Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Project Report
On
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that mayank kulkarni student of
vivekanand vigyan mahavidhyalay, betul has completed her major
DECLARATION
I hereby declare that the project report which is being presented on the
project entitled mutual fund investment awareness among investors for
submitted as major project for partial fulfillment of Bachelor of Business
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I sincerely acknowledge with a deep heartful gratitude to project
incharge PROF. ARCHANA RAIPURE for her valuable and faithful
guidance, encouragement & suggestions through out the completion of
this work. He generously shared his immense knowledge with me. His
CONTENTS
Our Earth...5
Where we live....5
What is Soil?......................................................................6
Story of Soil...7
Formation...8
Parent Material
Climate
Organisims
Time
Soil Erosion..11
What is Soil Erosion?......................................................11
Did you know ..12
Effects of Soil Erosion....14
Water Erosion...15
Wind Erosion....17
Gravitical Erosion.18
Frozen-Melt Erosion.19
IMEGES
27
Mulching
Cover crops and green manures
Green manures
Mixed cropping and inter-cropping
Early planting
Crop residues
Agroforestry
Minimum cultivation
2. Barrier methods.32
Man-made terraces
Contour ploughing
Contour barriers
Natural tracces
Bibliography.37
OUR EARTH
WHERE WE LIVE
Soil on which we live and do all those things for survive in this world.
Where we do all those activities like:Agriculture, Economic
Activities to fulfill our wants.
SOIL
What is Soil?
SOIL may be defined as a thin layer of earth's crust which serves as a
natural medium for growth of plants. It is the unconsolidated mineral
matter that has been subjected to, and influenced by, genetic and
environmental factors-- parent material, climate, organisms and
topography all acting over a period of time. Soil differs from the parent
material in the morphological, physical , chemical and biological
properties. Also, soils differ among themselves in some or all the
properties, depending on the differences in the genetic and environmental
factors. Thus some soils are red, some are black; some are deep and some
are shallow; some are coarse textured and some are fine-textured. They
serve as a reservoir of nutrients and water for crops, provide mechanical
anchorage and favourable tilth. The components of soil are mineral
matter, organic matter, water and air, the proportions of which vary and
which together form a system for plant growth; hence the need to study
the soils in perspective. Soil erosion is a natural process. It becomes a
problem when human activity causes it to occur much faster than under
natural conditions. Soil covers a major portion of the earth's land surface.
It is an important natural resource that either directly or indirectly
supports most of the planet's life. Life here depends upon soil for food.
Plants are rooted in soil and obtain needed nutrients there. Animals get
their nutrients from plants or from other animals that eat plants. Many
animals make their homes or are sheltered in the soil. Microbes in the soil
cause the breakdown and decay of dead organisms, a process that in turn
adds more nutrients to the soil.
Soil is a mixture of mineral and organic materials plus air and water. The
contents of soil varies in different locations and is constantly changing.
There are many different kinds and types of soils. Each has certain
characteristics including a specific color and composition. Different kinds
of soils support the growth of different types of plants and also determine
how well that plant life grows. Soil is formed slowly, but can be easily
destroyed. Therefore, soil conservation is important for continued support
of life.*
Story of Soil
Although many of us don't think about the ground beneath us or the soil
that we walk on each day, the truth is soil is a very important resource.
Processes take place over thousands of years to create a small amount of
soil material. Unfortunately the most valuable soil is often used for
building purposes or is unprotected and erodes away. To protect this vital
natural resource and to sustain the world's growing housing and food
requirements it is important to learn about soil, how soil forms, and
natural reactions that occur in soil to sustain healthy plant growth and
purify water. Soil is important to the livelihood of plants, animals, and
humans. However, soil quality and quantity can be and is adversely
affected by human activity and misuse of soil.
Certain soils are best used for growing crops that humans and animals
consume, and for building airports, cities, and roads. Other types of soil
have limitations that prevent them from being built upon and must be left
alone. Often these soils provide habitats for living creatures both in the
soil and atop the soil. One example of soils that have use limitations are
those that hold lakes, rivers, streams, and wetlands. Humans don't
normally establish their homes in these places, but fish and waterfowl find
homes here, as do the wildlife that live around these bodies of water.
Natural processes that occur on the surface of Earth as well as alterations
made to earth material over long periods of time form thousands of
different soil types. In the United States alone there are over 50,000
different soils! Specific factors are involved in forming soil and these
Formation
Soil formation, or pedogenesis, is the combined effect of physical,
chemical, biological, and anthropogenic processes on soil parent material
resulting in the formation of soil horizons. Soil is always changing. The
long periods over which change occurs and the multiple influences of
change mean that simple soils are rare. While soil can achieve relative
stability in properties for extended periods of time, the soil life cycle
ultimately ends in soil conditions that leave it vulnerable to erosion. Little
of the soil continuum of the earth is older than Tertiary and most no older
than Pleistocene.[7] Despite the inevitability of soils retrogression and
degradation, most soil cycles are long and productive. How the soil "life"
cycle proceeds is influenced by at least five classic soil forming factors:
regional climate, biotic potential, topography, parent material, and the
passage of time.
An example of soil development from bare rock occurs on recent lava
flows in warm regions under heavy and very frequent rainfall. In such
climates plants become established very quickly on basaltic lava, even
though there is very little organic material. The plants are supported by
the porous rock becoming filled with nutrient bearing water, for example
carrying dissolved bird droppings or guano. The developing plant roots
themselves gradually breaks up the porous lava and organic matter soon
accumulates but, even before it does, the predominantly porous broken
lava in which the plant roots grow can be considered a soil.
1. Parent material: The primary material from which the soil is formed.
Soil parent material could be bedrock, organic material, an old soil
surface, or a deposit from water, wind, glaciers, volcanoes, or material
moving down a slope.
2. climate:
SOIL EROSION
Soil erosion is common in areas with steep slopes, where trees have been
cut down, in droughts when crops and other vegetation grows poorly and
in rural areas which are overpopulated. Nepal, in the Himalayan
Mountains, has severe problems caused by increased population density
and steep slopes. Soil erosion can be reduced by building terraces on
hillsides, irrigation schemes to overcome droughts, planting more trees to
bind the soil together and make wind breaks, and using fertilisers in
overpopulated areas to make the soil more fertile. It is very important that
the farming techniques used do not damage the structure of the soil, as
this makes it easily eroded. Good farming techniques include contour
ploughing, crop rotation and keeping the soil rich in humus. An example
of poor techniques was the "Dust Bowl" in the mid-western states of the
U.S.A. in the 1930's. Farmers exhausted the soil by monoculture and left
the soil bare after harvesting. Soil erosion is a problem of the developed
world as well as the developing.*
More
Animal
More
People
More
Firefood
Overgazing
Deforestrtion
Bare Soil
Overcultivation
More crops
More
Hazard
Insects eat
crop
Desertification
Drought
The land provides
that area loses its most nutrient-rich layer, and therefore soil quality is
reduced.
Poor soil quality means smaller crop yields and may even wash away
seeds and small plants. This may call for more of a need for artificial
fertilizers and pesticides, which can runoff of fields and contaminate
waterways. Also, when the organic matter that is found within the top
layer of soil is removed, it can weaken the soil's ability to hold water,
leaving the field susceptible to weather conditions such as droughts.
The soil that is carried away has to go somewhere, and this leads to offsite problems. As mentioned, when soil is carried away from a farmer's
field by water, it carries with it contaminants, such as fertilizers and
pesticides. This runoff can cause water pollution that contaminates
drinking water and disrupts ecosystems of lakes and wetlands. This
negatively impacts the fish and wildlife that depend on these downstream
waters for food and habitat. Sediments that accumulate down slope of the
erosion can obstruct the flow of water in streams and drainage canals,
leading to flooding.
As we see, much of the effects of soil erosion are the result of water
erosion. But wind erosion can also transport topsoil and weaken soil
quality. Wind can also damage young seedlings by blasting them with
sand and other small particles. Wind also distributes topsoil, which might
uncover and expose some seedlings, while at the same time, burying other
seedlings too deep. Also, when farmer's fields undergo excessive tillage,
meaning that the field is worked too hard in preparation for planting, the
soil structure can be lost, making it more susceptible to erosion.
The loss of soil by the action of rainfall, run off or wind The
consequences of which:
Raindrops can be a major problem for farmers when they strike bare soil.
With an impact of up to 30 mph, rain washes out seed and splashes soil
into the air. If the fields are on a slope the soil is splashed downhill which
causes deterioration of soil structure. Soil that has been detached by
raindrops is more easily moved than soil that has not been detached. Sheet
erosion is caused by raindrops. Other types of erosion caused by rainfall
include rill erosion and gullies.
Sheet erosion is defined as the uniform removal of soil in thin layers from
sloping land. This, of course, is nearly impossible; in reality the loose soil
merely runs off with the rain.
Rill erosion is the most common form of erosion. Although its effects can
be easily removed by tillage, it is the most often overlooked. It occurs
when soil is removed by water from little streamlets that run through land
with poor surface draining. Rills can often be found in between crop rows.
Gullies are larger than rills and cannot be fixed by tillage. Gully erosion is
an advanced stage of rill erosion, just as rills are often the result of sheet
erosion.
Once rills are large enough to restrict vehicular access they are referred to
as gullies or gully erosion. Major concentrations of high-velocity run-off
water in these larger rills remove vast amounts of soil. This results in
deeply
incised
gullies
occurring
al
ong depressions and drainage lines.
Riverbank Erosion:
River bank erosion is a serious problem of Bangladesh. In fact the
rivers which cover about 3.4 million hectares of lands are susceptible to
widespread bank erosion.
In this country about 70% of the total area is formed by alluvial
deposit where silts and silty clays predominate the top 15m to 25m and
clays , sandy silts and sands dominate at the deeper depths. The soil in the
upper layers are mostly non cohesive and therefore, easily vulnerable to
erosion and scouring . A network of 250 rivers having a total length of
2400km cover the country flowing down into the Bay of Bengal in an
average year 775000Mm of water flows through the river systems of the
Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the meghna and their tributaries during the
monsoon month i.e. from june to October .Bangladesh receives an
enormous sediment inflow during this period from the upper catchment
of this three rain rivers . The marked seasonality of river flow in this
measurement and air photo interpretation show that the rivers Ganges, Meghna and
Jamuna migrate 60 to 1700 m per flood season. It is estimated that about 1200 km of
river bank are under active erosion, of which more than 500 km face severe erosion
problem. During 1984-85 and investigation was made by Bangladesh water
development board to find out the extent of erosion of river banks and cities within
the country. At 283 places of river banks and 85 towns and villages are subjected to
severe erosion.
94.4
12.8
35.2
31.2
77.6
18
83.2
There are mainly four types of Erosion they are followings1. Slumping
2. Undercutting of bank base and toppling.
3. Vertical bank Erosion
4. Gully Erosion
Slumping: Potential cause is flood damage. Manage by revegetating with
deep rooted native trees. Some other causes are lack of vegetation, flood
damage, stock or human access on sandy banks. Manage by planting deep
rooted natives and controlling access.
Gully Erosion: Potential causes are runoff from adjacent land, poor
drainage, lack of vegetation in appropriate areas and storm water. Manage
by addressing drainage issues. Plant water soaking native shrubs and trees
at heads of gullies.
The flexible Willow rods are woven in between the vertical stakes
to create a solid barrier.
Wind erosion
Wind erosion is the movement and deposition of soil particles by wind.
Wind erosion occurs when soils bared of vegetation are exposed to highvelocity wind. When its velocity overcomes the gravitational and cohesive
forces of the soil particles, wind will move soil and carry it away in
suspension.1 Wind moves soil particles 0.1-0.5 mm in size in hopping or
bouncing fashion (known as saltation) and those greater than 0.5 mm by
rolling (known as soil creep). The finest particles (less than 0.1 mm)
detach into suspension. 1 Wind erosion is most visible during the
suspension stage, as dust storms, or subsequently as deposition along
fencelines and across roads.The process sorts soil particles, removing the
finer material containing the organic matter, clay and silt through
suspension and leaving the coarser, less fertile material behind. In the
short term this reduces the productive capacity of soil, as most of the
nutrients plants need are attached to the smaller colloidal soil fraction.
Over a longer period the physical nature of the soil changes as the subsoil
is exposed.1 Wind erosion also causes damage to public utilities, for
example soil deposition across roads, and reduces crops through
sandblasting.2 It has been estimated that 700 000 ha in Victoria are
Occurring mostly in flat, dry areas and moist sandy soils along bodies of
water, wind erosion removes soil and natural vegetation, and causes
dryness and deterioration of soil structure. Surface texture is the best key
to wind erosion hazard potential. All mucks, sands, and loamy sands can
easily be detached and blown away by the wind, and thus are rated a
severe hazard. Sandy loams are also vulnerable to wind, but are not as
susceptible to severe wind erosion as the previously mentioned soils.
Regular loams, silt loams, and clay loams, and clays are not damaged by
the wind, but on wide level plains, there may be a loss of fine silts, clays,
and some organic matter.
A risk of wind erosion occurs on Canterbury's arable soils when they are
cultivated. Wind erosion of the soil depends on several factors interacting
together before it will occur. Good farm management practices are
available which will lower the risk of wind erosion occurring.
It is not possible to classify a risk of wind erosion at a property level
without a site survey and professional interpretation of local soil and
climatic factors and management practices.
Environment Canterbury has some information and historic survey results
which could assist an assessment of wind erosion risk
Slope Instability:
Slope instability can lead to a number of forms of land movement or
erosion:
a. Mass movement such as, earth flows, land slip, slumps.
b. Fluvial movements such as, tunnel gullies, gully erosion.
The stability of a slope is governed by slope, soil type, moisture and
runoff control, vegetation type and condition and land management.
Base resource data in the form of land inventory and land capability maps
were produced in the period 1960 - 1990 for many hill and high country
properties. This mapping is at a scales ranging between 1:10,000 and
1:50,000 and will give an indication of inherent land stability.
Gravitical erosion
In mass movement of soil - slides, slips, slumps, flows and landslides gravity is the principal force acting to move surface materials such as soil
and rock.1 When natural slope stability is disrupted, a range of complex
sliding movements may occur. Detailed classification requires analysis
beyond the scope of this guide. As a rule of thumb, rapid movements of
soil or rock that behave separately from the underlying stationary material
and involve one distinct sliding surface are termed landslides. A slower
long-term deformation having a series of sliding surfaces and exhibiting
viscous movement is termed 'creep'. Such movement is rarely the result of
a single factor, but more often the final act in a series of processes
involving slope, geology, soil type, vegetation type, water, external loads
and lateral support.mass movement.
Generally mass movement occurs when the weight (shear stress) of the
surface material on the slope exceeds the restraining (shear strength)
ability of that material. Factors increasing shear stress include erosion or
excavation undermining the foot of a slope, loads of buildings or
embankments, and loss of stabilising roots through removal of vegetation.
Vegetation removal and consequent lower water use may increase soil
water levels, causing an increase in pore water pressure within the soil
profile.2 Increased pore water pressure or greater water absorption may
Frozen-melt erosion
When water freezes, it expands suddenly and with tremendous force.
When water inside a crack in a rock freezes, its expansive strength may be
sufficient to crack the rock and to break parts off it. Frost is tremendously
active in snow-covered mountains, particularly along the snow boundary
where water repeatedly thaws and freezes. It causes steep cliffs in this
region.
A particularly mysterious form of frost
damage is frost heave, resulting in
damaged roads, buildings and cropland. It
appears as if the frost heaved sections of
the land upward, by as much as 20cm and
usually in very irregular ways. As can be
expected, frost heave works with the
strength
of
frost.
Frost heave is not predictable but happens after a deep frost period,
followed by thawing and freezing again, and a few repeats of this
sequence. In permafrost soils of the arctic, it causes engineering
headaches that have to be met with special solutions.
Frost heave can be understood as follows: a deep frost, or permafrost
freezes the soil to a certain depth. When this frost thaws incompletely, it
leaves a frozen layer behind. Underneath it, the soil may still be thawed
but in permafrost places, this frozen bottom is always present. Above it,
melting water collects. A repeated frost now freezes it again from the top
down, forming a hard layer on top with water in between the two frozen
layers. As the frost progresses deeper, the entire top layer is pushed up a
few centimetres. The next thawing/freezing cycle repeats this, ratcheting
the top layer higher and higher, and always with the same force. Only
when the deepest layer is thawed again, will frost heaving stop.
It is not known how much erosion is caused by frost heaving, but it can
damage soil structure.
Climate factor
The major climatic factors which influence runoff and erosion are
precipitation, temperature, and wind. Precipitation is by far the most
important. Temperature affects runoff by contributing to changes in
soil moisture between tains, it determines whether the precipitation
will be in the form of rain or snow, and it changes the absorptive
properties of the soil for sater by causing the soil to freeze. Ice in the
soil, particularly needle ice, can be very effective in raising part of the
surface of bare soil and thus making it more asily removed by rnuoff
or wind. The wind effect includes the power to pick up and carry fine
soil particles, the influence it exerts on the angle and impact of
raindrops and, more rarely, its effect on vegetation, especially by
wind-throw of trees.
Many reports of soil erosion phenomena have their value limited by
uncertainties in the terminology used, consequently the key terms are
defined here.
Raindrop erosion is recognized as being responsible for four effects:
(1) disaggregation of soil aggregates as a result of impact; (2) minor
lateral displacement of soil particles (a process sometimes referred to
as creep );(3) splashing of soil particles into the air (sometimes called
saltation); (4) selection or sorting of soil particles by raindrop impact
which may occur as a result of two effects-(a) the forcing of finegrained particles into soil voids causing the infiltration rate to be
reduced and (b)selective splashing of detached grains. wash is the
process in which soil particles are entrained and transported by
shallow sheet flows (overland flow). Rainwash is the combined effect
from raindrops falling into a sheet flow.
Geological factor
This factor is evident in the steepness and length of slopes. Nearly all
of the experimental work on the slope effect has assumed that the
slopes are undercultivation. In such conditions raindrop splash will
move material further down steep slopes than down gentle ones, there
is likely to be more runoff, and runoff velocities will be faster.
The length of slope has a similar effect upon soil loss, because on a
long slope there can be a greater depth and velocity of overland flow,
and rills can develop more readily than on short slopes. Because there
is a greater area of land on long than on short slope facets of the same
width, it is necessary to distinguish between total soil loss and soil
loss per unit area. The relationship between soil loss and slope length
may be expressed as: ELb
Where E is the soil loss per unit area, L is the length of slope, and b is
an exponent. In a series of experiments Zingg found that the values of
b are around 0.6 but experiments elsewhere indicated that a rather
higher value is more representative.
Biological factor
Vegetation offsets the effects on erosion of the other factors-clmate,
topography, and soil characteristics. The major effects of vegetation
fall into at least seven main categories:
(1) the interception of rainfall by the vegetation canopy;
(2) the decreasing of velocity of runoff, and hence the cutting action
of water and its capacity to entrain sediment;
(3) root effects in increasing soil strength, granulation, and porosity;
(4) biological activityies associated with vegetative growth and their
influence on soil porosity;
(5) the transpiration of water, leading to the subsequent drying out of
the soil;
(6) insulation of the soil against high and low temperatures which
cause cracking or frost heaving and needle ice formation;
(7) compaction of underlying soil.The importance of plants
Plants provide protective cover on the land and prevent soil erosion
for
Images
COVER methods
These methods all protect the soil from the damaging effects of rain-drop
impact. Most will also improve soil fertility.
Mulching
Bare soil between growing plants is covered with a layer of organic matter
such as straw, grasses, leaves and rice husks - anything readily available.
Mulching also keeps the soil moist, reduces weeding, keeps the soil cool
and adds organic matter. If termites are a problem, keep the mulch away
from the stems of crops.
Cover crops
Cover crops are a kind of living mulch. They are plants - usually legumes
- which are grown to cover the soil, also reducing weeds. Sometimes they
are grown under fruit trees or taller, slow maturing crops. Sometimes they
also produce food or fodder. Cowpeas, for example may be used both as a
cover crop and a food crop.
Green manures
Also usually legumes - are planted specially to improve soil fertility by
returning fresh leafy material to the soil. They may be plants that are
grown for 1-2 months between harvesting one crop and planting the next.
The leaves may be cut and left on the surface of the soil as a mulch or the
whole plant dug into the soil. Green manures may also be trees or hedges
which may grow for many years in a cropping field from which green
leaves are regularly cut for use as mulch (alley cropping).
Mixed cropping and inter-cropping
By growing a variety of crops - perhaps mixed together, in alternate rows,
or sown at different times - the soil is better protected from rain splash.
Early planting
The period at the beginning of the rainy season when the soil is prepared
for planting, is when the damage from rain splash is often worst. Sowing
early will make the period when the soil is bare, as short as possible.
Crop residues
After harvest, unless the next crop is to be immediately replanted, it is a
good idea to leave the stalks, stems and leaves of the crop just harvested,
lying on the soil. They will give some cover protection until the next crop
develops.
Agroforestry
Planting trees among agricultural crops helps to protect the soil from
erosion, particularly after crops are harvested. The trees will give some
protection from rain splash. Fruit, trees, legume trees for fodder or
firewood and alley cropping all help reduce soil erosion.
Minimum cultivation
Each time the soil is dug or ploughed, it is exposed to erosion. In some
soils it may be possible to sow crops without ploughing or digging,
ideally among the crop residue from the previous crop. This is most likely
to be possible in a loose soil with plenty of organic matter.
2. BARRIER methods
Barrier methods all slow the flow of water down a slope. This greatly
reduces the amount of soil which run-off water can carry away and
conserves water. Any kind of barrier should work. To be effective any
barrier must follow the contour lines.
Man-made terraces
In some countries terracing has been successfully practised for centuries the Philippines, Peru and Nepal, for example. Well-built terraces are one
of the most effective methods of controlling soil erosion, especially on
steep slopes. However, terraces require skill and very hard work to build.
Each terrace is levelled - first by levelling the sub-soil, then the top soil and firm side supports are built, often of rock. Man-made terraces are
unlikely to be an appropriate method in countries with no tradition of
terrace building.
Contour ploughing
Whenever possible all land should be ploughed along the contour line never up and down, since this simply encourages erosion. In some
cultures this may be very difficult due to the pattern of land inheritance.
For example the Luo people in Western Kenya inherit land in long strips
running down to the river valleys, making contour ploughing extremely
difficult. Soil conservation programmes may need to consider land
redistribution schemes, or neighbouring farmers will have to work
together.
Contour barriers
Almost any available material can be used to build barriers along the
contours. Here are some examples: old crop stalks and leaves, stones,
grass strips, ridges and ditches strengthened by planting with grass or
trees.
Natural terraces
David Stockley encourages the use of grass strips. He writes...
Why do so much hard work (building terraces) when nature can do it for
less? Let us make use of natural erosion. We planted grass along the
contour lines. We used fibrous grasses with a dense root system such as
Napier grass, Guatemala grass and Guinea grass. The strips of land in
between were cultivated. As the soil is cultivated, nature moves the soil to
form a natural terrace. The rainwater passes through the grass strip,
depositing any soil carried behind the grass. In our experience in
Bangladesh and Brazil, rains formed natural terraces within five years.
Once well established, the grass barrier can be planted with banana,
pineapple, coffee, fruit or firewood trees.
Vetiver grass has been very effective in grass strips. It does not spread
onto cultivated soil; it produces sterile seeds, has few pest problems and
can survive in a wide range of climates.
This is a helpful system for reclaiming badly eroded land which has been
used successfully in Bolivia. Medias lunas or crescent shaped depressions
are built on sloping land. The crescent shapes are built at the end of the
rainy season so the ridges made can be compacted well. The crescent
collects the rainwater and soil. Trees - usually legumes - are planted when
the next rainy season begins and protected by thorn branches from grazing
animals. After 3 or 4 years each media Luna will be covered with
vegetation. Later, as the soil continues to improve, crops may be grown in
the Medias lunas.
CONCLUSION
Conclusion:
Environment does not hold records of present erosion or erosion risk
at an individual property level. Historical records of hill and high country
land with visible evidence of erosion at the time of survey are held for
some farm properties. Each of these erosion types relates to a set of
particular geographic and soil type circumstances. The risk of all types
erosion can be reduced or increased by land management practices or
physical works. To protect the environment, we must have to protect the
River bank erosion.