Reference soil Cuba 09: Vertisol

CU009

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 CU009: Vertisols

Short field description: Deep, moderately well drained, dark yellowish brown clay with gravel. The soil is moderately porous and has a strong angular blocky structure, showing slickensides on the tilted shearplanes. Undulating site with different slope gradient toward the lowest parts. The site is flooded during the raining season. There is a not well defined prismatic structure in the third horizon. Small gravels throughout the profile; increasing gravel size with depth. Geology: Aptiano-Albiano lower Cretaceous. Ataguá formation: calcareous tuff, basic and intermediate lavas, limestone and clastic rock. Geomorphology: abrasive, erosive, undulating marine plains.

Classification

WRB 2006

WRB 1998

Mollic- Vertisol (Calcaric Humic Pellic)

Eutri-Pellic- Vertisol

0-60 cm	mollic horizon
60-105 cm	vertic horizon

0-60 cm	mollic horizon
60-105 cm	vertic horizon

FAO-UNESCO-ISRIC 1988

FAO-UNESCO-ISRIC 1974

Pelli-Eutric Vertisol

Pellic Vertisol

0-60 cm	mollic A horizon
20-105 cm	argic B horizon
- cm	argic B horizon
- cm	mollic A horizon
-	slickensides
-	vertic

0-60 cm	mollic A horizon
20-105 cm	argillic B horizon
-	slickensides
-	vertic

Local classification:	Pardo sin carbonato plast.

Other classification

USDA-NRCS (1999)	Udic Haplustert
USDA-SCS (1975)	Udic Pellustert ustic fine montmorillonitic isohyperthermic

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
0-20	-	2.1	1.9	2.0	3.5	3.3	12.8	5.3	51.4	56.7	30.5
20-60	-	1.4	2.0	2.3	4.0	3.5	13.2	9.1	18.2	27.3	55.5
60-105	-	3.7	3.8	3.1	4.3	3.4	18.3	4.7	25.2	29.9	51.8
105-130	-	11.2	11.7	8.5	7.9	4.7	44	7.3	17.7	25.0	31.0
130-150	-	11.8	13.9	9.5	8.7	5.1	49	7.2	16.7	23.9	27.1

Water retention characteristics

Depth (cm)	Bulk density kg/dm³	Spec. Surf. Area m²/g	COLE cm/cm	Water disp. clay %	Clay % w/w
5-10	1.206	-	-	-	-
0-20	-	-	-	-	30.5
20-60	-	-	-	-	55.5
26-31	1.188	-	-	-	-
60-105	-	-	-	-	51.8
75-81	1.213	-	-	-	-
115-121	1.433	-	-	-	-
105-130	-	-	-	-	31.0
130-150	-	-	-	-	27.1

Other physical data

Depth (cm)	Bulk density kg/dm³	pF 0 % v/v	pF 1.0 % v/v	pF 1.5 % v/v	pF 2.0 % v/v	pF 2.3 % v/v	pF 2.7 % v/v	pF 3.4 % v/v	pF 4.2 % v/v
5-10	1.206	53.9	53.6	53.6	52.8	52.0	50.9	48.0	42.0
26-31	1.188	56.1	55.9	55.9	55.3	54.5	53.2	48.1	42.4
75-81	1.213	56.0	55.7	55.7	54.6	53.7	52.5	48.9	42.9
115-121	1.433	46.3	45.8	45.3	41.3	39.8	38.7	36.4	31.6

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
0-20	7.1	5.6	0.27	4.8	1.66	0.02	83	-	-	41.4	16.4	1.1	0.3	59.2
20-60	7.5	6.4	0.39	7.0	2.79	0.33	8	-	-	48.7	15.1	2.0	0.2	66.0
60-105	7.9	5.8	0.19	5.4	0.32	-	-	-	-	39.9	17.3	0.4	0.5	58.1
105-130	8.0	5.4	0.14	6.4	0.13	-	-	-	-	34.6	13.4	0.2	0.5	48.7
130-150	7.9	5.1	0.10	5.9	0.06	-	-	-	-	33.1	12.3	0.2	0.6	46.2

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 %
0-20	103	57.3	184	5.8	-	-	1
20-60	120	54.8	93	9.8	-	-	0
60-105	115	50.4	101	1.1	-	-	1
105-130	119	40.9	140	0.5	-	-	1
130-150	124	37.2	145	0.2	-	-	1

Depth (cm)	pH NaF	P Retention %	ODOE	Al o % w/w	Si o % w/w	Fe d % w/w	Al d % w/w	Fe p % w/w	Al p % w/w	C p % w/w	Fe o % w/w
0-20	-	-	-	0.24	0.43	-	-	-	-	-	0.96
20-60	-	-	-	0.25	0.44	-	-	-	-	-	0.98
60-105	-	-	-	0.29	0.29	-	-	-	-	-	0.48
105-130	-	-	-	0.42	0.69	-	-	-	-	-	0.17
130-150	-	-	-	0.46	0.86	-	-	-	-	-	0.11

Clay mineralogy

Depth (cm)	Chlorite	Feldspar	Gibbsite	Goethite	Halloysite	Hematite	Kaolinite	Mica / illite	Mixed-layer	Quartz	Smec	Vermiculite
0-20	-	-	-	-	-	-	medium to strong	very weak	weak	-	very strong	-
20-60	-	-	-	-	-	-	medium to strong	very weak	weak	-	very strong	-
60-105	-	-	-	-	-	-	medium to strong	very weak	weak	-	very strong	-
105-130	-	-	-	-	-	-	weak	very weak	weak	-	very strong	-
130-150	-	-	-	-	-	-	weak	very weak	weak	-	very strong	-

Profile description

Ap 0-20 cm	very dark grey (10YR 3/1, moist)clay loam,strong coarse subangular blocky and strong medium granular,firm slightly sticky slightly plastic,few fine pores and few pores moderately porous (40-60 vol%),frequent channels,gradual smooth boundary to,
Ah 20-60 cm	very dark grey (10YR 3/1, moist)clay loam,strong coarse subangular blocky parting to strong medium granular,firm slightly sticky slightly plastic,few medium distinct diffuse mottles (10YR 5/4),no cutans,common medium pores and common pores moderately porous (40-60 vol%),no inclusions,no fragments,frequent channels,clear irregular boundary to,
Bti 60-105 cm	dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4, moist)clay loam,strong coarse subangular blocky and moderate medium prismatic,very firm sticky plastic,broken moderately thick slickensides throughout cutans,common fine pores and common pores moderately porous (40-60 vol%),no inclusions,no fragments,few channels,diffuse smooth boundary to,
CB 105-130 cm	yellowish brown (10YR 5/4, moist)clay loam gravelly,structureless,friable non sticky non plastic,no cutans,common fine pores and few pores moderately porous (40-60 vol%),no inclusions,few medium gravel weathered fragments,diffuse irregular boundary to,
130-150 cm	(dark) brown (10YR 4/3, moist)clay loam gravelly,structureless,friable non sticky non plastic,no cutans,common fine pores and few pores moderately porous (40-60 vol%),no inclusions,very few medium gravel weathered fragments,

Kind 1 (parent material) ; Parker (eds), 1984	coarse-grained basic igneous rock
Kind 2 (parent material) (second entry); Parker (eds), 1984	coarse-grained intermediate igneous
Mode of accumulation or deposition of parent material	residual material
Remarks on Parent Materials	Lower Cretaceous, Ataguá Formation: calcareous tuff, basic and intermediate lavas, limestone and clastic rock
Soil Depth	100cm
Texture of parent material	clayey

Occurrence of soil aggradation (McDonald et al., 1984)	not apparent
Intensity of the soil erosion type	moderate
Soil erosion type	rill
Slope stability	stable

Major crops	sugar cane
Main type of irrigation; Guidelines for soil description - Fourth edition (FAO, Rome, 2006)	seasonally irrigated
Land use or vegetation in the immediate vicinity of the site	high level arable farming
Status of vegetation; Guidelines for soil description - Fourth edition (FAO, Rome, 2006)	secondary
Major vegetation type; Guidelines for soil description - Fourth edition (FAO, Rome, 2006)	shrub

Altitude	45m
Physiographic Unit	undulating
Physiographic position of the site	middle slope
Regional landform; McDonald, R.C., Isbell, R.F. et all, 1984; Australian soil and land survey Field Handbook, Inkata Press, Melbourne.	alluvial plain
Slope	2%
Form of the slope surrounding the site	undulating
Topography; Guidelines for soil description - Fourth edition (FAO, Rome, 2006)	undulating

Lower limit of a slow permeable or stagnating layer in the profile	70cm
Drainage class ; FAO (2006) - Guidelines for soil description	imperfect
Flooding frequency (FAO, 1986)	irregular
Nature of flood water	fresh
Kind of ground water table (USDA, 1979)	no groundwater table observed
Moist From - To	0-150cm
Estimated permeability (class) of least permeable part of the profile	slow
Estimated run off (class)	slow
Drainage class - intergrade; FAO (2006) - Guidelines for soil description	moderately well
Upper limit of a slow permeable or stagnating layer in the profile	60cm

Evidence of alkali ; Soil Survey Manual USDA, 1951	slightly alkaline
Average size of stone	20
Surface cracking	large cracks (width more than 1 cm, or depth more than 50 cm)
Slaking of aggregates by tillage, rainfall or frost (USDA/SCS, 1979)	no surface slaking/crusting observed
Rock outcrop class (FAO (2006) - Guidelines for soil description)	none
Evidence of salt; Soil Survey Manual USDA, 1951	non-saline
Shape of stones (on average)	angular irregular
Surface stoniness class (FAO (2006) - Guidelines for soil description)	very few stones

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Reference soil Cuba 09: Vertisol

Characteristics

Reference soil CU009: Vertisols

Classification