Reference soil China 01: Luvisol

CN001

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 CN001: Luvisols

Very deep, moderately well drained, reddish brown silty clay loam derived from late Pleistocene loess. The thin topsoil has a very low organic carbon content and a weak to moderate subangular blocky structure. Upon drying a thick, slightly hard crust develops at the surface. The subsoil has moderate prismatic structures and shows common cutans of oriented clay. Most likely the soil has been truncated. MESO- AND MICRORELIEF: slopes have some low (<1m), irregularly spaced escarpments / INFILTRATION: estimated at 1-10 cm/day / SURFACE CHARACTERISTICS: moderate sealing, thickness varies from 0.5 to 1 cm / SOIL FAUNA: ants, worms, beetles and other insects, all kinds of multipieds / LAND USE AND HUMAN INFLUENCES: ploughing with buffalo traction, weed control by hand, use of fertilizers (ammonia and phosphate); large areas of the loess are excavated for brick production / HYDROLOGY: surface drainage almost absent, groundwater level generally below 10m depth / MICROMORPHOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS: thin sections show between 15 and 100 cm depth approx. 1-5% oriented clay.

 

Classification

WRB 2006WRB 1998
Cutanic- Luvisol (Siltic)Cutani-Chromic- Luvisol (Haplic)
19-104 cmargic horizon
0-19 cmochric horizon
19-104 cmargic horizon
FAO-UNESCO-ISRIC 1988FAO-UNESCO-ISRIC 1974
Silti-Chromic LuvisolChromic Luvisol
0-19 cmochric A horizon
- cmargic B horizon
- cmochric A horizon
0-19 cmochric A horizon
19-104 cmargillic B horizon

 

Local classification:Argillic yellow brown soil; Hapli-Udic Argosol
Common name:Brown clay-leached soil