Reference soil Mozambique 03: Nitisol

MZ003

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 MZ003: Nitisols

Brief description of the profile: A very deep, well drained, dark red clay soil, moderately structured.About 2 cm of dry litter at the surface. Original vegetation: Brachystegia woodland ("miombo") -Windspeed measured at 2 meter -Magnetite is present in whole profile -Soft nodules have same colour as soil matrix, inner side of nodules is massive. -Horizon boundaries in subsoil are very diffuse

Classification

WRB 2006

WRB 1998

Acric-Ferralic- Nitisol (Dystric Rhodic)

Ferrali-Rhodic- Nitisol (Dystric)

15-185 cm	argic horizon
25-70 cm	nitic horizon
-	ferralic

FAO-UNESCO-ISRIC 1988

FAO-UNESCO-ISRIC 1974

Dystri-Rhodic Nitisol

Ferric Acrisol

0-25 cm	ochric A horizon
15-185 cm	argic B horizon
-	nitic

0-25 cm	ochric A horizon
15-185 cm	argillic B horizon
-	ferric

Local classification:	Chicunja

Other classification

USDA-SCS (1975)

Paleustult ustic clayey kaolinitic thermic

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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
0-5	-	0.4	2.9	8.3	14.6	7.8	34	7.2	19.1	26.3	39.8
5-17	-	0.4	2.7	7.3	12.6	6.7	29.7	4.3	12.2	16.5	53.7
17-30	-	0.4	2.3	5.4	8.8	5.2	22.1	4.5	6.2	10.7	67.2
30-60	-	0.3	1.8	4.0	6.7	3.8	16.6	4.5	6.3	10.8	72.6
60-95	-	0.4	1.9	4.4	7.5	4.3	18.5	5.4	14.3	19.7	61.8
95-160	-	0.4	1.6	3.0	6.0	4.5	15.5	7.1	15.3	22.4	62.1
160-260	-	1.9	4.0	4.3	5.6	4.2	20	8.6	15.4	24	56.0
330-390	-	0.5	2.2	3.5	5.7	4.9	16.8	9.8	23.8	33.6	49.5
600-670	-	0.2	1.3	4.4	8.9	6.6	21.4	24.2	36.9	61.1	17.4

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	-	-	-	28.5	39.8
20-26	1.24	-	-	-	-
40-46	1.26	-	-	-	-
5-17	-	-	-	17.4	53.7
17-30	-	77	-	21.8	67.2
104-110	1.11	-	-	-	-
30-60	-	82	-	1.5	72.6
60-95	-	70	-	0.0	61.8
95-160	-	70	-	0.0	62.1
160-260	-	-	-	0.0	56.0
330-390	-	-	-	0.0	49.5
600-670	-	-	-	-	17.4

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
20-26	1.24	54	52	41	33	30	28	27	25
40-46	1.26	51	50	41	35	33	31	30	29
104-110	1.11	56	54	47	36	31	28	25	24

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	5.5	4.9	0.09	-	1.98	0.14	14	0.1	0.0	2.9	2.5	0.1	0.7	6.2
5-17	5.5	4.7	0.05	-	1.36	0.11	12	0.1	0.0	2.5	1.8	0.1	0.6	5
17-30	5.8	4.9	0.03	-	0.64	0.06	11	0.0	0.0	2.5	1.6	0.1	0.5	4.7
30-60	5.6	5.2	0.02	-	0.29	0.05	6	0.0	0.0	2.1	1.4	0.1	0.6	4.2
60-95	5.6	5.4	0.01	-	0.19	0.03	6	0.0	0.0	1.6	1.1	0.2	0.5	3.4
95-160	5.8	5.7	0.01	-	0.15	0.02	8	0.0	0.0	1.4	1.2	0.1	0.3	3
160-260	5.8	5.7	0.01	-	0.07	0.04	2	0.0	0.0	1.9	1.3	0.2	0.5	3.9
330-390	6.0	5.6	0.01	-	0.06	0.03	2	0.0	0.0	2.3	2.1	0.2	0.4	5

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	38	16.2	41	6.9	-	0	4
5-17	36	14.0	26	4.8	-	0	4
17-30	38	12.3	18	2.2	-	0	4
30-60	43	9.8	13	1.0	-	0	6
60-95	43	7.9	13	0.7	-	0	6
95-160	40	7.5	12	0.5	-	0	4
160-260	43	9.0	16	0.2	-	0	6
330-390	50	10.1	20	0.2	-	0	4

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	-	-	-	0.29	0.07	5.72	0.30	0.02	0.10	-	0.25
5-17	-	-	-	0.30	0.06	6.29	0.32	0.03	0.10	-	0.29
17-30	-	-	-	0.29	0.04	6.58	0.31	0.02	0.09	-	0.34
30-60	-	-	-	0.25	0.08	6.68	0.31	0.01	0.07	-	0.31
60-95	-	-	-	0.19	0.10	6.66	0.29	0.00	0.06	-	0.22
95-160	-	-	-	0.16	0.11	6.35	0.27	0.00	0.05	-	0.19
160-260	-	-	-	0.19	0.12	7.05	0.33	0.00	0.05	-	0.17
330-390	-	-	-	0.18	0.02	6.72	0.31	0.00	0.06	-	0.14

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
60-95	36.8	36.6	13.4	0.02	0.05	0.06	-	0.85
95-160	34.9	36.2	14.9	0.02	0.05	0.06	-	0.89

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
60-95	0.06	0.14	14.3	102.28	1.7	7.3	1.4	4.3
95-160	0.05	0.12	14.6	101.79	1.6	6.2	1.3	3.8

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	20.4	0.16	18.3	0.34	0.19	-	44.4	5.34
5-17	22.4	0.13	17.6	0.32	0.17	-	43.3	4.75
17-30	25.8	0.1	16.2	0.25	0.13	-	42.4	3.78
30-60	28.5	0.07	15.0	0.21	0.11	-	40.8	3.07
60-95	28.4	0.06	15.7	0.21	0.09	-	41.8	3.40
95-160	29.4	0.05	15.9	0.16	0.11	-	40.2	3.33
160-260	29.1	0.06	15.7	0.09	0.13	-	42.4	2.63
330-390	29.4	0.07	14.3	0.07	0.11	-	42.1	2.31

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	1.7	10.8	0.22	0.29	3.7	6.5	2.3
5-17	2.0	10.7	0.20	0.24	3.3	6.5	2.2
17-30	2.5	11.0	0.17	0.23	2.8	7.0	2.0
30-60	3	11.8	0.14	0.16	2.4	7.2	1.8
60-95	2.8	11.2	0.11	0.08	2.5	7.1	1.8
95-160	2.9	11.6	0.09	0.08	2.3	6.7	1.7
160-260	2.9	11.0	0.29	0.09	2.5	7.2	1.8
330-390	3.2	11.4	0.09	0.07	2.4	7.8	1.9

Clay mineralogy

Depth (cm)	Chlorite	Feldspar	Gibbsite	Goethite	Halloysite	Hematite	Kaolinite	Mica / illite	Mixed-layer	Quartz	Smec	Vermiculite
0-5	-	-	weak to medium	weak to medium	-	weak	very strong	-	-	very weak	-	-
5-17	-	-	weak	weak to medium	-	weak	very strong	-	-	very weak	-	-
17-30	-	-	weak to medium	weak to medium	-	weak	very strong	-	-	very weak	-	-
30-60	-	-	weak to medium	weak to medium	-	weak	very strong	-	-	very weak	-	-
60-95	-	-	weak to medium	weak to medium	-	weak	very strong	-	-	very weak	-	-
95-160	-	-	weak to medium	weak to medium	-	weak	very strong	-	-	very weak	-	-
160-260	-	-	very weak to weak	weak to medium	-	weak	very strong	-	-	very weak	-	-
330-390	-	-	-	weak to medium	-	weak	very strong	-	-	very weak	-	-

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
30-60	-	2	-	98	1	87
95-160	36.9	10	63.1	100	-	90
330-390	-	3	-	94	1	85

Minerals

Depth (cm)	Grenate % w/w	Grossular % w/w	Muscovite % w/w	Rutile % w/w	Sillimanite % w/w	Spinel % w/w
30-60	-	-	-	1	-	-
330-390	-	-	-	1	-	-

Profile description

Ah 0-15 cm	(2.5YR 3/3, moist)clay,moderate very fine and fine subangular blocky to crumb,friable,many very fine and fine pores,many fine and medium roots,non calcareous,clear smooth boundary to,
15-25 cm	dark reddish brown (2.5YR 3/4, moist)clay,moderate fine and medium subangular blocky,hard friable,broken thin clay cutans,many very fine and fine pores,many fine and medium roots,non calcareous,gradual smooth boundary to,
Bt1 25-70 cm	dark reddish brown (2.5YR 3/4, moist)clay,moderate fine and medium subangular blocky,hard friable,few (2-5%) fine mottles 2.5YR2.5/0 (black),continuous thick clay cutans,many very fine and fine pores,many fine roots,non calcareous,gradual smooth boundary to,
Bt2 70-105 cm	(2.5YR 3/5, moist)clay,weak to moderate very fine and fine subangular blocky,slightly hard very friable,broken moderately thick clay cutans,many very fine and fine pores,many fine roots,few medium soft argillaceous nodules,non calcareous,diffuse smooth boundary to,
Bo 105-185 cm	(2.5YR 3/5, moist)clay,weak very fine and fine subangular blocky,slightly hard very friable,patchy moderately thick clay cutans,many very fine and fine pores,common fine roots,non calcareous,
Auger 185-400 cm	(10R 3/5, moist)clay,non calcareous,
Auger 400-600 cm	(10R 3/5, moist)clay,common weatherable minerals,non calcareous,
Auger 600-670 cm	dominant strongly weathered rotten rock fragmentsnon calcareous,

Kind 1 (parent material) ; Parker (eds), 1984	coarse-grained intermediate igneous
Mode of accumulation or deposition of parent material	residual material
Remarks on Parent Materials	Basement Complex
Texture of parent material	clayey
Weathering Resistance	moderate
General characterization of the status of weathering of solid rock	highly

Major crops	maize
Land use or vegetation in the immediate vicinity of the site	high level arable farming
Remarks on Land Use / Vegetation	VEGETATION: Recently cleared Brachystegia woodland

Altitude	1075m
Physiographic Unit	slope
Physiographic position of the site	upper slope
Regional landform; McDonald, R.C., Isbell, R.F. et all, 1984; Australian soil and land survey Field Handbook, Inkata Press, Melbourne.	plain
Slope	2%
Form of the slope surrounding the site	convex
Topography; Guidelines for soil description - Fourth edition (FAO, Rome, 2006)	undulating

Drainage class ; FAO (2006) - Guidelines for soil description	well
Dry From - To	17-200cm
Flooding frequency (FAO, 1986)	never
Kind of ground water table (USDA, 1979)	no groundwater table observed
Moist From - To	0-17cm
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
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
Surface stoniness class (FAO (2006) - Guidelines for soil description)	none

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Reference soil Mozambique 03: Nitisol

Characteristics

Reference soil MZ003: Nitisols

Classification