Key facts

  • CAZRI, Jodhpur, upgraded as Central Arid Zone Research Institute in 1959, is the key arid-zone institution linked with dune stabilisation, shelterbelt...
  • ISRO's Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas of India 2021 recorded 62.06 percent of Rajasthan's area under desertification or land degradation i...
  • Wind erosion was the leading degradation process in Rajasthan in 2018-19, affecting 43.37 percent of the state's geographical area.
  • WDC-PMKSY 2.0 covers 2021-2026 and links watershed treatment with slopes, runoff, moisture and soil conservation.
  • The Soil Health Card Scheme was launched at Suratgarh on 19 February 2015 and records 12 parameters covering nutrients, pH, electrical conductivity an...

Key Points at a Glance

  1. 1

    Rajasthan soils are grouped by NBSS&LUP into Entisols, Inceptisols, Aridisols, Vertisols and Alfisols; Entisols form the largest share.

  2. 2

    Western Rajasthan has sandy arid soils in Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Barmer, Churu, Jodhpur and Nagaur, with low organic matter and high wind-erosion risk.

  3. 3

    CAZRI, Jodhpur, upgraded as Central Arid Zone Research Institute in 1959, is the key arid-zone institution linked with dune stabilisation, shelterbelts, rangelands, agroforestry and desertification control.

  4. 4

    ISRO's Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas of India 2021 recorded 62.06 percent of Rajasthan's area under desertification or land degradation in 2018-19.

  5. 5

    Wind erosion was the leading degradation process in Rajasthan in 2018-19, affecting 43.37 percent of the state's geographical area.

  6. 6

    Saline-alkaline soils occur around Sambhar, Didwana, Pachpadra and the Luni tract because aridity, evaporation and weak drainage accumulate salts.

  7. 7

    WDC-PMKSY 2.0 covers 2021-2026 and links watershed treatment with slopes, runoff, moisture and soil conservation.

  8. 8

    The Soil Health Card Scheme was launched at Suratgarh on 19 February 2015 and records 12 parameters covering nutrients, pH, electrical conductivity and organic carbon.

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Soil Base of Rajasthan

Rajasthan's soil map is the base for understanding desertification and conservation. NBSS&LUP classifies the state's soils into Entisols, Inceptisols, Aridisols, Vertisols and Alfisols. Entisols have the largest share, followed by Inceptisols and Aridisols. Older exam-use descriptions also use names such as desert soils, dune soils, brown soils, sierozems, red loams, hill soils, saline-sodic soils, alluvial soils and black soils. For an objective exam, the useful approach is to link each soil group with its district belt, crop response and main degradation risk.

Western Rajasthan is dominated by sandy arid soils. The Banas-Chambal side has more alluvial and alluvial-transition soils. Hadoti has black, moisture-retentive soils, while the southern Aravalli belt has red-loamy and hill soils. Sambhar, Didwana, Pachpadra and the Luni tract form the main salt-affected geography. This distribution explains why one conservation method cannot fit the whole state.

Exam takeaway: soil type, location and degradation process should be read together.

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