Reference soil Italy 14: Nitisol

IT014

Nitisols occur mainly in the tropics and subtropics, as well as in areas with a Mediterranean type of climate. They are associated with basic rocks (e.g. basalts) or hard limestone or dolomite deposits.

Characteristics

Soils having a nitic horizon (a horizon with pronounced nut-shaped soil structure and significant amount of active iron) within 100 cm from the soil surface, and gradual to diffuse horizon boundaries between the surface and the underlying horizons. They do not have a ferric, plinthic or vertic horizon within 100 cm from the soil surface.

Distribution of Nitisols (rough estimation supplied by soilgrids)

Reference soil IT014: Nitisols

Dark reddish brown to reddish brown, deep, clayey soil developed in residual material derived from limestone weathering. In the upper part of the soil admixture with volcanic minerals is observed; few animal burrows are found. Dark clay-iron cutans occur on some pedfaces and along pores. From 1.20m downwards distinct vertic properties (intersecting slickensides) increase, while from 2m downwards distinct iron-manganese mottling occurs. At the transition to the underlying limestone a thin layer of secondary calcium carbonate precipitates have been frequently observed in similar soils near the site. HUMAN INFLUENCE: extensive cattle grazing; area was deforested at the end of World War II. ROCK OUTCROPS: none at site, but bedrock is locally exposed in gullies. PROFILE DESCRIPTION: 2Bt(g): also red (10R 4/8) mottles. REFERENCES: See profilenumber IT009 (I9). Profile comparable with profilenumber Sp/122 (Spaargaren, 1979).

Classification

WRB 2014

Nitisol

FAO-UNESCO-ISRIC 1988

FAO-UNESCO-ISRIC 1974

Dystri-Haplic Nitisol

Dystric Nitosol

- cm	argic B horizon
- cm	ochric A horizon
-	nitic
-	vertic

- cm	argillic B horizon
- cm	ochric A horizon
-	vertic

Local classification:	Suolo rosso mediterraneo

Other classification

USDA-NRCS (1999)	Typic Palexerult
USDA-SCS (1975)	Typic Palexerult xeric clayey mixed thermic

More images

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
0-5	-	0.1	0.7	1.4	2.7	2.1	7	2.9	18.9	21.8	71.3
5-15	-	0	0.1	0.5	1.4	0.8	2.8	0.8	10.8	11.6	85.7
15-40	-	0	0.1	0.5	1.2	0.9	2.7	2.7	11.2	13.9	83.4
40-60	-	0	0	0.3	0.8	0.6	1.7	4.2	13.5	17.7	80.5
60-80	-	0.1	0.1	0.4	0.8	0.8	2.2	6.8	14.4	21.2	76.7
80-110	-	0.1	0.1	0.3	0.9	0.4	1.8	4.4	11.9	16.3	82
110-140	-	0	0.1	0.3	1.4	1.1	2.9	6.9	15.3	22.2	75
140-170	-	0	0.1	0.4	1.5	1.6	3.6	6.9	12.6	19.5	76.9
170-200	-	0	0	0.1	1.2	0.9	2.2	7.2	12.6	19.8	77.9

Water retention characteristics

Depth (cm)	Bulk density kg/dm³	Spec. Surf. Area m²/g	COLE cm/cm	Water disp. clay %	Clay % w/w
0-5	-	-	-	21.7	71.3
5-15	-	-	-	23	85.7
15-40	-	-	-	7.7	83.4
40-60	-	-	-	9.3	80.5
60-80	-	-	-	9	76.7
80-110	-	-	-	4.2	82
110-140	-	-	-	1.9	75
140-170	-	-	-	6.6	76.9
170-200	-	-	-	5	77.9

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
0-5	5.6	4.9	0.21	-	3.69	0.27	14	-	-	14.0	4.5	1.8	0.2	20.5
5-15	5.1	4.4	0.09	-	0.88	0.11	8	0.3	0.2	8.0	3.1	1.8	0.3	13.2
15-40	4.8	3.9	0.06	-	0.66	0.08	8	1.5	1.3	5.8	2.5	1.2	0.6	10.1
40-60	4.8	3.7	0	-	0.48	0.07	7	2.3	2.0	4.4	2.4	1.5	0.7	9
60-80	4.8	3.7	0.05	-	0.42	-	-	2.6	2.2	3.6	2.3	1.5	0.8	8.2
80-110	4.8	3.6	0.04	-	0.37	-	-	3.4	2.4	3.4	2.2	1.1	1.0	7.7
110-140	4.7	3.6	0.04	-	0.21	-	-	4.4	3.6	2.8	2.1	0.7	1.0	6.6
140-170	4.7	3.4	0.04	-	0.24	-	-	8	6.7	3.2	2.8	0.6	0.8	7.4
170-200	4.7	3.4	0.03	-	0.22	-	-	8.2	7.8	3.4	2.6	0.6	0.8	7.4

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 %
0-5	82	25	35	13	-	-	-
5-15	65	20.3	24	3.0	-	1	-
15-40	52	19.5	23	2.0	-	7	-
40-60	43	20.7	26	2.0	-	10	-
60-80	42	19.3	25	2.0	-	11	-
80-110	42	18.4	22	1.0	-	13	-
110-140	41	16	21	1.0	-	23	-
140-170	35	21.2	28	1.0	-	32	-
170-200	34	21.6	28	1.0	-	36	-

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
0-5	-	-	-	0.3	0	4.3	0.5	-	-	-	0.4
5-15	-	-	-	0.5	0	4.9	0.6	-	-	-	0.4
15-40	-	-	-	0.4	0	4.7	0.6	-	-	-	0.4
40-60	-	-	-	0.4	0	4.9	0.6	-	-	-	0.4
60-80	-	-	-	0.4	0	4.9	0.5	-	-	-	0.4
80-110	-	-	-	0.4	0	4.7	0.5	-	-	-	0.4
110-140	-	-	-	0.4	0.1	4.7	0.5	-	-	-	0.3
140-170	-	-	-	0.4	0	4.5	0.5	-	-	-	0.2
170-200	-	-	-	0.4	0	4.6	0.5	-	-	-	0.2

Elemental composition of the clay

Depth (cm)	SiO2 % w/w	Al2O3 % w/w	Fe2O3 % w/w	CaO % w/w	MgO % w/w	K2O % w/w	Na2O % w/w	TiO2 % w/w
0-5	42.8	29.1	10.4	0	0.8	1.4	0.1	1.1
5-15	42.7	29.4	10.5	0.1	0.8	1.4	0.1	1.2
15-40	42.6	30.1	10.2	0	0.7	1.2	0	1.1
40-60	42.1	32	8.9	0	0.5	0.8	0	0.9
60-80	42.1	32	8.9	0	0.5	0.8	0	0.9
80-110	42.7	31.9	8.9	0	0.5	0.8	0	0.9
110-140	42.7	31.9	8.9	0	0.5	0.8	0	0.9
170-200	43.9	31	8.8	0	0.7	1.2	0	0.9

Depth (cm)	MnO2 % w/w	P2O5 % w/w	Ign.Loss clay % w/w	Total Clay % w/w	SiO2/Al2O3 mol/mol	SiO2/Fe2O3 mol/mol	SiO2 / R mol/mol	Al2O3/Fe2O3 mol/mol
0-5	0.1	0.4	13.5	99.7	2.5	11	2	4.4
5-15	0.1	0.5	13	99.8	2.5	10.8	2	4.4
15-40	0.1	0.5	13.3	99.8	2.4	11.1	2	4.6
40-60	0.1	0.3	14.1	99.7	2.2	12.6	1.9	5.6
60-80	0.1	0.3	14.1	99.3	2.2	12.6	1.9	5.6
80-110	0	0.3	13.9	99.9	2.3	12.8	1.9	5.7
110-140	0	0.3	13.9	99.9	2.3	12.6	1.9	5.7
170-200	0.2	0.3	13	100	2.4	13.2	2	5.5

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
0-5	22.3	0.6	8.4	2.40	0.8	0.4	53.6	1.2
5-15	23.5	0.3	8.8	2.30	0.8	0.3	52.3	1.3
15-40	25.2	0.8	9.1	2.0	0.7	0.3	49.3	1.2
40-60	30.1	0.3	9.2	1.10	0.5	0.1	44.3	1
60-80	30.1	0.3	9.2	1.10	0.5	0.1	44.3	1
80-110	29.2	0.3	9.8	1.30	0.5	0.1	45.4	1
110-140	29.2	0.3	9.8	1.30	0.5	0.1	45.4	1
170-200	27.8	0.3	9.4	1.50	0.7	0.1	47.8	1

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
0-5	4.2	9.2	0.30	0.20	4.1	17.0	3.3
5-15	4.4	9.5	0.30	0.20	3.8	15.7	3.1
15-40	4.3	10.6	0.20	0.20	3.3	14.4	2.7
40-60	5.1	12.6	0.10	0.30	2.5	12.8	2.1
60-80	5.1	12.6	0.10	0.30	2.5	12.8	2.1
80-110	4.7	12.0	0	0.30	2.6	12.3	2.2
110-140	4.7	12.0	0	0.30	2.6	12.3	2.2
170-200	4.6	11.0	0.10	0.20	2.9	13.5	2.4

Clay mineralogy

Depth (cm)	Chlorite	Feldspar	Gibbsite	Goethite	Halloysite	Hematite	Kaolinite	Mica / illite	Mixed-layer	Quartz	Smec	Vermiculite
0-5	-	-	-	-	-	-	medium to strong	weak	weak	-	-	-
15-40	-	-	-	-	-	-	weak to medium	weak	weak to medium	-	-	-
60-80	-	-	-	-	-	-	weak to medium	weak	weak to medium	-	-	-
110-140	-	-	-	-	-	-	weak to medium	weak to medium	weak to medium	-	-	-
170-200	-	-	-	-	-	-	weak to medium	weak to medium	weak to medium	-	-	-

Profile description

Ah 0-5 cm	(10YR 2/3, moist)clay,moderate very fine and fine subangular blocky,friable sticky plastic,common very fine fine exped and inped tubular random pores moderately porous (40-60 vol%),very few small spherical soft manganiferous nodules,very few fine gravel weathered volcanic min. very few fine gravel weathered pottery fragm. fragments,few worm channels and channels,abrupt smooth boundary to,
5-15 cm	dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4, moist)clay,moderate fine and medium subangular blocky,friable sticky plastic,common very fine fine discontinuous inped tubular pores moderately porous (40-60 vol%),very few small spherical soft manganiferous nodules,very few fine gravel weathered volcanic min. fragments,few worm channels and channels,clear smooth boundary to,
Bt1 15-40 cm	dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/6, moist)clay,moderate fine and medium angular blocky,firm sticky plastic,patchy thick clay and humus on pedfaces cutans,common very fine fine discontinuous inped tubular pores slightly porous (<40 vol%),very few fine gravel weathered volcanic min. fragments,few worm channels and channels,gradual smooth boundary to,
Bt2 40-80 cm	dark red (2.5YR 3/6, moist)clay,weak coarse prismatic parting to moderate fine and medium angular blocky,firm sticky plastic,broken thick clay and sesquioxide on pedfaces cutans,common very fine fine pores slightly porous (<40 vol%),very few fine gravel weathered volcanic min. fragments,few worm channels and channels,gradual smooth boundary to,
2Bt3 80-140 cm	red (2.5YR 4/6, moist)clay,moderate fine and medium wedge-shaped angular blocky,firm sticky plastic,few fine distinct clear mottles (2.5Y 3/3),broken thick clay and sesquioxide on pedfaces cutans,few very fine fine discontinuous inped tubular pores slightly porous (<40 vol%),very few small spherical soft manganiferous nodules,diffuse smooth boundary to,
2Bt4 140-200 cm	red (10R 4/6, moist)clay,moderate fine angular blocky and wedge-shaped angular blocky,firm sticky plastic,common fine faint clear mottles (10YR 3/6) and common medium distinct mottles (2.5YR 5/8),patchy thick clay and sesquioxide on pedfaces cutans,few very fine fine discontinuous inped tubular pores slightly porous (<40 vol%),very few small spherical soft manganiferous nodules,

Kind 1 (parent material) ; Parker (eds), 1984	igneous rock
Mode of accumulation or deposition of parent material	residual material
Remarks on Parent Materials	admix. volcanic min.
Soil Depth	200cm
Texture of parent material (second entry)	clayey

Occurrence of soil aggradation (McDonald et al., 1984)	absent
Intensity of the soil erosion type	severe
Soil erosion type	gully
Slope stability	highly unstable

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
Remarks on Land Use / Vegetation	oaks, grass, shrubs; extensive grazing
Rotation scheme ; Guidelines for soil description - Fourth edition (FAO, Rome, 2006)	crop rotation scheme not relevant
Status of vegetation; Guidelines for soil description - Fourth edition (FAO, Rome, 2006)	degraded
Major vegetation type; Guidelines for soil description - Fourth edition (FAO, Rome, 2006)	deciduous shrub

Altitude	325m
Physiographic Unit	slope in limestone mountains
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.	mountain
Slope	29%
Slope Aspect	east-north-east
Form of the slope surrounding the site	convex
Topography; Guidelines for soil description - Fourth edition (FAO, Rome, 2006)	hilly

Drainage class ; FAO (2006) - Guidelines for soil description	moderately well
Flooding frequency (FAO, 1986)	never
Kind of ground water table (USDA, 1979)	no groundwater table observed
Moist From - To	0-200cm
Estimated permeability (class) of least permeable part of the profile	moderate
Estimated run off (class)	rapid
Drainage class - intergrade; FAO (2006) - Guidelines for soil description	well

Evidence of alkali ; Soil Survey Manual USDA, 1951	non-alkaline
Surface cracking	no cracks observed
Slaking of aggregates by tillage, rainfall or frost (USDA/SCS, 1979)	no surface slaking/crusting observed
Micro relief type: small-scale differences in relief in the direct vicinity of the site (FAO, 1986)	level
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

You are here

Reference soil Italy 14: Nitisol

Characteristics

Reference soil IT014: Nitisols

Classification