Devdatta Lad, Lakshika Hodar and Sushant Mane
Abstract
The soil is an intermediate between the atmosphere and lithosphere and also between the hydrosphere and lithosphere, thus forming a part of the biosphere. The soil may be defined as the uppermost weathered layer of the earthâs crust, in which are mixed organisms and products of their death and decay. Malvan is an important town in the Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra state. Malvan is the main sea beach and also an important fish landing centre of the state. There are also a few important sea beaches around the Malvan town, namely Chivla, Tarkarli, and Deobaug. These beaches are known for sea sport activities. The beaches are really under tremendous anthropogenic pressure. The present research aims to determine the health and level of pollution of the seashore soil of Malvan and other beaches around Malvan, namely Chivla, Tarkarli, and Deobaug. In the present study the pH value of sea beach soil on all four beaches lies in the range of 7.5 to 8, hence the pH is normal. The soil texture of sea beach soil on all four beaches is sandy in nature. The chloride content of sea beach soil on all four beaches ranges from 51.06 to 54.25 mg/l, while the calcium and magnesium ranges from 1.2 to 1.8 g/kg, they are almost near to normal value. Soils of the coastal region are generally less fertile and poor in organic matter content, ranging from less than 1% to 1.5%. The organic matter content ranges from 3 to 4.5% on all four beaches near Malvan, that is slightly higher that the predicted range. The overall conclusion that we draw from the results, discussion and comparison of the observations with other research studies is that the beach soil from all four beaches near Malvan namely, viz., Chivla, Tarkarli, Deobaug, and Malvan are in good health and free from pollution even though they are subjected to severe anthropogenic activities.