Reference soil Botswana 06: Luvisol

BW006

Luvisols occur mainly in temperate regions, particularly in areas with a Mediterranean-type of climate.

Characteristics

Soils having an argic horizon (a subsurface horizon with a distinct higher clay content than the overlying horizon) with a cation exchange capacity equal to or more than 24 cmolc per kg clay throughout.

Distribution of Luvisols (rough estimation supplied by soilgrids)

Reference soil BW006: Luvisols

LOCATION: 3 km South of the road to Mahalapye GEOLOGY: Undifferentiated granitic rocks from the basement complex with subordinate occurrence of dolerite. ROCK OUTCROPS: Marutlwe hill (doleritic sill) 1 km to the South VEGETATION: Combreapiculatum, Acacia nigerescens (on abandoned field) Acacia tortilis and Dichrostachys cinerea. MORPHOLOGY: B3 Coarse fragments increasing with depth C Extremely hard mottled granite BRIEF PROFILE DESCRIPTION: A deep, well drained, reddish brown coarse sandy loam with gradual horizonation and weak to none structural development. The soil reaction is slightly acid throughout.

Classification

WRB 2006

WRB 1998

Haplic- Luvisol (Profondic Chromic)

Chromi-Profondic- Luvisol

33-122 cm

argic horizon

0-33 cm	ochric horizon
33-122 cm	argic horizon

FAO-UNESCO-ISRIC 1988

FAO-UNESCO-ISRIC 1974

Orthi-Chromic Luvisol

Luvic Yermosol

0-33 cm	ochric A horizon
33-122 cm	argic B horizon

0-33 cm	ochric A horizon
33-170 cm	argillic B horizon
87-100	plinthite
87-115	hydromorphic

Other classification

USDA-NRCS (1999)	Psammentic Haplustalf ustic coarse-loamy siliceous hyperthermic
USDA-SCS (1975)	Psammentic Paleustalf ustic coarse-loamy siliceous hyperthermic

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Physical characteristics

Particle size distribution

Depth (cm)	Gravel % v/v	very coarse sand % w/w	coarse sand % w/w	medium sand % w/w	fine sand % w/w	very fine sand % w/w	Total sand % w/w	coarse silt % w/w	fine silt % w/w	Total silt % w/w	Clay % w/w
0-33	1	-	-	-	-	-	89.4	2.5	0.6	3.1	7.5
33-80	1	-	-	-	-	-	84.1	2.4	1.2	3.6	12.3
80-129	2	-	-	-	-	-	77.7	3.3	2.1	5.4	16.9
129-170	3	-	-	-	-	-	77.9	3.9	1.9	5.8	16.3

Water retention characteristics

Depth (cm)	Bulk density kg/dm³	Spec. Surf. Area m²/g	COLE cm/cm	Water disp. clay %	Clay % w/w
0-33	-	-	-	3.5	7.5
33-80	-	-	-	5.0	12.3
80-129	-	-	-	5.9	16.9
129-170	-	-	-	7.3	16.3

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
0-33	6.3	4.7	0.11	-	0.16	0.03	5	-	-	1.3	0.1	0.3	0.0	1.7
33-80	6.3	4.7	0.11	-	0.18	0.03	6	-	-	1.3	0.0	0.3	0.0	1.6
80-129	6.3	4.7	0.18	-	0.05	-	-	-	-	1.3	0.2	0.3	0.2	2
129-170	6.4	4.8	0.2	-	0.15	-	-	-	-	1.3	0.2	0.3	0.0	1.8

Depth (cm)	Base sat. %	CEC soil cmol(c)/kg	CEC clay cmol(c)/kg	CEC org cmol(c)/kg	ECEC cmol(c)/kg	Al sat. %	ESP %
0-33	44	3.9	52	0.6	-	-	0
33-80	36	4.4	36	0.6	-	-	0
80-129	42	4.8	28	0.2	-	-	4
129-170	38	4.8	29	0.5	-	-	0

Elemental composition of the soil

Depth (cm)	Al2O3 % w/w	CaO % w/w	Fe2O3 % w/w	K2O % w/w	MgO % w/w	Na2O % w/w	SiO2 % w/w	TiO2 % w/w
0-33	5.8	0.13	1.9	3.22	0.19	-	88.9	0.24
33-80	8.8	0.14	2.7	3.21	0.53	-	85.2	0.54
80-129	9.7	0.15	1.9	3.41	1.08	-	79.3	0.49
129-170	8.9	0.16	2.8	2.74	0.63	-	80.1	0.55

Depth (cm)	Al2O3/Fe2O3 mol/mol	LOI % w/w	MnO2 % w/w	P2O5 % w/w	SiO2 / Al2O3 mol/mol	SiO2/Fe2O3 mol/mol	SiO2 / R mol/mol
0-33	4.8	2.1	0.02	0.02	26	124.4	21.5
33-80	5.1	3.1	0.02	0.00	16.4	83.9	13.7
80-129	8	3.5	0.02	0.10	13.9	110.9	12.3
129-170	5	3.2	0.02	0.08	15.3	76	12.7

Profile description

Ah 0-33 cm	reddish brown (5YR 4/3, moist) reddish brown (5YR 4/4, dry)coarse sand,structureless single grain to weak subangular blocky,SD loose (dry and moist) non sticky non plastic,common fine and few medium roots,few termite channels,non calcareous,gradual smooth boundary to,
Bt1 33-80 cm	yellowish red (5YR 4/6, moist) yellowish red (5YR 4/6, dry)loamy coarse sand,structureless single grain to weak subangular blocky,SD loose non sticky non plastic,common fine medium tubular pores,few fine and medium roots,non calcareous,gradual smooth boundary to,
Bt2 80-129 cm	dark reddish brown (2.5YR 3/4, moist) yellowish red (5YR 4/8, dry)coarse sandy loam,structureless massive to weak subangular blocky,slightly hard friable non sticky non plastic,common fine tubular pores,common fine and few medium roots,non calcareous,gradual smooth boundary to,
129-170 cm	dark red (2.5YR 3/6, moist) yellowish red (5YR 5/6, dry)coarse sandy loam,structureless massive,slightly hard friable non sticky non plastic,common fine and medium tubular pores,few fine roots,few coarse gravel fragments,non calcareous,abrupt smooth boundary to,
C 170- cm	structureless massiveextremely hard,common mottles,non calcareous,

Kind 1 (parent material) ; Parker (eds), 1984	igneous rock
Mode of accumulation or deposition of parent material	residual material
Remarks on Parent Materials	undifferentiated granitic rock of the Basement Complex (Precambrium) with subordinate occurence of dolerite; Marutwe hill (doleritic sill) occurs 1km to the south
Texture of parent material	loamy
Weathering Resistance	high
General characterization of the status of weathering of solid rock	highly

Major crops	sorghum
Land improvements ; Guidelines for soil description - Fourth edition (FAO, Rome, 2006)	land clearing
Land use or vegetation in the immediate vicinity of the site	low level arable farming
Remarks on Land Use / Vegetation	Savanna, Acacia Mixed Woodland with Combreapiculatum, A. nigerescens (on abandoned field), A. tortilis and Dichrostachys cinera
Status of vegetation; Guidelines for soil description - Fourth edition (FAO, Rome, 2006)	modified
Major vegetation type; Guidelines for soil description - Fourth edition (FAO, Rome, 2006)	semi-deciduous woodland

Altitude	1131m
Physiographic Unit	gently sloping pediment
Regional landform; McDonald, R.C., Isbell, R.F. et all, 1984; Australian soil and land survey Field Handbook, Inkata Press, Melbourne.	pediplain
Slope	0%
Topography; Guidelines for soil description - Fourth edition (FAO, Rome, 2006)	rolling

Drainage class ; FAO (2006) - Guidelines for soil description	well
Dry From - To	0-170cm
Flooding frequency (FAO, 1986)	never
Kind of ground water table (USDA, 1979)	no groundwater table observed

Evidence of alkali ; Soil Survey Manual USDA, 1951	non-alkaline
Surface cracking	no cracks observed
Micro relief type: small-scale differences in relief in the direct vicinity of the site (FAO, 1986)	levees (artificial)
Microrelief pattern	reticulate
Rock outcrop class (FAO (2006) - Guidelines for soil description)	none
Evidence of salt; Soil Survey Manual USDA, 1951	non-saline
Surface stoniness class (FAO (2006) - Guidelines for soil description)	none

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Reference soil Botswana 06: Luvisol

Characteristics

Reference soil BW006: Luvisols

Classification