Geology of Baleendah, Bandung Regency, West Java, Indonesia and geochemical analysis of soil fertility

The research studies about geology of Baleendah in Bandung Regency, West Java and geochemical analysis of soil fertility. Soil fertility also depends on the concentration level of the major nutrients and minor nutrients in it. Therefore, soil fertility provides useful information to farmers or land developers to design appropriate agricultural activities and land use in certain areas. The purpose of the research is to produce a geological map of Baleendah area with the scale of 1: 25,000, to determine element distribution in soil and to investigate fertility of soil from volcanic products. Coordinate of the study area lies between the longitude of 107° 36’ 00’’ E to 107° 38’ 43’’ E and the latitude of 07° 00’ 00’’ S to 07° 02’ 42’’ S with the total dimension of 25 km2. The study area is dominated by volcanic rocks from late Miocene to Quaternary Holocene of lake sediment deposits. Geomorphology of study area dominantly steep hilly areas. Method used in the research are geological mapping method and geochemistry analysis by using X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) Spectrometer and Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). The main lithology unit in the study area Lake Deposit Unit, Andesite Lava Unit, Volcanic Breccia Unit and Pyroxene Andesite Lava Unit. Eight soil samples were collected randomly at the depth of 25 cm to investigate the major nutrient and minor nutrient. Major nutrient tested are P, K, Ca and Mg. Meanwhile minor nutrient tested are Fe, Zn, Cu, and Mn. From the findings, volcanic soil from sample 7 tends to be the most fertile because of balance concentration between major and minor nutrient which suitable for agriculture purpose. The soil has the characteristic of tuff and belongs to Pyroxene Andesite Lava units. Plus, there is banana plantation and other crop in the area of the soil. Most of them grow well and exhibits green leaves.