Reference soil Australia 05: Vertisol

AU005

Vertisols occur dominantly in level landscapes under climates with a pronounced dry season. Vast areas are found in Australia, India, northeastern Africa (Sudan, Ethiopia), southern Latin America and the USA.

Characteristics

Soils having a vertic horizon (a clayey subsurface horizon with polished and grooved ped surfaces ("slickensides") or wedge-shaped or parallelepiped structural aggregates) within 100 cm from the soil surface. They have 30 percent or more clay in all horizons to a depth of 100 cm or more, or to a contrasting layer (lithic or paralithic contact, petrocalcic, petroduric or petrogypsic horizons, sedimentary discontinuity, etc.) between 50 and 100 cm, after the upper 20 cm have been mixed. In addition, Vertisols exhibit wide cracks, which open and close periodically.

Distribution of Vertisols (rough estimation supplied by soilgrids)

Reference soil AU005: Vertisols

REFERENCE: Handbook of Australian Soils, p. 103-106

Classification

WRB 1998
Vertisol
FAO-UNESCO-ISRIC 1988		FAO-UNESCO-ISRIC 1974
Eutric Vertisol		Chromic Vertisol

Local classification:

HAS: Brown clay; FK: Ug5.4

Other classification

USDA-SCS (1975)

Chromoxerert xeric very fine mixed thermic

Chemical data

Depth (cm)	pH H2O	pHKCl	EC 1: 2.5 dS/m	CaCO3 % w/w	C % w/w	N %	C / N	Exch. Acid cmol(c)/kg	Exch. Al cmol(c)/kg	Ca cmol(c)/kg	Mg cmol(c)/kg	K cmol(c)/kg	Na cmol(c)/kg	Sum Cations cmol(c)/kg
0-21	7.4	-	1.78	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
21-36	7.7	-	3.6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
36-50	7.7	-	4.6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
50-68	7.8	-	3.8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
68-80	7.8	-	8.5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
80-108	7.5	-	6.9	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
108-123	7.6	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
123-138	7.6	-	5.6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
138-166	7.7	-	3.6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Profile description

Ah 0-21 cm	very dark greyish brown (10YR 3/2, dry) (10YR 3/1.5, moist)clay slightly gravelly,moderate medium angular blocky,very hard sticky plastic,few fine medium pores,common fine roots,non calcareous 10% HCl,gradual smooth boundary to,
Bw1 21-50 cm	very dark greyish brown (10YR 3/2, dry) (10YR 3/1.5, moist)clay slightly gravelly,moderate medium angular blocky,very hard sticky plastic,pressure cutans,few fine medium pores,few fine roots,non calcareous 10% HCl,gradual smooth boundary to,
Bw2 50-68 cm	very dark greyish brown (10YR 3/2, dry)clay,moderate medium angular blocky,very hard very sticky very plastic,few fine distinct clear mottles (10YR 5/4),pressure cutans,few fine medium pores,non calcareous 10% HCl,gradual smooth boundary to,
BCg 68-80 cm	yellowish brown (10YR 5/4, dry)clay,moderate medium and coarse angular blocky,very hard extremely firm very sticky very plastic,common fine faint diffuse mottles (10YR 3/2) and common fine faint mottles (7.5YR 5/4),pressure cutans,few fine medium pores,non calcareous 10% HCl,gradual smooth boundary to,
CBg 80-108 cm	light brownish grey (10YR 6/2, dry)clay,clay,moderate medium and coarse angular blocky,moderate coarse angular blocky,very hard extremely firm very sticky very plastic,very hard extremely firm very sticky very plastic,common medium distinct clear mottles (7.5YR 5/4) and few fine distinct mottles (2.5YR 5/6),many heterogeneous distinct clear mottles (10YR 7/2) and common medium distinct mottles (2.5YR 5/6),few fine medium pores,few fine medium pores,manganiferous concretions,manganiferous concretions,non calcareous 10% HCl,non calcareous 10% HCl,diffuse smooth boundary to,gradual smooth boundary to,
Cg2 138-166 cm	claymoderate coarse angular blocky,very hard extremely firm very sticky very plastic,many heterogeneous distinct diffuse mottles (10YR 7/2) and common medium distinct mottles (2.5YR 5/6),few fine medium pores,manganiferous concretions,non calcareous 10% HCl,

Kind 1 (parent material) ; Parker (eds), 1984	mixed lithology and composition
Mode of accumulation or deposition of parent material	fluvial
Soil Depth	166cm
Texture of parent material (second entry)	clayey

Main type of irrigation; Guidelines for soil description - Fourth edition (FAO, Rome, 2006)	no irrigation
Land use or vegetation in the immediate vicinity of the site	semi-natural grassland, grazed

Altitude	91m
Physiographic position of the site	flat
Regional landform; McDonald, R.C., Isbell, R.F. et all, 1984; Australian soil and land survey Field Handbook, Inkata Press, Melbourne.	floodplain
Slope	0%
Topography; Guidelines for soil description - Fourth edition (FAO, Rome, 2006)	flat or almost flat

Drainage class ; FAO (2006) - Guidelines for soil description	poor
Dry From - To	0-40cm
Kind of ground water table (USDA, 1979)	no groundwater table observed
Moist From - To	40-166cm
Estimated permeability (class) of least permeable part of the profile	slow
Estimated run off (class)	ponded

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Reference soil Australia 05: Vertisol

Characteristics

Reference soil AU005: Vertisols

Classification