Reference soil Kenya 11: Ferralsol

KE011

Ferralsols occur in tropical and subtropical regions of the world, mainly on old and stable land surfaces.

Characteristics

Soils having a ferralic horizon (strongly weathered horizon with low-activity clays and very low amounts of weatherable minerals) between 25 and 200 cm from the soil surface. They lack a nitic horizon (a horizon with strongly developed, nut-shaped structure) and do not have a layer which fulfils the requirements of an argic horizon and which has, in the upper 30 cm, 10 percent or more water-dispersible clay.

Distribution of Ferralsols (rough estimation supplied by soilgrids)

Reference soil KE011: Ferralsols

Ferralsol

Classification

WRB 2006

WRB 1998

Lixic-Vetic- Ferralsol (Eutric Rhodic)

Veti-Lixic- Ferralsol (Hypereutric Rhodic)

11-250 cm

ferralic horizon

FAO-UNESCO-ISRIC 1988

FAO-UNESCO-ISRIC 1974

Lixi-Rhodic Ferralsol

Rhodic Ferralsol

0-11 cm	ochric A horizon
11-250 cm	ferralic B horizon
12-250 cm	argic B horizon

0-11 cm	ochric A horizon
11-250 cm	oxic B horizon

Other classification

USDA-NRCS (1999)	Rhodic Kandiustalf
USDA-SCS (1975)	Rhodic Haplustox ustic loamy kaolinitic isohyperthermic

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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
0-11	-	0.1	3.1	49.8	29.4	1.1	83.5	1.1	0.2	1.3	15.1
11-22	-	0.1	1.9	44.2	32.7	1.1	80	0.2	0.6	0.8	19.2
22-50	-	0.0	1.6	39.4	31.1	1.2	73.3	0.2	0.6	0.8	25.9
50-85	-	0.0	1.6	37.0	26.1	1.4	66.1	0.7	1.1	1.8	32.2
85-180	-	0.0	1.5	34.2	24.7	1.4	61.8	0.9	0.4	1.3	36.9
180-250	-	0.0	1.1	30.0	25.9	1.7	58.7	0.9	1.5	2.4	38.9

Water retention characteristics

Depth (cm)	Bulk density kg/dm³	Spec. Surf. Area m²/g	COLE cm/cm	Water disp. clay %	Clay % w/w
12-17	1.52	-	-	-	-
0-11	-	19	-	3.0	15.1
48-53	1.43	-	-	-	-
11-22	-	22	-	3.5	19.2
98-103	1.42	-	-	-	-
22-50	-	-	-	0.5	25.9
50-85	-	34	-	0.5	32.2
85-180	-	43	-	2.5	36.9
180-250	-	-	-	2.0	38.9

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
12-17	1.52	40.0	38.8	29.5	16.2	14.4	13.1	9.3	9.0
48-53	1.43	43.3	42.0	32.8	20.8	17.1	14.6	11.3	10.4
98-103	1.42	43.0	42.7	35.3	24.3	20.1	17.0	14.7	13.5

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
0-11	5.3	4.3	0.05	-	0.90	0.07	13	0.2	0.2	0.4	0.6	0.2	0.5	1.7
11-22	5.1	4.2	0.03	-	0.48	0.04	12	0.3	0.2	0.4	0.3	0.1	0.2	1
22-50	5.3	4.5	0.03	-	0.24	0.02	12	0.1	0.0	0.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	1
50-85	5.3	4.5	0.03	-	0.15	-	-	0.1	0.0	0.0	1.2	0.1	0.4	1.7
85-180	5.3	4.5	0.03	-	0.12	-	-	0.1	0.0	0.0	1.5	0.1	0.5	2.1
180-250	5.1	4.3	0.03	-	0.11	-	-	0.1	0.1	0.4	1.5	0.1	0.1	2.1

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 %
0-11	81	2.1	14	3.2	-	10	24
11-22	63	1.6	8	1.7	-	13	13
22-50	63	1.6	3.0	0.8	-	0	0
50-85	142	1.2	4	0.5	-	0	33
85-180	131	1.6	4	0.4	-	0	31
180-250	124	1.7	4	0.4	-	6	6

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
0-11	-	-	-	0.04	-	1.35	0.07	0.03	0.04	-	0.04
11-22	-	-	-	0.04	-	1.79	0.08	0.02	0.03	-	0.05
22-50	-	-	-	0.05	-	2.32	0.10	0.00	0.01	-	0.07
50-85	-	-	-	0.06	-	2.77	0.10	0.00	0.01	-	0.07
85-180	-	-	-	0.05	-	3.41	0.12	0.00	0.00	-	0.08
180-250	-	-	-	0.05	-	3.29	0.12	0.00	0.01	-	0.06

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
0-11	-	4.3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
11-22	-	2.5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
22-50	-	1.1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
50-85	-	0.6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
85-180	-	0.6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
180-250	-	0.7	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
0-11	36.4	30.5	11.5	0.03	0.30	0.13	-	0.70
11-22	36.0	30.4	11.2	0.03	0.10	0.11	-	0.60
22-50	37.7	31.7	11.6	0.02	0.20	0.10	-	0.60
50-85	37.7	31.9	11.4	0.01	0.10	0.10	-	0.60
85-180	34.8	29.7	10.9	0.02	0.10	0.09	-	0.60
180-250	36.8	30.9	11.5	0.02	0.20	0.10	-	0.70

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
0-11	0.70	0.12	15.5	95.88	2	8.4	1.6	4.2
11-22	0.50	0.06	14.5	93.5	2	8.5	1.6	4.3
22-50	0.40	0.05	13.6	95.97	2	8.6	1.6	4.3
50-85	0.30	0.03	13.5	95.64	2	8.8	1.6	4.4
85-180	0.20	0.02	14.1	90.53	2	8.5	1.6	4.3
180-250	0.20	0.06	13.1	93.58	2	8.5	1.6	4.2

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
0-11	5.8	0.02	3.8	0.25	0.02	-	83.3	1.29
11-22	7.5	0.02	4.6	0.25	0.02	-	83.9	1.45
22-50	10.6	0.02	5.6	0.27	0.03	-	78.8	1.41
50-85	12.7	0.01	6.1	0.26	0.02	-	74.6	1.34
85-180	14.3	0.01	7.0	0.26	-	-	70.2	1.48
180-250	14.3	-	7.0	0.26	0.06	-	72.6	1.45

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
0-11	2.4	4.2	0.25	-	24.4	58.4	17.2
11-22	2.6	3.4	0.28	-	19	48.6	13.6
22-50	3.0	4.1	0.26	-	12.6	37.5	9.4
50-85	3.3	3.9	0.22	-	10	32.6	7.6
85-180	3.2	5.5	0.17	-	8.3	26.7	6.3
180-250	3.2	5.3	0.10	-	8.6	27.6	6.6

Clay mineralogy

Depth (cm)	Chlorite	Feldspar	Gibbsite	Goethite	Halloysite	Hematite	Kaolinite	Mica / illite	Mixed-layer	Quartz	Smec	Vermiculite
0-11	-	-	-	weak to medium	-	-	very strong	-	-	-	-	-
11-22	-	-	-	weak to medium	-	-	very strong	-	-	-	-	-
22-50	-	-	-	weak to medium	-	-	very strong	-	-	-	-	-
50-85	-	-	-	weak to medium	-	-	very strong	-	-	-	-	-
85-180	-	-	-	weak to medium	-	-	very strong	-	-	-	-	-
180-250	-	-	-	weak to medium	-	-	very strong	-	-	-	-	-

Sand mineralogy

Depth (cm)	Heavy Frac. sand % w/w	K-Feldspar % w/w	Light Fra. sand % w/w	Opaque % w/w	Plagioclase % w/w	Quartz % w/w
85-180	5.2	4	94.8	65	-	96

Minerals

Depth (cm)	Anatase % w/w	Andalusite % w/w	Apatite % w/w	Augite % w/w	Biotite % w/w	Hornblende (basaltic) % w/w
85-180	-	1	-	-	-	-

Depth (cm)	Brookite % w/w	Chloritic % w/w	Disthene % w/w	Epidote % w/w	Garnet % w/w	Glaucophane % w/w
85-180	-	-	11	-	-	-

Depth (cm)	Grenate % w/w	Grossular % w/w	Muscovite % w/w	Rutile % w/w	Sillimanite % w/w	Spinel % w/w
85-180	-	-	-	23	55	-

Profile description

Ah 0-11 cm	(10YR 2.5/ 2, moist), dusky red (10R 3/4, dry)sandy clay loam,very weak fine and medium subangular blocky to granular,soft very friable sticky slightly plastic,many fine pores,many fine and medium roots,non calcareous,clear smooth boundary to,
11-22 cm	(10YR 2.5/2, moist), dusky red (10R 3/4, dry)sandy clay loam,very weak fine and medium subangular blocky to granular,slightly hard very friable slightly sticky slightly plastic,many very fine and fine pores,common fine and medium roots,non calcareous,diffuse smooth boundary to,
Bo1 22-50 cm	dusky red (10R 3/3, moist)sandy clay loam,very weak fine and medium subangular blocky to granular,soft very friable slightly sticky slightly plastic,many very fine and fine pores,few fine and medium roots,non calcareous,diffuse smooth boundary to,
Bo2 50-85 cm	dusky red (10R 3/3, moist)sandy clay loam,very weak medium and coarse subangular blocky to granular,soft very friable slightly sticky slightly plastic,many very fine and fine pores,few fine and medium roots,non calcareous,diffuse smooth boundary to,
Bo3 85-180 cm	dusky red (10R 3/3, moist)sandy clay loam,very weak medium subangular blocky to granular,soft very friable slightly sticky slightly plastic,many very fine and fine pores,few fine and medium roots,non calcareous,

Kind 1 (parent material) ; Parker (eds), 1984	sandstone
Mode of accumulation or deposition of parent material	marine sediments
Remarks on Parent Materials	Margarini sands
Texture of parent material	loamy

Land use or vegetation in the immediate vicinity of the site	(semi-)natural vegetation
Major vegetation type; Guidelines for soil description - Fourth edition (FAO, Rome, 2006)	evergreen woodland

Altitude	160m
Physiographic Unit	marine terrace
Physiographic position of the site	flat
Regional landform; McDonald, R.C., Isbell, R.F. et all, 1984; Australian soil and land survey Field Handbook, Inkata Press, Melbourne.	coastal plain
Slope	1%
Form of the slope surrounding the site	straight
Topography; Guidelines for soil description - Fourth edition (FAO, Rome, 2006)	flat or almost flat

Drainage class ; FAO (2006) - Guidelines for soil description	well
Flooding frequency (FAO, 1986)	never
Depth to groundwater table	0cm
Kind of ground water table (USDA, 1979)	no groundwater table observed
(Estimated) minimum (upper) depth to groundwater table	0cm
Estimated permeability (class) of least permeable part of the profile	moderate
Estimated run off (class)	slow

Evidence of alkali ; Soil Survey Manual USDA, 1951	non-alkaline
Surface cracking	no cracks observed
Microrelief Height: variation in height	0
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 Kenya 11: Ferralsol

Characteristics

Reference soil KE011: Ferralsols

Classification