SSC
Inceptisols are considered the most widely distributed soil order in India according to which soil classification system?
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Answer: Option D — Soil Taxonomy of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Detailed Solution
Under the USDA Soil Taxonomy, Indian soils have been classified into soil orders, and Inceptisols are found to be the most widely distributed order in India, covering roughly 40 per cent of the country's area.
About USDA Soil Taxonomy:
- It was developed by the Soil Survey Staff of the United States Department of Agriculture and first published in 1975 (with a second edition in 1999).
- It classifies soils based on measurable properties, such as horizons, texture, mineral content, organic matter, moisture and temperature regimes.
- It recognises 12 soil orders, such as Inceptisols, Entisols, Alfisols, Aridisols, Mollisols, Ultisols, Oxisols, Spodosols, Andisols and Gelisols, among others.
- In India, the ICAR-National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (NBSS&LUP), Nagpur, has mapped Indian soils using this system.
About Inceptisols:
- The name comes from the Latin "inceptum", meaning "beginning", because these are young soils at an early stage of development.
- They show only weak development of soil horizons.
- In India, they are widespread in the alluvial plains (Indo-Gangetic plains), parts of the peninsular plateau, and hilly areas.
- Many of them are fertile and support intensive agriculture.
Other major soil orders in India (approximate shares):
- Inceptisols: about 40 per cent.
- Entisols: about 28 per cent (very young soils with little or no horizon development, such as recent alluvium and desert sands).
- Alfisols: about 14 per cent (moderately leached soils with clay-rich subsoils, often red soils).
- Aridisols: soils of dry regions.
- Mollisols, Ultisols and Oxisols occur in small areas.
Why not the other options?
- ✗The FAO-UNESCO Soil Map of the World uses a different set of names, such as Cambisols and Fluvisols.
The Russian genetic classification, founded by V. V. Dokuchaev, classifies soils by their formation factors and zones, using names such as chernozem and podzol.
The Geological Survey of India studies rocks and minerals, not this soil classification.
Quick tip
Remember: USDA Soil Taxonomy has 12 orders; in India Inceptisols are the most widespread (about 40 per cent), followed by Entisols and Alfisols.
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This question tests your understanding of Climate, Soils & Vegetation of India, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the climate of India and the monsoon, the seasons and the distribution of rainfall, the major soil types (alluvial, black, red, laterite, arid and mountain soils), and India's natural vegetation, including the types of forests and the states where they are found. Common questions ask which soil is best for cotton (black or regur soil), where laterite soil forms, which place receives the highest rainfall (Mawsynram in Meghalaya), and what 'mango showers' and the 'retreating monsoon' are. Questions on forest types usually link a forest type to its rainfall and to trees such as teak, sal and sundari. Practise the climate, soils and vegetation of India questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.