Kerala Soil Museum is a museum on the premises of Central Soil Analytical Laboratory at Parottukonam,

Thiruvananthapuram District Thiruvananthapuram District (), is the southernmost district in the Indian state of Kerala. The district was created in 1949, with its headquarters in the city of Thiruvananthapuram, which is also Kerala's administrative centre. The present d ...

, in the Indian state of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. The museum displays the diverse types of soil in the state. It was set up by the Department of Soil Survey and Conservation of

Government of Kerala Government of Kerala is the subnational government of the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. The chief minister and their most senior ministers belong to the supreme decision ...

and inaugurated on 1 January 2014. It has been described as the world's largest soil museum and the first soil museum in India established to international standards.

History

The state government established the soil museum to provide an exhibition of the richness of Kerala's soils and mineral resources, as well as to foster public awareness about conservation and ecological protection. The museum's staff were trained by personnel from the

World Soil Museum The World Soil Museum (WSM) displays physical examples of soil profiles (monoliths) representing major soil types of the world, from the volcanic ash soils from Indonesia to the red, strongly weathered soils from the Amazon region. The museum is ...

Wageningen University Wageningen University & Research (also known as Wageningen UR; abbreviation: WUR) is a public university in Wageningen, Netherlands, specializing in life sciences with a focus on agriculture, technical and engineering subjects. It is a globally ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Exhibits

The most important exhibits in the museum are a set of 82 soil

monolith A monolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive rock (geology), stone or rock, such as some mountains. For instance, Savandurga, Savandurga mountain is a monolith mountain in India. Erosion usually exposes the geological for ...

s 1.5 metres tall which preserve and display the intact

soil profile A soil horizon is a layer parallel to the soil surface whose physical, chemical and biological characteristics differ from the layers above and beneath. Horizons are defined in many cases by obvious physical features, mainly colour and texture. ...

s of all of the 82

soil series Soil series as established by the National Cooperative Soil Survey of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service are a level of classification in the USDA Soil Taxonomy classification system hierar ...

recognised in the state of Kerala. Each monolith was dug from the ground without disturbing its elements and was processed for one month or longer before being mounted for museum display. Alongside each monolith is information about the soil, including the physical characteristics of the soil series, where it is found, its nutrient status, the crops it is best suited for, and recommendations for use and management of land where the soil is present. The soil classifications displayed in the museum are based on the US Department of Agriculture soil taxonomy. Other exhibits include a

geologic map A geologic map or geological map is a special-purpose map made to show various geological features. Rock units or geologic strata are shown by color or symbols. Bedding planes and structural features such as faults, folds, are shown with st ...

of Kerala; a map of Kerala showing the distribution of the eight soil orders represented in the state; collections of rocks and minerals and the physical constituents of soil, such as

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel when ...

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class of s ...

, stone, and

gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classifi ...

; displays explaining how soils are formed; and displays about the relationship of soil to the issues of

food security Food security speaks to the availability of food in a country (or geography) and the ability of individuals within that country (geography) to access, afford, and source adequate foodstuffs. According to the United Nations' Committee on World F ...

and

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

. Attached to the museum is a Soil Information Centre that exhibits a model of a

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

, illustrating both the elements of a watershed and a variety of conservation measures.

References

{{authority control 2014 establishments in Kerala Soil science in India Science museums in India Science centres in India Organisations based in Thiruvananthapuram Museums established in 2014 Museums in Thiruvananthapuram Science and technology in Kerala Soil and crop science organizations