CHARACTERIZATION OF ORGANIC MATTERS IN MOLLISOLSOF PAKISTAN

Abstract

Mollisols are soils enriched with organic matter and typically composed of
calcareous materials like loess, limestone or wind blown sands. 7 % of the total available soils of the
world are mollisols including over 7,500 square kilometer spanning area of soils in north western part
of Pakistan. From geotechnical engineering perspective, mollisols are naturally weak in its bearing
capacity and exhibit substantial settlement when subjected to loading. Mollisols are required to be
stabilized chemically before carrying out any infrastructure development on it. For that purpose,
itsorganic matter characterization is desired because organic matter in mollisols strongly influence sits
behavior during chemical stabilization. This research has been carried out to identify the organic
matter constituents of mollisols available in Pakistan. Selected mollisols samples having over 8 %
organic matter content from Murree district has been tested by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) technique.
The engineering properties of soils were also determined. Nineteendistinctive types of different
organic compositions has been observed in the mollisols like Magnesium diisopropoxide, 9H-Flourine,
3-(p-Toluenesulfonyl)-4-cyano-5-methylthioisothiazoleetc. Monoclinic, orthorhombic and anorthic are
three crystal systems identified in the mollisols. Inorganic zeolites have also been detected in the
organic compositions of mollisols.