Whether you are going to grow flowers, vegetables, fruits, or ornamental plants, there are different types of soil in Indonesia that you need to understand. Each type of soil is made up of different particles, such as silt, sand, and clay particles. From the combination of these three particles, soil types will appear according to their distribution in Indonesia.

Let's study each type of soil in Indonesia, and then you can determine which soil types are the most ideal for plant cultivation in your area!

Types of Soil in Indonesia and Their Distribution

Soil plays an important role in the survival of humans, animals and plants. Uniquely, each region also has different types of soil based on the constituent soil elements. Here are some of them:

1. Sandy soil

Sandy soil is easy to find in Indonesia because it is often found in islands or coastal areas. It consists of weathered sandstone.

Not suitable for planting plants, because the texture of the sandy soil is weak and the mineral content is low.

2. Solid 

Solid soil conditions are the same as hard limestone soil. There is almost no water content and the texture is very dense. In addition, the nutrients and water are also few. The distribution of solid soil is evenly distributed throughout Indonesia.

3. Clay

Clay is similar in character to clay or silt. However, they are more sticky in texture and are black or dark gray in color. It is widely used in the pottery and pottery industry.

Clay is formed from silicates and aluminum produced from the weathering process of silicate rocks and carbonic acid when the earth's temperature increases. Clay is easily found in various regions in Indonesia.

4. Entisol Soil

Soil formed from volcanic eruptions with a mixture of lava, sand, dust, and other particles. Generally, entisol soils are easy to find near volcanoes, such as the area of Mount Merapi, Yogyakarta.

5. Humus 

Humus soil is one of the types of soil that is highly recommended in agriculture. Humus soil is formed from weathering or decay of agricultural waste, such as dry leaves, fruit skins, rotting roots, and so on.

There are many mineral elements and nutrients to fertilize plants. Humus soil can be found around the forest with black soil characteristics.

6. Inceptisol Soil

Characterized by black and slightly gray in color, inceptisol soils are commonly found in oil palm plantations. Formed from sedimentary rocks that spread in various regions of the country. For example, Kalimantan Island, Sumatra Island, and Papua Island.

7. Andosol 

Andosol soil is one of the types of soil that is widely distributed in Indonesia. Formed from various rock elements when a volcano erupts. Its characteristics are black, high water and organic content, but low moisture levels.

Therefore, Andosol soil is good if used for plantation or agricultural land. It can be found in areas with high rainfall.

8. Laterite 

Lateritic soils are not recommended for agriculture because they contain iron oxide and aluminum hydroxide. These compounds make soil conditions tend to be barren and dry. Usually, lateritic soils are found around rocky locations or rocky mountains.

9. Grumusol 

The next types of soil are grumusol soils located in the Central Java area, precisely in Jepara, Pati, Rembang, and Demak. Grumusol soil is located around limestone mountains because it is formed from volcanic tufa and limestone rocks.

The high element of limestone makes the grumusol soil texture easily broken, dry and barren. Therefore, it is not suitable for agriculture. Besides Central Java, grumusol soils are also found in areas such as Ngawi, Madiun, and East Nusa Tenggara.

10. Podzolic 

High rainfall and exposure to low temperatures can form podzolic soils in Indonesian territory. If exposed to rain, the soil becomes wetter and less nutrients. Because, it can be washed by rain water.

Podzolic soils can be found in Kalimantan, Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi and Papua.

11. Alluvial 

Furthermore, alluvial soils are soil types that undergo a process of mud sedimentation. It is often found in river flows that are carried by currents from upstream to downstream or lower plains.

It is fertile with a characteristic gray color. Can be used as a medium for farming tobacco, rice, and secondary crops. Because the soil texture is soft, farmers have no difficulty cultivating the fields. The distribution of alluvial soil is on the islands of Sulawesi, Kalimantan, Java, and Papua.

12. Mergel 

Mergel soils are types of soil that are not fertile because they consist of a mixture of lime and sand. Easily found in areas that are in the lowlands or downstream. In addition to limestone and sand, mergel soil also contains a mixture of clay. That is why the mineral and water content in the mergel soil is quite high.

13. Organosol

Another name for organosol soil is peat soil or swamp soil. Elements are formed when there is a weathering process of plants or plants in swamps.

Areas that have organosol soils generally have a wet climate with a fairly high rainfall intensity. However, the level of nutrients and soil moisture of organosols is actually low. You can find organosol soil or peat soil, mostly around Kalimantan, Sumatra, and Papua.

14. Litosol 

Soil types such as litosol soils are usually located around West Nusa Tenggara and Java. Consists of gravel or coarse grains. Litosol soil-forming elements are the process of weathering igneous and sedimentary rocks.

In addition, to get lithosol soil, you need to be in an area with a high level of steepness, such as Bukit Tinggi.

15. Latosol 

Unlike litosol soils, latosol soils are types of soil formed from metamorphic and sedimentary rocks that have undergone a weathering process. Latosol soil color is usually red or orange.

Latosol soil is not suitable for cultivation or used as agricultural land. You can find latosol soil in Kalimantan, Lampung, Sulawesi, and Bali.

Now you know, what types of soil are there in Indonesia? The distribution of soil types in Indonesia is quite wide and varied. For this reason, each region has different agricultural commodities, according to soil conditions, environment, and suitable types of plants. Hopefully the article is insightful for you and have a great day.