Hydrological soil properties for water conservation planning in Ibrahimpur Masahi village,Dist. Haridwar (Uttarakhand)

Abstract

Hydrological soil properties of various watersheds are necessary for agricultural planning, runoff estimation, water conservation & management, etc. The infiltration characteristics are the most important soil properties influencing hydrological behavior of a watershed. In the present study, various soil hydrological properties viz., infiltration, soil moisture, soil texture, and hydrologic soil groups were estimated for the IbrahimpurMasahi village (Dist. Haridwar). The study area is a part of Shipla-HalzoraNadi watershed (Solani River Catchment). The IbrahimpurMasahi revenue village consists of five sub-villages namely- Ibrahimpur, Masahi, Belki, Inayatpur and Haljora within its jurisdiction (total village area= 14.26 km2). Infiltration tests were conducted using double ring cylinder infiltrometers under different landuses (Agriculture, Pond bed, Forest Land, Grass Land and Fallow Land) in the study area. The initial infiltration rates were obtained in the order of 9.8 cm/hr, 3.82 cm/hr, 57.3 cm/hr, 3.12 cm/hr and 4.58 cm/hr under Agriculture, Pond bed, Forest Land, Grass Land and Fallow Land, respectively. The hydrologic soil groups were estimated on the basis of infiltration rates in the study area. The major part of the study area belongs to soil hydrologic group- A. The soil samples were collected from different landuses in the study area for estimation of textural groups and soil moisture content. The particle size analysis of soil samples was also carried out using mechanical sieve analysis (sieve sizes: 4.75 mm, 2.00 mm, 1.4 mm, 0.85 mm, 0.425 mm, 0.25 mm, 0.212 mm, 0.075 mm) and sedimentation analysis of soil collected at pan passing through 0.075 mm sieve using Master Sizer. The textural analysis of soil samples indicate 4 different soil types: sandy loam (33% of samples), loamy sand (33% of samples), silt loam (17% of samples) and loam (17% of samples) in the study area. The soil moisture at 0-15 cm depth was obtained in the order of 12.0 % under agriculture, 13.6% to 16.3% under forest, 25.4% under pond bed, 17.6 % under grass land and 13.1 % under fallow land, respectively.