Presentation on

In Plant Training of
Soil and Water Conservation Engineering

Training Institute name

ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation &
Research Centre, P.B. No.12,
Sunabeda, Koraput, Odisha - 763 002

 Land Capability Classification

Presenter:-
Name: Ashish Kumar
Semester:- 7th Roll no:- Tech 02
 Content
 Introduction
 Why Land Capability Classification?
 Factor influencing Land capability classification
 Category of LCC
 LCC sub class
 Four aspects of LCC
 Map unit
 Case study
 Introduction
 Soil:-Soil is porous, powdery and unconsolidated
outer layer of the earth’s crust which is formed by
weathering of minerals and decomposition of
organic substances. Soil is dynamic, three
dimensional (having length, breadth and depth)
piece of landscape with a three phase (solid, liquid
and gaseous) system.
 Land:-Land is two dimensional.
 Landscape:-Landscape is three dimensional.
 Why Land Capability Classification?
I
 Land capability classification:-The first requisite Land suitable II
to conservation of land is to fit the crop to the for agriculture
capabilities of the soil and the water availability. (Type A) III
Lands are mainly used for agriculture, pastures and
IV
forestry. The capability of land to grow crops Land capability class
depends on the nature and properties of soils. V
Land not
 LCC forms the basis of all the watershed suitable for VI
programmes. It was developed by the USDA(United agriculture
VII
State Department of Agriculture). (Type B)

VIII
 LCC is based upon the degree or magnitude of
problem/hazard recognized in the land.
 Factors influencing the land
capability classification
 Soil profile characteristics:-Soil texture, effective soil
depth, permeability and internal drainage, availability of
nutrients, soil salinity, soil alkalinity, and soil toxicity.
 External feature of the land: -Water logging, slope
and erosion are the factors that determine land
capability and limit the land for particular use only.
 Climate factors: -Rainfall, temperature and wind
velocity are important components that determine land
capability class.
 Classification of LCC
 It is classified into two groups: 1)arable land 2)non-arable land
In arable land frequent disturbance
of soil occur e.g. Cropfield.

Forest and plantation are the

example of non-arableland.

1950-51 2010-11
Fallow Gross Fallow
10% cropped 8%
Forest
area
14%
42% Gross
Forest
cropped area
23%
46%

Not Not available

available for
for cultivation
cultivation 23%
 Arable land
 Class I:-
 Best suitable for all agricultural crops and free from hazards.
 Deep soil depth and high fertility.
 Not affected by any appreciable erosion, wetness , salinity etc.
 CLASS II
 These lands have moderate soil depth, light or heavy texture, gentle
slope and moderate soil fertility etc.
 Suitable for permanent cultivation with some soil and water conservation
practices.
 Class III:-
 Various conservation measures like contour bunding, graded
bunding,etc are recommended.
 These lands are suitable for plants, provided that the plant
cover should be maintained.
 Class IV:-
 Suitable only for occasional or limited cultivation because of
unfavourable soil characteristics, slope, erosion, depth,
drainage, adverse climate etc.
 Engineering measures are recommended here.
Fig. Gullies in the land
 NON-ARABLE LAND
 Class V:-
 These lands have the potential to become class I, but due to particular
problem/hazard, they can’t fulfil the characteristics of class I.
 Class VI:-
 These lands are suitable for horticultural crops like mango,
coffee, guava, cashew nut, etc.
 Grazing should be regulated to preserve the plant cover.
 Class VII:-
 These lands have severe limitations to use for grazing or forestry.
 Generally lands are droughty and swampy, having very steep slope, rough,
stony or very severely eroded, infested with gullies.
 Class VIII:-
 Lands are very rough, not suitable for wood land or grazing.
FOUR ASPECTS OF
LCC
 Soil Texture
Sl. No. Textural class Symbol LCC
1. Sandy S IV
2. Loamy Sandy Ls II
3. Sandy Loam Sl I
4. Loam L I
5. Silty Loam Sil I
6. Silty Si I
7. Sandy Clay Loam Scl I
8. Silty Clay Loam Sicl I
9. Clay Loam Cl I
10. Sandy clay Sc II
11. Silty Clay Sic II
12. Clay C III
Fig.Hydrometer method Fig.Feel method
 Soil Depth
Sl.no. Soil Symbol LCC
depth(cm)
1. >90 d5 I
2. 45-90 d4 II
3. 22.5-45 d3 III
4. 7.5-22.5 d2 IV
5. <7.5 d1 VI,VII
 Land Slope
Symbols Land slope (%) Class
A 0-1 I
B 1-3 II
C 3-5 II
D 5-10 III
E 10-15 III
F 15-25 IV
G 25-33 IV
H 33-50 VI
I 50-100 VII
J >100 VII
 Erosion Status

Sl.no. Symbol Erosion Class

status
1. e1 Sheet erosion I & II
2. e2 Rill erosion III
3. e3 Small erosion IV
4. e4 Big gully VI & VII
 Soil Color

Class Color Class Color

I Green V Dark green
II Yellow VI Orange
III Red VII Brown
IV Blue VIII Purple
 LCC sub class

The basis of sub class is to recognize the type

of problem/hazard.
The four types of hazards are
•E (erosion)
•W (water logging)
•S (soil related hazard)
•C (climate related hazard)
 Map Unit

Map unit for LCC is given by

CASE STUDY
Sr.no. Soil texture Soil depth(cm) Land slope (%) Erosion
1. Silty loam 140 11 Small gully
2. Loamy 150 1.35 Sheet
3. Silty loam 32 31 Sheet
4. Sandy 3.5 39 Gully
5. Loamy 200 0.25 Sheet
6. Loamy 200 0.25 No erosion
7. Loamy 200 0.25 No erosion
(with permanent soil
salinity problem)