This document summarizes the activities and achievements of ICAR-NBSS&LUP. It details that NBSS&LUP has conducted soil surveys and mapping across India to promote optimal land use. It has also conducted research in areas like pedology, soil survey, remote sensing applications, land degradation assessment, land evaluation and land use planning. NBSS&LUP has produced soil resource maps of India at 1:1 million and 1:250,000 scales. It highlights ongoing work in monitoring land degradation through remote sensing and case studies in different states.

1. S.K. SINGH
Director
ICAR-NBSS&LUP, NAGPUR
ICAR-National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning
Amravati Road, Nagpur
 NBSS&LUP- In the service of
nation since 1976
 Five regional canters:
RC Kolkata, eastern region
RC Jorhat, north eastern
region
RC Delhi, northern region
RC Bangalore, southern
region
RC Udaipur, Western region

2. 2
Mandate
 To conduct soil survey and mapping of the soils of the country to promote
scientific and optimal land use programmes in collaboration with relevant
institutions and agencies.
 To conduct and promote research in the National Agricultural Research
System in the areas of Pedology, Soil survey, Remote sensing applications,
Land degradation, Land evaluation and Land use planning.
 To impart training and education to create awareness on soil and land
resources and their state of health.

3. 3
Landmark Achievement
Soil Resource map of the country on 1:1 million scale and for the states on 1:250000 scale

4.  Food security
 Ecosystem services
 Facility of Infrastructure
 Industrialization
Mountains 10.3%
Hills 12.8%
Plateaus 30.6%
Desert 6.3%
Coastal
plains
4.8%
Island 0.3%
Eco-sensitive area
o Food and water
supply
o Flood and disease
control
o Cultural services
o Nutrient cycling
Food Security Act, Land Acquisition Act, NREGA
Pushing Agriculture on
the back end
LD: Harmonized data-120 mha; 64 mha arable
land
Estimating degradation

5. Completed the Assessment of Soil
Loss in India under Collaborative
Project between NBSS&LUP and
CSWCR &TI
Soil Loss/Erosion Assessment in India
5
Class (t/ha/yr) % Area
Very Slight (< 5) 30.16
Slight (5 – 10) 19.84
Moderate (10 – 15) 12.82
Mod.Severe (15 – 20) 6.97
Severe (20 – 40) 11.28
Very Severe (40 – 80) 6.76
Extr.Severe (> 80) 4.04
Others* 8.12
15 States reports have been printed

6. Salt Affected Area

7. 2017
Monitoring degradation :
Wind erosion : Increasing sand load in the desert
command area

8. Extent of
Degradation
Slight: 29%
Moderate: 30%
Severe: 15%
Very severe: <1%
Monitoring environmental degradation

9. Shifting River Case study- Bihar
Heavy siltation and erosion
Monitoring degradation

10. Monitoring degradation:
short and long term consequences on estuarine and coastal waves

11. Monitoring degradation:
Arsenic and fluoride contamination in West Bengal

12. o Acidity is increasing in the flood plains of Bengal
o Area under Multi-nutrient deficiency is increasing due
to the intensification of agriculture
Monitoring degradation: Multi-nutrient deficiency

13. Monitoring climate change: Aridity Index
1992 2018

14. 14
20 Agro-Ecological Regions (1992) 60 Agro-Ecological Sub-Regions (1999)

15. Sub-humid moist,
Humid
Per-humid
Aridity
Revision of Agro-ecological Region Map
 Reduced number of
rainy days
 Increased frequency
of dry spells
 Increased extreme
events of rain, cold,
storms……..
Degradation
Vulnerability
increased

16. Agro-ecological Sub-region

17. Assigning the reasons:
Defined sustainable area for major crops and cropping sequences in India
Wheat Rice Cotton

18. 18
Current area Vs. Sustainable Area, Wheat

19. Current area Vs. Sustainable Area, Rice

20. Current area Vs. Sustainable Area, Rice

21. Market based Land Use- The driver
Lack of Land use based market
Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamilnadu- Maize area with
support of poultry industry; cotton is being replaced
Groundnut- Gujarat; Sugarcane- Maharashtra and U.P
Bihar- Potential area for maize, lack of processing unit; farmers do
not have interest
Assigning the reasons for degradation

22. Poverty and Degradation
Schedule caste maximum in high productive soils and schedule tribe on
Challenges

23.  Sustainable agriculture includes sustainable area with the area specific best
management practices (BMP) covering soil conservation measures for water
harvesting in the rain-fed areas, the best water management in the irrigated areas
and nutrient management in site specific mode.
 Sustainable area (SA) is an uniform piece of land, potentially suitable for a crop
and cropping sequence in terms of soil, water and climate, presently available for
the defined use.
Scale: National, Regional, State, district, village and farm
Conceptualizing Sustainable
Agriculture

24. Total
Food grains
Agriculture can share the land for Infrastructure and Industry

25. Attaining State of Degradation Neutral
Sustainable Area with BMP

26. Land Resource Inventory (LRI) at 1:10000 scales
( SA at Farm level)
Integration of traditional soil survey and
advancing remote sensing technology
involving high resolution remote sensing
data (RS), digital terrain model

27. Assumption if landform, slope and land use are
identical in a given geographic setting, there is
high possibility for setting similar kinds of soils
Attaching cadastral is optional
Landscape Ecological Unit - A base map

28. Base Map- Landscape Ecological Unit
o New : Degree, length and curvature of slope together with contour
and drainage
o New information links LRI with soil water conservation planning,
irrigation, water harvesting potentials and precision agriculture
(IRS LISSS IV, Cartosat DEM, Geo Eye)

29. Phases of soil series -mapped
Soil Map

30. Manipur Sikkim
Characterization - degradation prone and Climate change vulnerable area- Hot spot
Nagaland

31. Characterization of Jhum land in north eastern region

32. North Eastern Region-Tripura

33. West Coast -
Goa
o State
o District
o Taluka
o Panchayat wise map

34. West Coast - Gujarat
Districts Nos. of blocks
covered
Surat 10
Kutch 10
Junagadh 10
Valsad 6
Navsari 6
Bharuch 9
Ahmedabad 1
Banaskantha 1
Porbandar 3

35. Soils of Kultuli block, 24 Paragana South,
West Bengal
Soil map of Basudevpur block, Bhadrak district, Odisha
East Coast – West Bengal & Odisha

36. Desert Ecosystem – Rajasthan

37. Chhotanagpur Plateau
District State Block
Hazaribag Jharkhand 16
Sahibganj Jharkhand 9
Dumka Jharkhand 10

38.  Leh
 Lahul
 Pangi
The Cold Desert- Lahaul Block, Himachal Pradesh

39. Tamil Nadu
Annur Block, Coimbatore
Veerapandi Block, Salem
Rasipuram Block, Namakkal
Gingee Block, Villupuram
Thirumannur Block, Ariyalur
R.S. Mangalam Block, Ramanathapuram
Perambalur Block, Perambalur
Uthanagarai Block, Krishnagirai
Sarkar Samakulam Block, Coimbatore
Valapadi Block, Salem
Southern India
Telangana
Gajwel mandal, Medak
Thimmajipet mandal, Mehboobnagar
Indravelle mandal, Adilabad
Garedapally mandal, Nalgonda
Huzur Nagar mandal, Nalgonda
Chilkur mandal, Nalgonda
Andhra Pradesh
Bukkarayasamudram mandal, Anantpur
Kerala
Iddukki block
Soil map of Indervalle mandal, Adilabad district, Telangana

40. Chronically waterlogged area- Bihar

41. LMU Description Present
land use
Suggested land
use options
Suggested management
practices
1 Very deep, extremely
acidic, fine soils on very
steeply sloping high hills
Rainfed
upland
paddy
Forestry and
natural vegetation
Contour bunding, grassed
waterways and allocation of
land for natural vegetation
2 Very deep, extremely
acidic, fine soils on steeply
sloping high hills
Rainfed
upland
paddy
Rubber / tea /
pineapple
Land shaping, contour bunding,
graded bunding and liming at
every alternate year
3 Very deep, extremely
acidic, fine soils on very
steeply sloping medium
hills
Rainfed
upland
paddy
Forestry and silvi-
pastoral system
Contour bunding, afforestation
and silvi-pastoral system with
multipurpose tree species
4 Very deep, extremely
acidic, fine soils on strongly
to steeply sloping medium
hills
Rainfed
upland
paddy
Rubber / tea /
pineapple
Bench terracing, contour
bunding and liming at every
alternate year
5 Very deep, extremely
acidic, very fine soils on
moderately steeply sloping
low hills
Rainfed
upland
paddy
Rubber / tea /
pineapple
Bench terracing, contour
bunding, contour farming and
liming at every alternate year
6 Very deep, very strongly
acidic, fine loamy soils on
moderately to strongly
sloping low hills
Rainfed
upland
paddy
Upland paddy
/Rubber / tea /
pineapple / coffee
Bench terracing and liming at
every alternate year
Mokokchaung district, Nagaland
LUP: Intensification of jhum land through
rubber plantations
Area Specific Best Management Practices

42. LMU Description Present land use Suggested land use options
1 Very deep, excessive to
well drained, very
strongly acidic, sandy
loam to silty clay loam
soils, moderate to
severe erosion
Rubber
plantation
 Rubber plantation
 Inter-cropping with
pineapple, ginger and
turmeric for first three
years.
2 Very deep, moderate to
well drained, very
strongly acidic, silty clay
loam soils, slight erosion
Kharif paddy /
fallow
 Paddy / maize –
mustard / lentil / pea /
groundnut
 Summer green gram in
water scarcity.
3 Deep, somewhat to
poorly drained, strongly
acidic, sandy clay loam
to sandy clay soils,
slight to moderate
erosion
Paddy –
mustard / pea
/ lentil / winter
vegetables /
groundnut /
paddy / fallow
 No change, prefer
medium duration HYV
paddy varieties.
4 Deep to very deep,
somewhat to poorly
drained, strongly acidic,
Paddy – lentil /
pea / fallow
 No change. Preference
should be given to
medium duration paddy
varieties.
Bishalgarh block, Sipahijila district, Tripura
Ginger based processing
units

43. LMU Landform Crops and cropping systems
10 Restricted
Summits/ High
Hills
Cashew +pineapple/ Kokum /Oil palm(Rainfed)
Coconut+ Nut mug +Mango+ Areca nut+ Lemon+ Sapota+/ Turmeric (Rainfed)
Vegetables like Chiili, Cluster bean, Brinjal, Tomato, Potato, Onion, Radish, Sweet potato
(irrigated)
6 Undulating Lands  Rice (Kharif)- Vegetables like Chilli, Cluster bean, Guava, Brinjal, Tomato, potato,
Onion, Radish, Sweet potato(rabi/ summer with irrigation)
 Sugarcane, Oil palm,
 Coconut + Areca nut +Pepper + Turmeric +Ginger + Pineapple ,
 Coconut+ Banana+ Vegetables
 Coconut+ Kokum+ Nut mug+ Sapota + Lemon
14 Inter-Hilly
Basin/Valleys /
Narrow valleys
Rice- Rice-Rice
Rice-Rice –Vegetables (in summer with protective irrigation)
Rice – Vegetables on raised beds (brinjal, chilli, tomato, potato, cluster bean, okra,
green leafy vegetables on raised beds in rabi/ summer with irrigation)
Coconut + Areca nut + Pepper
Coconut + turmeric/ginger
Coconut + banana
Cashew + pine apple/ Napier grasess (on bunds)
Cashew, guava, mango, sapota
 Protective cultivation of cut flower and archids and high value vegetables
19 Plains
23 Mudflats Rice, Coconut, Bajje (Acorus calamus)
25 Salt pans Coconut
26 Swamps and
Marshes
Rice and Bajje
27 Acid sulphate
Plains
Rice, Coconut and Kokum
1 Beach and Beach
Ridges
Coconut, Cashew, Areca nut
Site Specific Information and Situation
Specific Recommendations- Goa State

44. Gajwel mandal : Medak district Telangana

45. http://www.bhoomige
oportal-nbsslup.in/
Digitalized soil and
site information
Our Visitors from India, China, USA, Canada, Europe, Australia and
 LRIS Goa
 Potential Crop Zone
Mapper
 Smart mobile phone
for collecting Geo-
referenced samples
 Automated Land
Evaluation system
 Rubber information
system
 Digital soil library

46. Monitoring of resources periodically using RS data
Constant low values of NDVI as
Proxy Indicator
 Erosion
 Organic carbon decline
 Salinization
 Compaction and land
slides
 Contamination
 Sealing
 Nutrient dynamics
 Land use changes
 Other threats

47. Periodic monitoring of Prime Agricultural Land using MODIS data
High constant value of NDVI as Proxy indicator- Prime land

48. o Soil Health card
o NAREGA
o PMSKY
o Neeranchal
o PFBM
o RKVY
o Sujala
o Jalyukt sivar
o POCRA
o Crop colony
o Desiltation
o Mera Goan mera Gauron
o TSP
o Kishan Portal
o Soil Health card portal
o National Agri-Market portal
o Seednet India portal
o Ensuring state funding for soil and water conservation plans
through different Govt. Scheme enabling employment for
landless, small and marginal farmers
o Regulating subsidy on seeds, fertilizers- Diversification of
agriculture with middle group farmers
o Value added crops with large farmers
Policy interventions
Ensuring knowledge based agriculture
Single window
information

50. India < Sri Lanka, China, Bangladesh, Afghanistan; Desert India < Desert of China, Africa; USA, Russia
and Europe > Asian Countries
Soil misuse or over exploitation- nutrient recycling
Challenges

51. Land Use Options for Basaltic terrain
of Maharashtra – Warud model
Soil water conservation together with Bt cotton in
deep black soils; sorghum or deshi cotton on
shallow soils

52. Rice cultivation with community nursery - Gondia, Bhandara, Gadchiroli, Chandrapur
(Community Nursery)

53. Land Use Model – Mysore Plateau (Sujala)

54. Land Use Model – Desert Command Area
 Bajra- wheat
 Bajra-mustard
 Cotton-mustard
 Bajra-gram

55. Managing Coast of West Bengal with Land Shaping Technology

56. Farm size Income Total man days
created
Before
management
After Management
0.20 ha Rs. 2300 Rs.34400.00 285
0.266 ha Rs. 3100 Rs. 47800.00 405
0.39 ha Rs. 4500 Rs. 68900,00 600
Reduced soil degradation, increased employment for the landless and
improved social status of the farmers
Up-scaling of site-specific soil-land use plan in
the benchmark sites of National Land use
Planning
Land Use Plan for Coastal Region

57. Land Use Model – Brahmaputra Plain

58. 1. National Remote Sensing Centre, Hyderabad
2. BISAG, Gandhinagar, Gujarat
3. Department of Agriculture, Govt. of Telangana
4. Department of Agriculture, Govt. of Karnataka
5. Meghalaya Basin Development Authority, Meghalaya
6. Department of Agriculture, Govt. of Goa
7. Land Use Board, Agartala, Govt. of Tripura
8. Department of Agriculture, Govt. of Arunachal Pradesh
9. Neeranchal Project by DoLR – Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Jharkhand,
Odisha, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Goa
Collaborations (Land Resource Inventory)

59. TECHNOLOGY USERS
 KEC International Limited, Maharashtra for foundation of towers
 Sterlite Tech. Ltd., Mumbai, Maharashtra for spreading optical fibers in India
 Nagarjun Sagar Left Canal Command Area for division of Krishna river water between Andhra
Pradesh and Telangana
 AFRO for enhancing livelihood in Kelapur block, Yevatmal district
 APMC precision agriculture for Nagpur block, Maharashtra
 National Innovations on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA)
 Watershed Development Department, Karnataka (World bank Funded Project – Sujala)
 Kerala State Land Use Board

60. POTENTIAL USER
 Govt. of Maharashtra for watershed development under Neeranchal Project
 Govt. of Rajasthan for watershed development under Neeranchal project
 National Dairy Development Board for fodder production in Vidarbha Region of Maharashtra
 Project on Climate Resilient Agriculture in Maharashtra