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WALLACE H. FULLER
Famouri, 1964). Gray Desert soils also appear on nearly level to slightly
sloping land. They, too, are calcareous with a lime layer nearer the surface.
Gravel and stone pavements form on some of the Gray Desert soils.
The Iranian Sierozems resemble those of Turkestan (Rozanov, 1951).
They are located on the plains between almost barren mountains and low
hills that characterize the Iranian deserts. Sierozems appear mostly on loess
of level to slightly undulating terrain. They are most prevalent in Afghanistan and least in Pakistan.
Almost any low level plain or basin will have some sand dunes. However, in the area south of Dasht-e-Lut and in Southern Afghanistan along
the Pakistan border, they are most common. The dune sand in these two
areas is constantly shifting over hard surfaces of finer-textured soil, some
surfaces of which are cemented and others saline.
Agricultural land lies along rivers and streams where fine-textured alluvial soils have collected on low terraces and old bottom land. Irrigation
has caused high water tables in some instances with resulting salinity
problems.
The native vegetation of the southern part of the Iranian desert is scanty
(McGinnies, 1967). Higher elevations support communities of Artemisia
herb-alba and plants similar to those of the Great Basin Desert of the
United States.
F. THAR
Desert soils of the Thar (known also as Rajasthan, Rajputana, and the
Indian Desert) have received considerable study. Raheja (1966) describes
Indian desert from a standpoint of their food-production capacity, but
lightly treats the uncultivated soils. Wright (1964), on the other hand,
treats all soils of the Southern Thar in detail, and Hunting Survey Corporation, Ltd. (1958) discusses soils of the Indus Plains of West Pakistan.
The current status of soil classification in East Pakistan is reviewed by
Islam (1966).
Undeveloped lithosols (thin soils), brown sandy soils, desert soils, sand,
and gravelly footslopes constitute the major soil types. These have been
grouped for convenience as (1) fine-textured, deep, saline alluvium on
broad flooded flats of the Rann of Kutch; (2) sand dunes (ergs) of ÜIQ
Tharparkar north of the Rann; (3) sand dunes and sandy soils patched
with saline alluvium northeast of Tharparkar area; and (4) medium-textured (silt and sand) of recent alluvium of the Indus Plain on the west.
This is the area most extensively irrigated for agriculture. In Central Thar
gray-brown soils appear on alluvium (Tamhane, 1952).
Moving sand and sand dunes restrict much of the Thar to wasteland.
WALLACE H. FULLER
Famouri, 1964). Gray Desert soils also appear on nearly level to slightly
sloping land. They, too, are calcareous with a lime layer nearer the surface.
Gravel and stone pavements form on some of the Gray Desert soils.
The Iranian Sierozems resemble those of Turkestan (Rozanov, 1951).
They are located on the plains between almost barren mountains and low
hills that characterize the Iranian deserts. Sierozems appear mostly on loess
of level to slightly undulating terrain. They are most prevalent in Afghanistan and least in Pakistan.
Almost any low level plain or basin will have some sand dunes. However, in the area south of Dasht-e-Lut and in Southern Afghanistan along
the Pakistan border, they are most common. The dune sand in these two
areas is constantly shifting over hard surfaces of finer-textured soil, some
surfaces of which are cemented and others saline.
Agricultural land lies along rivers and streams where fine-textured alluvial soils have collected on low terraces and old bottom land. Irrigation
has caused high water tables in some instances with resulting salinity
problems.
The native vegetation of the southern part of the Iranian desert is scanty
(McGinnies, 1967). Higher elevations support communities of Artemisia
herb-alba and plants similar to those of the Great Basin Desert of the
United States.
F. THAR
Desert soils of the Thar (known also as Rajasthan, Rajputana, and the
Indian Desert) have received considerable study. Raheja (1966) describes
Indian desert from a standpoint of their food-production capacity, but
lightly treats the uncultivated soils. Wright (1964), on the other hand,
treats all soils of the Southern Thar in detail, and Hunting Survey Corporation, Ltd. (1958) discusses soils of the Indus Plains of West Pakistan.
The current status of soil classification in East Pakistan is reviewed by
Islam (1966).
Undeveloped lithosols (thin soils), brown sandy soils, desert soils, sand,
and gravelly footslopes constitute the major soil types. These have been
grouped for convenience as (1) fine-textured, deep, saline alluvium on
broad flooded flats of the Rann of Kutch; (2) sand dunes (ergs) of ÜIQ
Tharparkar north of the Rann; (3) sand dunes and sandy soils patched
with saline alluvium northeast of Tharparkar area; and (4) medium-textured (silt and sand) of recent alluvium of the Indus Plain on the west.
This is the area most extensively irrigated for agriculture. In Central Thar
gray-brown soils appear on alluvium (Tamhane, 1952).
Moving sand and sand dunes restrict much of the Thar to wasteland.