Sugalimetta F.L. Typic Ustropepts
19 Nandivargam C.L. Typic Ustifluvents
20 Busanapalli | L.S. Lithic Ustorthents
25 Rollapenta L.S. Typic Ustorthents
35 Chintalacheruvu | L.S. Typic Ustropepts
36 Kolimigundla F.Typic Haplusterts
37 Midivemula F. Vertic Ustropepts
38 Erusamala C.L. Typic Ustorthents
39 Srisailam L.S.Typic Ustropepts
Q Quarries
Fig.2. Soil resource mapping of part of Kurnool District,
Andhra Pradesh.
À project entitled National Agricultural Technology Project
has been taken up in the year 2000 with a view to study the
natural resources including soil resources on watershed / micro
watershed basis to generate action plans for improving the
productivity in different production system. Implementation of
action plan is in progress.
The tribal areas of any country are unique in terms of terrain,
climatic, socio-economic and natural resources. NRSA (1996c)
had prepared soil maps along with other thematic maps like
hydro-geomorphological, land use/ land cover, drainage etc,
for tribal areas in parts Srikakulam, Vizianagaram,
Visakhapatnam and East Godavri, districts of A.P at 1:50,000
scale using IRS-IB satellite data. The soils of the study area
were evaluated for land capability and specific soil problems of
tribal areas were identified. The land degradational problems
especially due to soil erosion by shifting cultivation were
assessed and recommendations were given for development of
land and water resources in the tribals areas. Similar study was
also conducted in Gokavaram mandal in East Godavari district
of Andhra Pradesh (NRSA, 1995).
707
2.7 Soil mapping at 1:25,000 and 1:12,500 scale
From mid nineties onwards with the availability of 5.8m (PAN
Sensor) and 23.5m spatial resolution data (LISS-III sensor)
from IRS-1C/ID satellites, experiments have been carried out
to prepare soil maps at 1:12,500 (NRSA, 1997c) and 1:25,000
scales (NRSA,2002a) with PAN merged LISS-III data. In one
of the studies at NRSA (1997c) with IRS-IC satellite data, PAN
merged LISS-III data were utilised for mapping soils at
1:12,500 scale in part of Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh.
The soils were mapped at individual soil series level.
Subsequently, the soils of entire Dadra and Nagar Haveli Union
Territory (UT) were mapped using IRS-ID satellite data along
with other resources at 1:25,000 scale for Land use Board of
Dadra and Nagar Haveli, U T. (NRSA,2002b). The soils were
mapped at the level of association of soil series through visual
interpretation of satellite data and ground truth.The soil
information was used in the perspective land use planning for
the U.T along with land use / land cover and hydro-
geomorphology. Recently, under National Agricultural
Technological Project (NATP) the soil maps at 1:12,500 scale
are being prepared for different micro-watersheds under
different crop production systems under different agro-climatic
zones of the country. The information generated on various
resources is being utilised for generation of action plans for
improving the crop productivity in the micro-watersheds.
3. LAND DEGRADTION MAPPING
Lack of adequate information on soil resources led to
improper land use planning which resulted in land
degradational problems such as salinity / alkalinity and water
logging in command areas, severe soil erosion in catchments,
decrease in productivity of crops etc. According to National
Commission on Agriculture (1976) 175 million hectares of
land constituting 53.3% of the total geographical area of the
country are subject to some kind of degradation.
Mapping and monitoring of degraded lands with remotely
sensed data proved to be comparatively easy because of
distinct manifestation of various types of degraded lands like —
salt affected soils, waterlogged areas, eroded areas, ravinous
lands, shifting cultivation areas, mined areas, rock outcrops
etc., on remotely sensed data. The repetitive nature of remote
sensing satellites was exploited to monitor the effect of
reclamation and conservation measures in the degraded lands.
Survey of literature reveals that the satellite data were used to
derive information on various aspects of degradaed lands — salt
affected soils (Singh and Dwivedi, 1983,Rao et al.,1991, Rao et
al,1995, NRSA, 1996b, 1997c, 2001, ) soil erosion
(NRSA,1994), water logging (NRSA, 1996a, NRSA, 2000),
ravinous lands (Venkataratnam and Ravisankar, 1992), waste
lands (Annon, 2000), shifting cultivation ( Dwivedi and
Ravisankar, 1992), impact assessment of soil conservation
program in watershed (NRSA,1994), impact of aquaculture in
coastal areas (Venkataratnam et al., 1997).
At NRSA, the salt-affected soil maps for entire country were
prepared at 1:250,000 scale using satellite data from Landsat
TM/IRS sensors in association with central and state
government organisations. Satellite data were also used on
limited scale in the preparation of salt-affected soil maps of -
Mainpuri and Unnao districts of UP, six south coastal districts
of A.P (1:50,000 scale). The salt-affected soils and water
