International Research Journal of Environment Sciences________________________________ ISSN 2319–1414Vol. 3(10), 32-37, October (2014) Int. Res. J. Environment Sci. International Science Congress Association 32 Particle Size Analysis of Soils and Its Interpolation using GIS Technique from Sangamner Area, Maharashtra, India Keshav K. Deshmukh andSainath P. AherDepartment of Chemistry, S. N. Arts, D.J. Malpani Commerce and B.N. Sarda Science College, Sangamner, Dist. Ahmednagar, MS, INDIA 2 Department of Geography, S. N. Arts, D.J. Malpani Commerce and B.N. Sarda Science College, Sangamner, Dist. Ahmednagar, MS, INDIA Available online at: www.isca.in, www.isca.me Received 23th July 2014, revised 31st August 2014, accepted 15th September 2014 AbstractSoil is a substantial resource and displays adaptable physical, chemical, mineralogical, hydrological and geochemical properties. Particle size of any soil determines the productivity of crops. The soil textural distribution information is important for planning agriculture crop production, irrigation management, hydrological analysis and soil characteristics determination. However, high resolution soil particle information obtaining through manually field survey is time consuming and expensive. In view of this studies were carried out to know the particle size characteristics of soil in relation to soil textural and fertility status of Sangamner area of Ahmednagar district in Maharashtra. For this purpose particle size analysis (PSA) was determined from 62 soil samples and interpolated in Geographic Information System (GIS) software using kriging method. It gave the micro level particle size analysis information at enough and accurate scale. These information will become important in contribute to the societal demands and sustainable soil management in study area. Keywords: Particle size analysis (PSA), GIS, Interpolation, Kriging Method. Introduction The earth environment accomplish by soil which is considered as the skin of the earth. It has interfaces with the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere. The Particle size analysis (PSA) is expressed in classes of which the relative properties can be summed up in the form of triangular diagram enabling the texture of a soil sample. Soil texture is one of the important properties of soil maps and is defined as relative proportions of clay, sand and silt contents. Soil texture has an extremely significant influence on the physical and mechanical behaviours of the soil and on all the properties related to water content and the movement of water1. Soil texture directly affects the porosity of soil, which in turn, determines its water-retention, flow characteristics, rate of water intake, nutrient-holding capacity and long-term soil fertility. It also determines the soil erodibility and thus, affects the risk of soil erosion. The interaction of soil clay with nutrient ions, water and organic substances determines the soil fertility, which in turn largely controlled by the quality and nature of minerals. Land use capability and soil management practices are also determined by the texture. Spatial distribution and surface modeling of soil properties has become a common topic in soil science research. It is a useful tool for soil characteristic property interpolation in precision agriculture and soil management. Many researchers have studied the soil textural characteristic and its interpolation using GIS techniques5-9. The soils of Sangamner area mainly derived from the Deccan basalt. As far as Sangamner area is concerned, it has unique landforms configuration displaying prohibitive slopes along with typical climatic condition characterised by scanty and low rainfall. It forms typical semi-arid-arid ecosystem. Hence, it is more fragile and prone to degradation even with slight mismanagement. In general, the soil from the study area shows the presence of calcrete (both nodular as well as powdery), the mixture of clay, sand and silt besides the fragments of weathered basalt10. The area is also suffering the problem of salinization, alkalization, water logging etc. due to over irrigation, excess use of chemical fertilizer and intensive cultivation11. There is few published literature available on the PSA and its interpolation feature of Sangamner area. In view of this, it was decided to study PSA of soils and its interpolation using GIS techniques for pedological, hydrological and agronomical interpretation of soil in study area. The Study Area: Geographically present area located in Sangamner Tehsil of Maharashtra around the Pravara river bank. The extent of study area is 19° 26' 02.67" to 19° 39' 51.59" north latitude and 74° 03' 14.49" to 74° 23' 17.60" east longitude (Fig.1). The area is drained by the Pravara River which originates in the mountainous region of Ratangarh and flows into low-lying fertile alluvial plain in the downstream part (mature stage)12. The study area is located close to the Western Ghats Escarpment (WGE). This area has moderate relief and the soil formed from weathering process of basalt. The basalt flows are nearly flat-lying (the sequence has a regional southerly dip of 0.5°– 1°) and mainly belong to the Thakurvadi Formation (Fm.) of the Kalsubai subgroup. Extensive colluvio-alluvial deposits (locally up to 30 m. thick) of the late quaternary Pravara formation overlie the basalts along the Pravara River and its tributaries13. The textural variation in the study area is due to the wide-ranging physiographic dissimilarity, which is responsible to differentiates soils characteristics.