Reference soil Spain 18: Vertisol

ES018

Vertisols occur dominantly in level landscapes under climates with a pronounced dry season. Vast areas are found in Australia, India, northeastern Africa (Sudan, Ethiopia), southern Latin America and the USA.

Characteristics

Soils having a vertic horizon (a clayey subsurface horizon with polished and grooved ped surfaces ("slickensides") or wedge-shaped or parallelepiped structural aggregates) within 100 cm from the soil surface. They have 30 percent or more clay in all horizons to a depth of 100 cm or more, or to a contrasting layer (lithic or paralithic contact, petrocalcic, petroduric or petrogypsic horizons, sedimentary discontinuity, etc.) between 50 and 100 cm, after the upper 20 cm have been mixed. In addition, Vertisols exhibit wide cracks, which open and close periodically.

Distribution of Vertisols (rough estimation supplied by soilgrids)

Reference soil ES018: Vertisols

The profile consists of two parts: a colluvial upper part which merges via a transitional zone (at 52 cm) into a red clay. The colluvial part shows a yellowish red, fine textured surface soil, overlying a dark reddish brown, fine textured sub soil with moderate structure and showing many intersecting slickensides. A soft calcic horizon, which includes many clay nodules and occasional slickensides, forms the upper part of the red clay. At a depth of 115 cm it changes in a heavy, well structured clay with gley phenomena and prominent slickensides.

Classification

WRB 2014

Vertisol

FAO-UNESCO-ISRIC 1974

Chromic Vertisol

- cm	calcic horizon
- cm	ochric A horizon
-	slickensides
-	weatherable minerals

Other classification

USDA-SCS (1975)

Chromoxerert xeric clayey montmorillonitic thermic

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
0-15	-	0.9	4.8	5.4	9.8	7.6	28.5	5.2	15.4	20.6	51.4
15-27	-	0.7	5.5	5.4	8.7	6.6	26.9	5.8	13.4	19.2	54.2
27-42	-	1	5.6	5.2	8.5	6.6	26.9	6.9	13	19.9	53.2
42-52	-	0.8	6	5.1	8	6.4	26.3	7.2	11.7	18.9	54.6
52-66	-	1.6	6.7	5.8	8.3	6.7	29.1	7.9	38.1	46	24.8
66-82	-	1.4	7	6.1	12.2	10.5	37.2	9.9	10.3	20.2	43.1
82-102	-	2.3	6.4	5.2	10.7	10	34.6	8.5	10	18.5	46.8
102-118	-	1.8	6.3	6	17	15.9	47	8.9	6.8	15.7	37.5

Water retention characteristics

Depth (cm)	Bulk density kg/dm³	Spec. Surf. Area m²/g	COLE cm/cm	Water disp. clay %	Clay % w/w
0-15	-	-	-	-	51.4
15-27	-	-	-	-	54.2
27-42	-	-	-	-	53.2
42-52	-	-	-	-	54.6
52-66	-	-	-	-	24.8
66-82	-	-	-	-	43.1
82-102	-	-	-	-	46.8
102-118	-	-	-	-	37.5

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
0-15	8.2	6.7	0.23	0.2	0.41	0.06	7	-	-	44.0	6.9	0.9	0.0	51.8
15-27	8.0	6.1	0.14	0.1	0.38	0.06	6	-	-	36.8	6.5	0.4	0.0	43.7
27-42	8.0	6.3	0.22	0.3	0.32	0.06	5	-	-	36.9	6.7	0.3	0.0	43.9
42-52	8.3	6.8	0.23	6.2	0.29	0.06	5	-	-	36.8	6.5	0.2	0.0	43.5
52-66	8.4	6.9	0.26	30	0.25	0.05	5	-	-	31.1	5.5	0.2	0.0	36.8
66-82	8.7	7.2	0.23	56.6	0.16	0.02	8	-	-	25.4	4.1	0.2	0.0	29.7
82-102	8.7	7.2	0.28	50.8	0.06	0.02	3	-	-	24.0	4.7	0.2	0.0	28.9
102-118	8.7	7.4	0.22	69.8	0.03	0.02	2	-	-	18.5	3.2	0.1	0.0	21.8

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 %
0-15	112	46.3	90	1.4	-	-	-
15-27	106	41.3	76	1.3	-	-	-
27-42	100	43.8	82	1.1	-	-	-
42-52	105	41.3	76	1.0	-	-	-
52-66	116	31.7	128	0.9	-	-	-
66-82	124	24	56	0.6	-	-	-
82-102	118	24.5	52	0.2	-	-	-
102-118	128	17	45	0.1	-	-	-

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
0-15	-	-	-	0.25	0.1	1.44	0.21	0.16	0.25	-	0.16
15-27	-	-	-	0.25	0.1	1.49	0.21	0.16	0.25	-	0.16
27-42	-	-	-	0.23	0.1	1.56	0.19	0.16	0.23	-	0.16
42-52	-	-	-	0.21	0.1	1.38	0.16	0.17	0.21	-	0.17
52-66	-	-	-	0.14	0.1	1.01	0.06	0.09	0.14	-	0.09
66-82	-	-	-	0.06	0.1	0.66	0.03	0.04	0.06	-	0.04
82-102	-	-	-	0.04	0.1	0.69	0.03	0.03	0.04	-	0.03
102-118	-	-	-	0.04	0.1	0.49	0.03	0.02	0.04	-	0.02

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
0-15	0.8	4	99.2	50	1	100
27-42	0.7	2	99.3	50	3	95
66-82	0.6	2	99.4	53	2	96
102-118	0.5	2	99.5	46	1	97

Minerals

Depth (cm)	Anatase % w/w	Andalusite % w/w	Apatite % w/w	Augite % w/w	Biotite % w/w	Hornblende (basaltic) % w/w
0-15	3	5	-	-	-	2
27-42	2	5	-	-	-	2
66-82	1	8	-	-	-	1
102-118	-	3	-	2	-	-

Depth (cm)	Brookite % w/w	Chloritic % w/w	Disthene % w/w	Epidote % w/w	Garnet % w/w	Glaucophane % w/w
0-15	-	-	1	21	-	-
27-42	-	-	1	20	-	-
66-82	-	-	-	21	-	-
102-118	-	-	-	26	-	-

Depth (cm)	Grenate % w/w	Grossular % w/w	Muscovite % w/w	Rutile % w/w	Sillimanite % w/w	Spinel % w/w
0-15	37	-	-	2	-	-
27-42	36	-	-	2	-	-
66-82	41	-	-	3	-	-
102-118	23	-	-	7	-	-

Profile description

Ap1 0-3 cm	dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/6, dry) dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/6, moist)clay slightly gravelly,moderate medium crumb to strong medium crumb,slightly hard very friable very sticky very plastic,very few fine gravel calcareous gr. very few fine gravel quartz gravel fragments,abrupt wavy boundary to,
Ap2 3-15 cm	dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/6, dry) dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/6, moist)clay slightly gravelly,massive to weak fine subangular blocky,slightly hard very friable very sticky very plastic,few very fine tubular pores,very few fine gravel calcareous gr. very few fine gravel quartz gravel fragments,gradual smooth boundary to,
Ahi1 15-42 cm	(2.5YR 3.5/5, dry) (2.5YR 3/5, moist)clay slightly gravelly,moderate fine angular blocky,very hard firm very sticky very plastic,broken slickensides cutans,few very fine tubular pores,very few fine gravel calcareous gr. very few fine gravel quartz gravel fragments,gradual wavy boundary to,
Ahi2 42-52 cm	(2.5YR 3.5/5, dry) (2.5YR 3/5, moist)clay slightly gravelly,moderate fine angular blocky,very hard firm very sticky very plastic,many coarse distinct mottles (2.5YR 0/0),continuous slickensides cutans,few very fine tubular pores,very few fine gravel calcareous gr. very few fine gravel quartz gravel fragments,clear wavy boundary to,
AC 52-66 cm	(2.5YR 4/7, dry) (2.5YR 4/7, moist)clay,strong fine angular blocky,hard friable sticky very plastic,many medium distinct mottles,few very fine tubular pores few,diffuse smooth boundary to,
2Ck 66-93 cm	(2.5YR 5.5/6, moist)clay,weak fine subangular blocky,hard extremely firm very sticky very plastic,few fine faint mottles (2.5YR 4/6) and few fine faint mottles (10R 4/6),few very fine fine tubular pores,powdery soft calcareous soft segregations,few krotovinas,gradual smooth boundary to,
2Cki1 93-115 cm	(2.5YR 5.5/6, moist)clay,moderate to strong medium angular blocky to moderate to strong medium subangular blocky,very firm very sticky very plastic,patchy slickensides cutans,few very fine tubular pores,large argillaceous nodules,abrupt smooth boundary to,
2Cki2 115-200 cm	dusky red (10R 3/4, moist)clay,continuous slickensides cutans,large soft argillaceous soft segregations hard calcareous,

Depth1	66cm
Mode of accumulation or deposition of parent material	colluvial
Mode of accumulation or deposition of parent material (second entry)	unconsolidated, unspecified
Remarks on Parent Materials	Miocene clays
Soil Depth	200cm
Texture of parent material	clayey
Texture of parent material (second entry)	clayey

Major crops	perennial crops
Land use or vegetation in the immediate vicinity of the site	arable farming
Remarks on Land Use / Vegetation	vineyard with olive trees

Altitude	292m
Physiographic Unit	broad valley bottom
Physiographic position of the site	open depression
Regional landform; McDonald, R.C., Isbell, R.F. et all, 1984; Australian soil and land survey Field Handbook, Inkata Press, Melbourne.	valley
Slope	1%
Topography; Guidelines for soil description - Fourth edition (FAO, Rome, 2006)	undulating

Drainage class ; FAO (2006) - Guidelines for soil description	moderately well
Dry From - To	0-15cm
Kind of ground water table (USDA, 1979)	no groundwater table observed
Moist From - To	15-200cm

Evidence of alkali ; Soil Survey Manual USDA, 1951	non-alkaline
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

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Reference soil Spain 18: Vertisol

Characteristics

Reference soil ES018: Vertisols

Classification