L-5- Land Capability Classification W-23.pdf

Land Capability Classification

1. 11
LAND CAPABILITY
CLASSIFICATION
HAFIZ MASOOD AHMAD
Lecturer
Department of Forestry & Range Management
University of Agriculture Faisalabad
Lecture No. 5

2. LANDCAPABILITYCLASS
•Land capability classification is a system of
grouping soils primarily on the basis of their
capability to produce common cultivated crops
and pasture plants without deteriorating over a
long period of time.
•Classes.Land capability classification is subdivided
into capability class and capability subclass.

3. •Capability class is the broadestcategory in
thelandcapabilityclassificationsystem.
•Class codes I (1), II (2), III (3), IV (4), V (5), VI
(6), VII (7), and VIII (8) areused to represent
both irrigated and nonirrigatedland
capabilityclasses.
LANDCAPABILITYCLASS

4. •Capability subclass is the second category in the
land capability classification system.
•Class codes e, w, s, and care usedforland
capability subclasses.
e =severeerosion
w=severewater
s =severestones
c =severeclimate
Small letters are used for land capability sub classes
LAND CAPABILITYSUB-CLASSES

5. EVALUATION OF IMPORTANT LAND
FEATURES
•Toproperlyevaluaterangeorintensityofeach
landfeatureisbrokendownintodegreese.g.
•Soildepth:deep, moderatelyshallowandshallow
•Steepnessof slope:nearlylevel,gentlyslopping,
moderatelyslopping,stronglysloping,
•Erosion:noapparenterosion,moderateerosion,
severeerosion,verysevereerosionandvery
severely gullied.

6. EVALUATION OF IMPORTANT LAND
FEATURES
•Landsuitedforconventionalfarming or not
•LandsuitedforPermanentvegetation or not

7. CLASSI (BESTFARM LAND)
•Very good
•Nearly leveled
•Does not wash or blow readily.
•The soil is deep and easy to work.
•Holds water well
•Well supplied with plant nutrients
•No pre-cautions, no treatments and nolimitations
regarding the use of this land
•Colour shown on the map= Light green

8. CLASSII (GOODFARMLAND)
•Good, butnotquiteasgoodasclassI.
•Certainlimitations
•Slopemaybejustenoughtocreate erosion
hazard.
•Maybeslightlywetandmayrequirea fewdrains
•Maynothavequiteas goodwaterholding
capacityashave ClassI
•Mayrequirelightandoccasional additional
watering.
•Goodmanagementisrequired

9. •Management Practices:
•Contouring
•Cover Crop
•Simple Water Management
•Crop Rotation
•Use of Fertilizers
•Colour shown on the map= Yellow
CLASSII (GOODFARMLAND)

10. CLASSIII(MODERATEFARMLAND)
•Moderately goodlandforcultivation.
•MorelimitedinusethanclassII
•Becauseofsomenaturalrestrictions
•Can be usedregularlyforcropsbutwithIntensive
precautionsandsometreatments
•Poorlydrainedandmayrequiresintensive
drainage.
•Treesshouldbeplantedforprotectionpurpose
•Colourshownonthemap=Red.

11. •Good enough for occasional cultivation under
careful management,
•Not suited for regular cultivation because
•Large part is steep, danger of erosion
•Some flat sandy lands are droughty.
•Trees should be plantedfor protection and
amelioration
•Colourshown on the map= Blue
CLASSIV(POORFARM LAND)

12. •Not suitable for regular cultivation except in
pockets.
•Natural Limitations:
•Stoniness, steep slopes; water logging etc.
•Suitable for Forestry Practices
•Good management is must
•Trees should be planted for production
and protection
•Colourshown on the map= Dark Green
CLASSV (GOODGRAZING/FOREST
LAND)

13. CLASS VI (MODERATEGRAZING/
FORESTLAND)
•Absolutely not suitable for regular cultivation
•Limited for grazing or forestry
•Features: shallow soil, steep slopes, excessive
stream bank cutting
•Amelioration for crop production is difficult
•Trees, shrubs, bushes and grasses should be
planted
•Colour shown on the map= Orange

14. CLASSVII(POORGRAZING/FOREST
LAND)
•Not only unsuited for cultivationBut
•Several limitations for grazing or forestry.
•Requires extreme care to prevent erosion.
•Used for either grazing or woodland with special
care.
•Bushes and grasses should be planted
•Colour shown on the map= Brown

15. CLASSVIII (WILD LAND)
•Suited only for wildlife or recreation purposes.
•Extremely dry
•Rough
•Steep
•Stony
•Sandy
•Wet
•Severely eroded
•Colour shown on the map= Purple

16. LANDCAPABILITYSUB-CLASSES
•“Subclass e"is made up of soils for which the
susceptibilitytoerosionisthedominantproblem
•"Subclassw"ismadeupofsoilsforwhichexcess
wateristhedominanthazardorlimitation
affectingtheiruse.
•Poorsoildrainage,wetness,ahighwatertable,
and overflow are the factors that affectthe soilsin
"wsubclass".

17. •“Subclass s"is made up of soils that have soil
limitations within the rooting zone, such as
shallowness of the rooting zone, stones, low
moisture-holding capacity, low fertility that is
difficult to correct, and salinity or sodium
content.
•"Subclass c"is made up of soils for which the
climate (the temperature or lack of moisture) is
the major hazard or limitation affecting their use.
LANDCAPABILITYSUB-CLASSES

18. CHART OF LANDCAPABILITYCLASSES
IncreasedLimitationsandHazards+DecreasedAdaptability+Decreased freedomofchoiceofuse
IncreasingIntensity→
LAND
USE →
Color
on the
Map
Wildlife/
Recreati
on
Limited
Grazing/
Forestry
Moderate
Grazing/
Forestry
Intensive
Grazing/
Forestry
Limited
Cultivation
Moderate
Cultivation
Good
Cultivation
Intensive
Cultivation
Class↓
I
Light
Green .
IIYellow .
IIIRed .
IV Blue .
V
Dark
Green .
VI Orange .
VIIBrown .
VIIIPurple.