Soil Development in Pakistan

About 60% of Pakistan's total land area is classified as unusable for forestry or agriculture because it consists of deserts and mountains. Pakistan’s soils are mostly dry and have high concentrations of calcium carbonate and a low content of organic matter. The major soil groupings are Indus basin soils, mountain soils, and sandy desert soils.

74.3% of Pakistan’s soils are composed of these six types of soil:
1. 30.6% Mountain/Valley: Patchy soils that are a loamy-gravelly mix
2. 14.7% Rolling/hilly sandy soils
3. 11.4% Loamy-clayey soils
4. 6.6% Rock out-crop and loamy soils, very shallow
5. 5.8% Mainly loamy to partly gravelly soils
6. 5.2% Loamy soils

It is also true that Pakistan’s soil can be classified regionally, or according to where it is found in the county. From that perspective, there are also six soil types:
1. Indus basin soils: The soils found along the current course of the Indus River are due to alluvial deposits made by that river depositing sediments every spring.
2. Bongar Soils: These soils are found in the historic Indus plain and are the best soils for agriculture in the country. Usually they’re far from the present-day bed of the Indus River.
3. Khaddar Soils: Also found along Pakistan’s rivers is this soil. It formed when, every year during flood, a new layer of salty clay was deposited.
4. Indus Delta Soils: These soils cover the current Indus River delta. Most of this soil is very clayey and was developed under seasonal floodwaters.
5. Mountain Soils: These rocky soils mostly cover the highlands of northern and western areas of Pakistan.
6. Sandy Desert Soils: These soils are made by the deposition of sand, layer by layer, year after year, for thousands of years. They’re found in the arid and semi-arid areas of Pakistan.