Reference soil Georgia 08: Luvisol

GE008

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 GE008: Luvisol

WRB 2015

Luvisol

28-120 cm	argic horizon
62-120 cm	gleyic horizon
85-120 cm	ferric horizon

Local classification

Classification information	Yellow brown forest soil

Location:

Rikoti Pass

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Physical

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
0-7	-	8.243	11.125	6.835	6.781	5.091	38	9	33.002	42	20.045
7-28	-	6.437	9.208	6.374	6.005	4.762	32.8	5.8	40.301	46.1	21.144
28-62	-	3.737	6.742	4.006	4.285	3.211	21.9	5.1	44.176	49.3	28.76
62-85	-	3.77	5.35	5.123	4.1	3.15	21.6	5.1	41.749	46.8	31.633
85-120	-	2.712	3.932	3.056	3.285	2.587	15.6	4.1	40.651	44.8	39.604

Chemical characteristics:

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
0-7	4.93	3.92	0.702	-	3.02	0.246	12.276	-	1.536	7.423	1.424	0.407	0	9.2
7-28	4.71	3.7	0.296	-	1.62	0.143	11.357	-	2.544	3.666	0.809	0.152	0	4.7
28-62	5.28	3.72	0.073	0.056	0.493	0.082	6.034	-	2.926	3.967	1.379	0.194	0	5.6
62-85	5.6	3.7	0.039	0.064	0.273	0.082	3.302	-	1.957	6.047	2.57	0.227	0	8.8
85-120	5.69	3.68	0.042	0.022	0.228	0.062	3.639	-	1.661	9.437	4.295	0.325	0	14

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 %
0-7	58	15.761	-	-	10.7	14	-
7-28	36	12.851	-	-	7.2	35	-
28-62	36	15.58	-	-	8.5	34	-
62-85	56	15.661	-	-	10.8	19	-
85-120	65	21.737	-	-	15.7	11	-

Depth (cm)	CaSO4.2H2O %	P Bray mg/kg	P Olsen mg/kg	pH CaCl2	clay_noncarbonate % w/w	clay_carbonate % w/w	phosphorus4 mg/kg	phosphorus1 mg/kg	total_sulfur % w/w
0-7	0	-	5.06	4.56	20.045	-	-	-	0.019
7-28	-	-	1.66	4.34	21.144	-	-	-	0.008
28-62	-	-	0.141	4.47	28.76	-	-	-	0.003
62-85	-	-	0.364	4.63	31.633	-	-	-	0.001
85-120	-	-	0.264	4.77	39.604	-	-	-	0.002

Profile description

Ah1 0-7 cm	(dark) brown(10YR 4/3, moist) light yellowish brown(10YR 6/4, dry); loam weak medium granular ; very friable non-sticky non-plastic ; high (15-40%) pores; common fine common very fine roots; no rocks (0%) ; few earthworm channels ; non-calcareous (0%) ; clear (2-5 cm) boundary to
Ah2 7-28 cm	(dark) brown(10YR 4/3, moist) pale brown(10YR 6/3, dry); loam weak fine/thin angular blocky ; very friable non-sticky non-plastic ; few medium (5-15%) pores; few fine few very fine roots; no rocks (0%) ; few earthworm channels ; non-calcareous (0%) ; clear (2-5 cm) boundary to
EB 28-62 cm	yellowish brown(10YR 5/4, moist) very pale brown(10YR 7/4, dry); loam moderate medium angular blocky ; friable slightly sticky plastic ; few faint clay cutans; few low (2-5%) pores; few coarse few fine roots; no rocks (0%) ; no biological activity ; non-calcareous (0%) ; clear (2-5 cm) boundary to
Btg 62-85 cm	yellowish brown(10YR 5/4, moist) very pale brown(10YR 7/4, dry); loam massive ; friable slightly sticky plastic ; common faint clay cutans; few (2-5%) distinct dark yellowish brown fine (2-6 mm) mottles; very few low (2-5%) pores; very few fine roots; few black iron–manganese (sesquioxides) soft ; no rocks (0%) ; non-calcareous (0%) ; gradual (5-15 cm) boundary to
Btgc1 85-120 cm	yellowish brown(10YR 5/4, moist) very pale brown(10YR 7/4, dry); clay loam moderate medium angular blocky ; friable sticky slightly plastic ; common faint clay cutans; common (5-15%) distinct dark yellowish brown medium (6-20 mm) mottles; very few low (2-5%) pores; very few fine roots; common black iron–manganese (sesquioxides) soft ; no rocks (0%) ; non-calcareous (0%) ; gradual (5-15 cm) boundary to
Btcg2m 120- cm	clay loam weak massive ; friable ; many (15-40%) prominent dark yellowish brown coarse (> 20 mm) mottles; very few very fine roots; many black iron–manganese (sesquioxides) soft ; no rocks (0%) ; non-calcareous (0%) ;

Remarks on Land Use / Vegetation	Castanea sativa, Fagus orientalis, Carpinus caucasica, Rhododendron
Major vegetation type; Guidelines for soil description - Fourth edition (FAO, Rome, 2006)	semi-deciduous forest

Altitude	1050m
Hierarchy of major landforms	high-gradient hill
Physiographic Unit	middle slope (back slope) in undulating to mountainous terrain
Slope Aspect	north
Form of the slope surrounding the site	convex
Slope gradient %	6.0%
Topography; Guidelines for soil description - Fourth edition (FAO, Rome, 2006)	sloping

Surface cracking	no cracks observed
Classification of salt characteristics - cover	none (0-2%)

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Reference soil Georgia 08: Luvisol

Characteristics

Reference soil GE008: Luvisol