| 1 ENVIS Newsletter April – June, 2015 SOILS OF JAMMU & KASHMIR CONTENTS Introduction J&K ENVIS Centre Role of Soil Department of Ecology, Environment & Remote Sensing Jammu & Kashmir Kraal/K umhar – An Ancient Craft Soil & Environment INTRODUCTION Soils of J&K Soil has been a defining component of cultures since the beginning of Soils of J&K – Kashmiri Classification civilization. Some of the first written words were recorded on clay Soils and Climate Change tablets and water was carried in clay pitchers. It provides the base for Achieving Healthy Soils all buildings (although some may be able to support a skyscraper and 2015 - International Year of Soils some others may not be able to support your weight), it holds the clues World Soil Day of past cultures (to be revealed by archaeologists or erosion), it supports Soil Health Card Scheme the web of life (connecting all ecosystems), provides materials to build houses, is a source of nutraceuticals (definite in the American Heritage FROM THE DIRECTOR’S DESK Dictionary as a food or naturally occurring food supplement thought to have a beneficial effect on human health), and of course, provides Healthy soil is the foundation of the food the base for our food, fiber, feed, and even some biofuels system. It produces healthy crops that in Soils are complex mixtures of minerals, water, air, organic matter, and turn nourish people. Maintaining a countless organisms that are the decaying remains of once-living healthy soil demands care and things. It forms at the surface of land – it is the “skin of the earth.” Soil sustainable use from farmers because is capable of supporting plant life and is vital to life on earth. Soil farming is sensitive to anthropogenic factors. By definition, farming disturbs performs many critical functions in almost any ecosystem (whether a the natural soil processes including that farm, forest, grassland, marsh, or suburban watershed). of nutrient cycling- the release and uptake of nutrients. In addition to providing nutrients and habitat to organisms living in the soil, organic matter binds soil particles into aggregates and improves the water holding capacity of soil. Soil is a living, dynamic ecosystem and a non-renewable resource. Farmers can take many remedial measures to maintain, improve and replenish soils, especially soils that have been under cultivation for a long time. A key to soil restoration is to maximize the retention and recycling of WHAT IS SOIL organic matter and plant nutrients, and The unconsolidated mineral or organic material on the immediate to minimize the losses of these soil surface of the earth that serves as a natural medium for the growth of components caused by leaching, runoff land plants. and erosion. A better understanding of The unconsolidated mineral or organic matter on the surface of the the linkages between soil biodiversity earth that has been subjected to and shows effects of genetic and and ecosystem function and the impact environmental factors of: climate (including water and temperature of human interventions will enable the reduction of negative impacts and the effects), and macro- and microorganisms, conditioned by relief, acting more effective benefits of soil biological on parent material over a period of time. activity for sustainable and productive SO THEN, WHAT IS DIRT? agriculture. Dirt is what gets on our clothes or under our fingernails. It is soil that Om Prakash Sharma, IFS is out of place in our world – whether tracked inside by shoes or on Director our clothes. Dirt is also soil that has lost the characteristics that give it DEE&RS, J&K the ability to support life – it is dead. | 2 ROLE OF SOIL KRAAL/KUMHAR - AN ANCIENT CRAFT Take anything in your life and you can trace it back to soil. by FAISAL MAGRAY We cannot survive without soils! While we are often not Having served Kashmiri homes for centuries, traditional aware of it, soils really do directly or indirectly affect every earthen pottery might soon become a thing of the past. Pottery part of our lives: from food, water and air availability and took the shape of indigenous Kashmiri art and some people quality, to engineering implications to various essential adopted it as a profession. Pottery is one such art, which was ecosystem services, to influences on human cultures and once very popular in Kashmir. The people, who are associated careers. Soils produce our food: our crop plants are grown in with this art, are called Kraal (in kashmiri) (Kumhar in soil, our livestock eat crops grown in soil, wildlife feeds on Urdu/Hindi) and (Potter in English). plants grown in soil, even fish eat plants, insects, etc, that at Hundreds of people were, once, associated with this trade and some point in their life-cycle are directly linked to soil. products made by them were used for domestic purpose. The Soils have a role in food production, clothing, water and air potter used to make numerous utensils with different designs in their workshop. Pottery in Kashmir has a long history. The quality, shelters and buildings, art, medicine, and various archaeological sites of Burzahama in Srinagar and Gufkral in other parts of life. Pulwama which dated back 5000 years also revealed the Food Production: All life is dependent on soil for evidence of ancient Kashmir pottery. The earthen vessels such sustenance. Plants acquire their minerals (nutrients) and as jars, gharas, handis, jugs, incense burners, bottles and water from the soil. Animals acquire their nutrients from earthen lamps were found there. It is a wheel driven by hands. plants. Soil organisms are critical to transformations of In the middle of it is placed a lump of clay from which pots are nutrients for food productions. Soil quality determines the made. When desired pot is ready, it is then detached from the natural fertility, water holding capacity which coupled with wheel by a special thread called kralpan (in kashmiri). From the climate determines yields. large vessels to miniature cups, they are first baked in the potters Clothing: All clothing materials come from plants and miniature kiln and then decorated. After then they are carried animals. Leather, wool, and furs come from animals that to the adjacent village markets where they are sold. humans have raised or hunted. Linen and cotton are woven In Nishat, Srinagar, the locality of Kral Sangri was known for together from plant fibers, and silk is created using the pottery making. Young and old in each family would make silkworm (animal) on a silk plant. Clothes that are made earthen pots. However, now only a few families make these from polyester and other types of man-made chemicals still earthen utensils in the entire locality. Pottery, once the main come from natural products, like coal (which used to be soil) source of income for many, is now a closed chapter the and petroleum, and still require the air and water filtered by inhabitants do not want to return to. During the past few decades these earthen pots have been replaced with aluminium, soil and what grows in it. plastic and steel products, affecting the livelihood of a large Art & Culture: For centuries, traditional earthen pottery was number of artisans engaged in the trade. used to make common household and kitchen items. Interestingly, clay tablets were among the first portable writing and painting surfaces used. It is one of the materials used in early pictographs on cave walls. The colorful minerals of soil have inspired artwork and been used as dyes and paints. Human Health and Medicine: There are several trillion different bacteria in every tablespoon of soil, not to mention the fungi and other things. These bacteria have several uses for humans, including: antibiotics like streptomycin to fight infection bacteria that show promise to treat tumors cyclosporine, the drug that is widely used to help transplant patients accept their new organs. Kashmiri Potter at Work (Photo Credit – Faisal Magray) kaolin (a type of clay) and pectin provide the base ingrediants for antidiarrheal drugs and antacids that help with stomach aches. For centuries, people have been using mud therapies to help with dermatitis, diabetes, and arthritis. Traditional Earthen Pottery exhibit during Forest Food Festival at IHM Rajbagh | 3 SOIL AND THE ENVIRONMENT Soils have a large function in the health of ecosystem CARBON AND NUTRIENT CYCLING functions in the world. Soil contains large amounts of stored carbon, nearly 5 times ECOSYSTEM SERVICES more than the plants that grow in it. Natural processes are Soil is the link between the air, water, rocks, and all cyclical. On a global level, the total carbon cycle is more organisms, and is responsible for many different complex, and involves carbon stored in fossil fuels, soils, oceans, and rocks. Physical, biological, and chemical functions in the natural world that we call ecosystem processes in the soil affect the balance in organic carbon services. These soil functions include: air quality and compounds, and if they are released to the atmosphere as composition, temperature regulation, carbon and CO2, or stored in the soil. This same process occurs nutrient cycling, water cycling and quality, natural with Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and all other materials. "waste" (decomposition) treatment and recycling, and WATER FILTRATION habitat for most living things and their food. Without soil and soil particles, water would be running on HABITAT bare rocks! When it rains, the soil acts as a sponge, soaking Soils are the environment in which seeds grow. They water into the ground. From there a few things can happen provide heat, nutrients, and water that are available for to the water. The water can be taken up by plants, microbes, use to nuture plants to maturity.