Soils of Potohar Plateau, their problems and management

5/12/2019
Group Members:
Mehak Ishtiaq
Aiman Haleem
Arooj Fatima
Amber Asif
Submitted To:
Dr. Shaheen Begum
Soils of Potohar Plateau, their problems and
management- A review

Soils of Potohar Plateau, their problems and management- A review
Mehak Ishtiaq, Aiman Haleem, Arooj Fatima, Amber Asif
Abstract
Potohar plateau is one of the highlighted area of Pakistan with distinct soil chemistry and
discrete rainfed agricultural productivity covering four districts (Rawalpindi, Jhelum
Chakwal, Attock) of Punjab province. The soils of the region are diverse in term of
physicochemical properties, agricultural potential and soil chemistry. The practical factors
affecting the soil nature are parent material and arid climatic condition. The soils are
categorized as slightly to moderately alkaline in term of pH and sandy loam to loam in term
of texture. The common agricultural crops include wheat, maize, groundnut, barley and
millet. Naturally soil are deficient in context of Soil Organic Matter and other growth
supporting nutrients particularly Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Zinc, Iron and Boron. The
prominent constrains faced by the area includes soil erosion, moisture stress, shallow tillage,
nutrition depletion and soil compaction which results in decreased productivity in term of
crops. The solution can be sorted by adaption of effective management techniques.
1.Introduction
Pakistani soil is a complex of myriad soil types based on variation in context of their parent
material, soil forming processes and climatic conditions with resulting discrepancies in the
soil’s physicochemical properties. Soil from different part of the country is categorized
differently based on distinct features in term of soil texture, structure, nutrient availability and
annual agricultural production capacity. Because of semiarid to arid climatic conditions in
the country, major portion of soil falls under the category of dryland. Among this class of
dryland soils in the country, Potohar Plateau is one of the highlighted area with distinct soil
chemistry and discrete rainfed agricultural productivity.
1.1. Geography
Potohar Plateau being located in the north eastern part of the country mainly constitute four
district of the Punjab province including Chakwal, Jhelum, Rawalpindi and Attock as
depicted in the Map1(Mahmood et al., 2016). On the western and eastern side the plateau is
bounded by Indus river and Jhelum river respectively. Two characteristic mountain ranges

dominating the region are Kala Chitta and salt ranges.it covers an area of 13,000 square km
and constitute 10% of total agricultural productivity of the country(Adnan et al., 2009).
Map 1: Location of Potohar Plateau( Source: Amir et al., 2019).
Rashid et al (2004) reported rainfall range of the area between 300mm to 1500mm.
Maximum of the rainfall (about 65%) is recorded during the monsoon season and two
particular months July and August are reported to receive higher rainfall which in turn
support agricultural crops. Another study reported mean annual rainfall range of 750mm,
significantly higher in the northwest side of the plateau while decrease is noted in southwest
side (Khan & Joergensen, 2006). Whilst the temperature ranges being recorded during
summer and winter are 15oC to 40oC and 4oC to 25oC respectively(GoP, 2016).
Figure1.1: Land cover Distribution of Potohar Plateau.(Source: Amir et al., 2019).

Map 2: Average Annual Rainfall of Potohar Region. (Source: Iqbal, 2018).
1.2. Soil Type of the Region
In general, soils of the rainfed tract of northern Punjab i.e. Potohar Plateau are highly variant
in term of their physicochemical properties because of the characteristic parent material and
landforms. Sedimentary rocks are reported as the dominant parent material of the area and
both processes of soil formation alluvium and colluvium are being documented (Hussain et
al., 2013). Out of 12 universal soil orders, 3 being prevalent in the region are Alfisol, Entisol
and Inceptisol (Rashid et al., 2004). Naturally soils of the region are found to be deficient in
term of soil organic matter and soil moisture content due to the dominating arid type climatic
conditions. In addition plant’s growth stimulating nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus
are also marked as inadequately available(Khan & Joergensen, 2006). Farmers of this region
categories their soil into two broader types; the one is Mera that is less fertile soil with
minimal to no soil organic matter while the other one is Lepara the fertile one with sufficient
organic matter to support agricultural productivity (Obaid-ur-Rehman et al., 2010).

Map 3: Soil Types of Potohar Region. (Source; Iqbal, 2018).
2.Soil Physiochemical Properties
Following are the reported physiochemical characteristics of the soils of the Potohar region;
2.1. pH
Due to stronger impact of parent material and other natural factors such as climatic
conditions, pH of the area is attested as slightly alkaline to moderately alkaline in nature. In
this context Khan and Joergensen (2006) reported a mean pH value of 7.7 after analyzing 11
representative sites of the Potohar region. A relatively higher pH(7.5-8.1) was observed in
samples collected from Chakwal district while Rawalpindi district showed comparatively
lower pH values (7.5-7.8). Another study reported approximately similar pH value that is 8
and 8.1 in districts of Chakwal and Attock respectively (Rashid et al., 1997). While in
another study Rashid et al (1997) reported a pH value of 8.3 in Jhelum districts while
relatively higher pH value that is 8.5 was reported in area surrounded by salt range
specifically in Khewra. Obaid-ur-Rehman et al (2010) conducted a study focused on
characterization of Attock district based on salinity and fertility status and documented that
about 95% of the soils in the area has a pH range between 7.5 to 8.5. while the rest of 5%
exhibits pH higher than 8. Whereas the pH range in representative samples from Rawalpindi

district was reported to be 6.8-8.6 and the higher pH value was attributed to heavy metal
contamination in the studied area (Mushtaq & Khan, 2010). In order to analyze soil
characteristics of Chakwal district a study was conducted by Khalid et al (2012) which
reported the 64% soils of the area showed an average pH of 7.9 and variation ranges from
7.0 to 8.7. in contrast 6% of the analyzed samples indicated the pH > 8.5.
2.2. Soil Texture
Texture is basically composition of soil in term of sand, silt and clay particles which impart
special properties to soil. Soils of rainfed Potohar domain show diversity in context of soil
texture. The soils of the area are mainly grouped as silt clay loam, silt loam and clay loam
(Kazmi & Rasool., 2009). The soil of district Chakwal shows textural variation from sandy
loam to loam. A study reported 69% of sand, 21% silt and 10% of the clay content in the soil
of Chakwal district with the textural class of sandy loam ( Islam et al., 2013). Similar to
Chakwal, soils of Attock district are also sandy loam to loam in their texture. 78% of the soils
are reported to be loam in texture while 21% are sandy loam (Obaid-ur-Rehman et al., 2010).
The average ratio of sand, silt and clay in soils of Rawalpindi district of Potohar region is
illustrated in a study as 30% ,60% and 10% respectively(Khan & Joergensen, 2006).
2.3. Organic Matter
Numerous studies conducted in different aspects reported that the soils of Potohar Plateau are
deficient in term of soil organic matter. In addition to natural unavailability of SOM the
prolonged summer with higher temperature also intensifies the decomposition rate of SOM
which leaves the soil with poor organic content( Khan & Joergensen, 2006; Khalid et al.,
2011). Soils of district Chakwal are reported of organic matter deficient. In a study conducted
to characterize soil properties of the area only 11% of representative soil samples showed
standard SOM value that is greater than 0.86%. In contrast a greater proportion of soils (86%)
had negligible amount of SOM (Khalid et al., 2012).
Similarly 90% of soil from Attock district are categorized as ‘Soils with poor Organic matter’
while only 8% are found to contain satisfactory level of SOM(> 0.86%) (Obaid-ur-Rehman
et al., 2010). Mahmood et al (1998) reported similar result for Rawalpindi district and
notified that almost 90% of soil of the area is meager in term of SOM. The range of SOM in
the wheat field being reported varies from 0.19 -1.1 % in surface layer of the soil (0-15cm
depth) and 0.05-1% in subsurface layer of the soil (15-30cm depth) in Attock district. While
variation in SOM range in surface layer and subsurface layer of similar depth is reported as