Reference soil Spain 24: Gypsisol

ES024

Gypsisols occur in the dry parts of the semi-arid regions where evapotranspiration exceeds considerably the precipitation, and where a source of sulphate is present to form gypsum (CaSO4.2H2O).

Characteristics

Soils having a (petro-)gypsic horizon (horizon with accumulation of secondary gypsum) or 15 percent or more gypsum accumulated under wet conditions. They have no diagnostic horizons other than an ochric or cambic horizon, an argic horizon permeated with gypsum or calcium carbonate, or a (petro-)calcic horizon below the gypsic horizon.

Distribution of Gypsisols (rough estimation supplied by soilgrids)

Reference soil ES024: Gypsisol

WRB 2015

Gypsisol

100-160 cm	gypsic horizon
10-160 cm	calcic horizon

Location:

Boix, Lleida

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Physical

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
0-10	-	0.221	0.156	0.299	1.248	6.796	8.7	16	35.313	51.3	39.956
10-35	-	0.23	0.249	0.268	0.805	10.211	11.7	17.4	31.067	48.5	39.757
35-61	-	1.829	0.79	0.977	1.892	13.325	18.8	20.2	28.287	48.5	32.709
61-75	-	1.109	0.877	1.083	3.12	17.663	23.9	21.5	26.083	47.6	28.464
75-90	-	1.118	1.22	3.93	5.98	20.601	32.8	20.5	22.237	42.7	24.549
90-100	-	0.933	1.907	4.622	6.502	17.474	31.4	17.5	22.02	39.5	29.061
100-160	-	0.37	0.231	0.786	2.313	17.623	21.3	23	21.723	44.7	33.978

Chemical characteristics:

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
0-10	7.74	7.14	2.379	29.123	2.616	0.269	9.723	-	-	194.494	1.799	0.5	0	196.8
10-35	7.89	7.13	2.38	21.409	0.761	0.113	6.742	-	-	360.736	1.031	0.201	0	361.9
35-61	7.95	7.32	2.426	22.38	0.424	0.092	4.624	-	-	381.924	1.101	0.125	0	383.1
61-75	7.97	7.38	2.396	19.029	0.406	0.133	3.033	-	-	354.237	0.903	0.073	0	355.2
75-90	8	7.4	2.359	31.993	0.571	0.051	11.102	-	-	366.169	1.126	0.15	0	367.5
90-100	7.95	7.24	2.719	38.085	1.019	0.092	11.1	-	-	339.763	2.611	0.176	0	342.6
100-160	8.03	7.06	2.537	11.333	0.42	0.031	13.723	-	-	383.57	1.213	0.025	0	384.8

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 %
0-10	100	27.517	-	-	-	-	-
10-35	100	10.213	-	-	-	-	-
35-61	100	7.69	-	-	-	-	-
61-75	100	5.098	-	-	-	-	-
75-90	100	7.456	-	-	-	-	-
90-100	100	11.004	-	-	-	-	-
100-160	100	2.848	-	-	-	-	-

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
0-10	11.437	-	3.672	7.67	38.409	1.547	-	-	3.544
10-35	41.462	-	0.503	7.81	36.951	2.806	-	-	7.798
35-61	45.77	-	0.596	7.88	29.095	3.615	-	-	7.917
61-75	57.011	-	0.172	7.89	23.98	4.484	-	-	10.666
75-90	34.942	-	0.593	7.92	21.139	3.411	-	-	6.9
90-100	21.829	-	0.888	7.88	24.349	4.712	-	-	4.562
100-160	73.984	-	0	7.93	28.471	5.506	-	-	14.41

Profile description

Ah 0-10 cm	dark yellowish brown; granular; slightly plastic; none; none (0%); very high (> 40%); common; nodule; medium artefacts (6-20 mm); interstitial; earthworm channels; disperse powdery lime; smooth; nearly plane surface
Abk 10-35 cm	dark yellowish brown; angular blocky; slightly plastic; none; none (0%); low (2-5%); few; nodule; none (0%); fine (0.5-2 mm); none; strongly calcareous (10–25%); smooth; nearly plane surface
Bck 35-61 cm	strong brown; angular blocky; slightly plastic; none; none (0%); low (2-5%); few; nodule; none (0%); fine (0.5-2 mm); none; strongly calcareous (10–25%); smooth; nearly plane surface
2Ck1 61-75 cm	brown; massive; slightly plastic; none (0%); low (2-5%); nodule; fine artefacts (2-6 mm); none; strongly calcareous (10–25%); smooth; nearly plane surface
3Ck2 75-90 cm	brown; massive; none (0%); none (0%); few; strongly calcareous (10–25%); smooth; nearly plane surface
3Ck3 90-100 cm	dark yellowish brown; massive; none (0%); soft concretion; none (0%); none; soft concretions; smooth; nearly plane surface
3Cky 100-160 cm	4; massive; coarse (> 20 mm); none (0%); disperse powdery lime;

Age of the land Surface	holocene (100–10 000 years) natural: with loss by erosion or deposition of materials such as on tidal flats, of coastal dunes, in river valleys, landslides or desert areas.
Remarks on Parent Materials	Quarternary sediments, layering with gravel and sand. Slope deposits on the lower slope.

Intensity of the soil erosion type	slight
Soil erosion type	gully erosion
Classification of erosion, by activity	active in historical times
Classification of total area affected by erosion and deposition	0%-5%

Land improvements ; Guidelines for soil description - Fourth edition (FAO, Rome, 2006)	vegetation disturbed (not specified)
Land use or vegetation in the immediate vicinity of the site	plantation forestry
Remarks on Land Use / Vegetation	Species: Pinus halepensis since 1960
Major vegetation type; Guidelines for soil description - Fourth edition (FAO, Rome, 2006)	coniferous forest

Altitude	482m
Hierarchy of major landforms	medium-gradient hill
Physiographic Unit	lower slope (foot slope) in undulating to mountainous terrain
Slope	06%
Slope Aspect	south-west
Form of the slope surrounding the site	convex

Drainage class ; FAO (2006) - Guidelines for soil description	well drained
Depth to groundwater table	> 200 cm

Surface stoniness class (FAO (2006) - Guidelines for soil description)	none (0%)
Surface cracking	no cracks observed
Recommended classification of rock outcrops - distance between rock outcrops	none (0%)
Classification of salt characteristics - cover	none (0-2%)

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Reference soil Spain 24: Gypsisol

Characteristics

Reference soil ES024: Gypsisol