Reference soil South Africa 13: Arenosol

ZA013

Arenosols occur over large areas in Africa, central and western Australia, the Middle East and central China. Smaller areas are found along coastlines all over the world.

Characteristics

Soils with a loamy sand or coarser texture either to a depth of at least 100 cm from the soil surface, or to a (petro-)plinthic or salic horizon between 50 and 100 cm from the soil surface. They contain less than 35 percent (by volume) rock fragments or other coarse fragments within 100 cm from the soil surface and have no diagnostic horizons other than an ochric, yermic or albic horizon, a (petro-)plinthic or salic horizon below 50 cm from the soil surface, or an argic or spodic horizon below 200 cm below the soil surface.

Distribution of Arenosols (rough estimation supplied by soilgrids)

Reference soil ZA013: Arenosols

BRIEF CHARACTERIZATION OF THE SOIL: orthic A horizon over E horizon, overlying soft plinthic B horizon. ADDITIONAL NOTES ON PROFILE DESCRIPTION: A11 - held together by roots. B -"soft plinthic B horizon"; mottles: also other reddish colours; weakly cemented.

Classification

WRB 2006

WRB 1998

Hyperalbic- Arenosol (Dystric)

Dystri-Albic- Arenosol

20-110 cm

albic horizon

FAO-UNESCO-ISRIC 1988

FAO-UNESCO-ISRIC 1974

Dystri-Albic Arenosol

Albic Arenosol

0-20 cm	ochric A horizon
20-110 cm	albic E horizon

0-20 cm	ochric A horizon
20-110 cm	albic E horizon
-	albic material

Local classification:	Longlands Form, Sherbrook Family

Other classification

USDA-NRCS (1999)	Oxyaquic Quartzipsamment
USDA-SCS (1975)	Oxyaquic Quartzipsamment udic 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
0-20	1	4.6	12.7	26.3	31.5	5.2	80.3	11.9	1.9	13.8	5.9
20-50	1	3.7	10.7	24.4	35.1	6.8	80.7	9.8	4.4	14.2	5.0
50-80	1	3.9	8.1	22.5	36.7	7.1	78.3	11.2	4.3	15.5	6.5
80-110	4	10.1	11.0	19.3	31.4	7.3	79.1	15.4	3.9	19.3	1.7
110-	16	18.0	12.3	15.8	18.0	5.7	69.8	12.9	8.6	21.5	8.6

Water retention characteristics

Depth (cm)	Bulk density kg/dm³	Spec. Surf. Area m²/g	COLE cm/cm	Water disp. clay %	Clay % w/w
0-20	-	-	-	-	5.9
20-50	-	-	-	-	5.0
50-80	-	-	-	-	6.5
80-110	-	-	-	-	1.7
110-	-	-	-	-	8.6

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	5.2	4.4	0.03	-	0.66	0.04	17	0.5	0.2	1.9	0.5	0.1	0.3	2.8
20-50	5.2	4.3	0.02	-	0.58	0.03	19	0.5	0.2	1.0	0.3	0.1	0.3	1.7
50-80	5.4	4.3	0.02	-	0.31	0.03	10	0.5	0.2	0.8	0.3	0.1	0.3	1.5
80-110	5.6	4.6	0.01	-	0.19	0.03	6	0.2	0.0	0.6	0.1	0.0	0.3	1
110-	5.8	4.8	0.01	-	0.16	0.02	8	0.1	0.0	0.6	0.6	0.1	0.3	1.6

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	58	4.8	81	2.3	-	7	6
20-50	39	4.4	88	2.0	-	11	7
50-80	34	4.4	68	1.1	-	12	7
80-110	32	3.1	182	0.7	-	0	10
110-	46	3.5	41	0.6	-	0	9

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	-	-	-	-	-	0.4	-	-	-	-	-
20-50	-	-	-	-	-	0.4	-	-	-	-	-
50-80	-	-	-	-	-	0.4	-	-	-	-	-
80-110	-	-	-	-	-	0.0	-	-	-	-	-
110-	-	-	-	-	-	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
0-20	63.0	18.5	7.8	0.02	0.51	1.16	-	2.41
20-50	62.5	17.1	7.3	0.00	0.43	0.92	-	2.51
50-80	59.0	18.3	7.7	0.01	0.47	0.87	-	2.44
80-110	65.4	17.4	7.5	0.01	0.42	0.89	-	3.19
110-	64.0	17.6	7.7	0.00	0.31	0.68	-	3.03

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
0-20	8.00	0.34	7.3	109.04	5.8	21.5	4.6	3.7
20-50	0.05	0.34	7.0	98.15	6.2	22.8	4.9	3.7
50-80	0.03	0.41	6.6	95.83	5.5	20.4	4.3	3.7
80-110	0.03	0.41	6.6	101.8	6.4	23.1	5	3.6
110-	0.03	0.21	6.8	100.36	6.2	22.1	4.8	3.6

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
0-20	1.5	0.00	0.9	0.25	0.07	-	96.4	0.41
20-50	1.5	0.00	0.8	0.19	0.05	-	96.4	0.42
50-80	1.7	0.00	0.9	0.20	0.05	-	97.5	0.43
80-110	0.8	0.00	0.4	0.16	0.01	-	99.0	0.34
110-	2.7	0.00	1.5	0.29	0.05	-	95.4	0.64

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
0-20	2.6	1.5	0.00	0.01	109	284.7	78.8
20-50	2.9	1.2	0.00	0.01	109	320.3	81.3
50-80	3	1.1	0.00	0.01	97.3	287.9	72.7
80-110	3.1	0.3	0.00	0.00	210	657.8	159.2
110-	2.8	1.0	0.00	0.00	60	169	44.3

Clay mineralogy

Depth (cm)	Chlorite	Feldspar	Gibbsite	Goethite	Halloysite	Hematite	Kaolinite	Mica / illite	Mixed-layer	Quartz	Smec	Vermiculite
0-20	-	very weak to weak	-	-	-	-	weak to medium	very weak to weak	-	strong	-	very weak to weak
20-50	-	very weak to weak	-	-	-	-	weak to medium	-	very weak to weak	strong	-	-
50-80	-	very weak to weak	-	-	-	-	weak to medium	-	very weak to weak	strong	-	-
80-110	-	-	-	-	-	-	weak to medium	-	very weak to weak	strong	-	-
110-	-	very weak to weak	-	-	-	-	weak to medium	-	very weak to weak	strong	-	-

Profile description

Ah1 0-5 cm	(5YR 4.5/2, dry) (5YR 3.5/3, moist)Description sand,very weak fine subangular blocky,slightly hard very friable non sticky non plastic,highly porous (>60 vol%),common fine roots,non calcareous,gradual smooth boundary to,
Ah2 5-20 cm	(5YR 4.5/3, dry) (5YR 3.5/3, moist)Description sand,structureless,slightly hard very friable non sticky non plastic,highly porous (>60 vol%),common fine roots,non calcareous,gradual smooth boundary to,
EA 20-80 cm	(5YR 5.5/3, dry) (5YR 4.5/3, moist)Description sand,structureless,slightly hard very friable non sticky non plastic,highly porous (>60 vol%),common fine roots,non calcareous,gradual smooth boundary to,
E 80-110 cm	(5YR 4.5/4, moist)Description sand,structureless,slightly hard very friable non sticky non plastic,highly porous (>60 vol%),common fine roots,non calcareous,abrupt smooth boundary to,
B(v) 110-120 cm	(5YR 4.5/3, moist)Description sand,structureless,many (15-40%) coarse prominent sharp mottles 2.5YR4/8 (red),moderately porous (40-60 vol%),frequent large irregular soft ferruginous concretions,continuous weakly cemented plinthite pans,non calcareous,

Kind 1 (parent material) ; Parker (eds), 1984	sandstone
Mode of accumulation or deposition of parent material	colluvial
Remarks on Parent Materials	Table Mountain Sandstone formation
Texture of parent material	sandy
Weathering Resistance	moderate
General characterization of the status of weathering of solid rock	highly

Intensity of the soil erosion type	moderate
Soil erosion type	gully

Land use or vegetation in the immediate vicinity of the site	recreational use
Remarks on Land Use / Vegetation	VEGETATION: Aristides grasses. LAND USE: Shooting range
Major vegetation type; Guidelines for soil description - Fourth edition (FAO, Rome, 2006)	grassland

Altitude	715m
Physiographic Unit	recently eroded gully
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.	low hill
Slope	24%
Slope Aspect	north
Form of the slope surrounding the site	concave
Topography; Guidelines for soil description - Fourth edition (FAO, Rome, 2006)	rolling

Drainage class ; FAO (2006) - Guidelines for soil description	well
Dry From - To	0-110cm
Flooding frequency (FAO, 1986)	never
Kind of ground water table (USDA, 1979)	no groundwater table observed
Moist From - To	110-12cm
Estimated permeability (class) of least permeable part of the profile	high
Estimated run off (class)	medium
Drainage class - intergrade; FAO (2006) - Guidelines for soil description	somewhat excessive

Evidence of alkali ; Soil Survey Manual USDA, 1951	non-alkaline
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 South Africa 13: Arenosol

Characteristics

Reference soil ZA013: Arenosols

Classification