Forest soil
Also called: Mountain soil, Alpine soil · Topic: Soils of India: Types, Degradation and Conservation · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 1 "The Story of Indian Farming"; Class 10, Ch 1 "Resources and Development"
Meaning
Forest soil forms in forested hills and mountains. It changes a lot with its setting. It is loamy and silty on valley sides and coarse on upper slopes. In snowy Himalayan areas, it is acidic and low in humus (the dark, rich matter from rotting plants), because cold slows decay. Lower down, on river terraces and alluvial fans, it is fertile. Class 7 describes alpine soil (the soil of high mountains) as "thin, rough and rocky".
Example
The upper slopes of the Himalayas in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand have thin, acidic soils. The river terraces and fans lower down in the same valleys have fertile soils that grow temperate fruits such as apples.
Don't confuse with
- Laterite soil: laterite is also acidic and found in hilly areas, but it forms from heavy leaching in the hot, wet-and-dry tropics. Forest soil gets its character from slope, height and cold.