Reference soil Zambia 05: Ferralsol

ZM005

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 ZM005: Ferralsols

Ferralsol

Classification

WRB 2006

Acric-Vetic- Ferralsol (Alumic Hyperdystric Xanthic)

32-160 cm

ferralic horizon

32-160 cm

ferralic horizon

FAO-UNESCO-ISRIC 1988

FAO-UNESCO-ISRIC 1974

Acri-Xanthic Ferralsol

Xanthic Ferralsol

0-32 cm	ochric A horizon
32-72 cm	ferralic B horizon
72-160 cm	cambic B horizon

0-32 cm	ochric A horizon
32-160 cm	oxic B horizon

Local classification:	Misamfu sandy loam

Other classification

USDA-NRCS (1999)	Typic Haplustox
USDA-SCS (1975)	Typic Haplustox ustic fine-loamy siliceous isohyperthermic

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
0-12	-	0.3	3.8	20.2	44.2	11.0	79.5	1.9	2.2	4.1	16.4
12-32	-	0.5	3.8	19.8	42.0	9.9	76	2.6	2.5	5.1	18.9
32-50	-	0.3	3.7	18.0	37.4	10.8	70.2	1.7	3.2	4.9	25.0
50-70	-	0.3	3.3	17.2	36.5	10.5	67.8	3.5	1.7	5.2	26.9
72-106	-	0.4	3.6	16.2	36.4	10.6	67.2	4.8	1.2	6	26.7
106-130	-	0.4	3.6	16.4	35.5	10.8	66.7	5.9	2.2	8.1	25.3
130-150	-	0.5	3.8	16.0	35.0	10.8	66.1	4.6	2.9	7.5	26.4

Water retention characteristics

Depth (cm)	Bulk density kg/dm³	Spec. Surf. Area m²/g	COLE cm/cm	Water disp. clay %	Clay % w/w
0-12	1.28	20	-	1.3	16.4
20-25	1.28	-	-	-	-
12-32	-	21	-	1.5	18.9
32-50	-	25	-	2.5	25.0
70-75	1.28	-	-	-	-
50-70	-	26	-	2.0	26.9
72-106	-	26	-	1.0	26.7
106-130	-	25	-	0.5	25.3
130-150	-	26	-	0.5	26.4

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
0-12	1.28	46	45	33	19	17	15	13	11
20-25	1.28	47	46	26	16	14	12	10	10
70-75	1.28	46	45	31	19	16	14	12	12

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
0-12	5.5	4.3	0.03	-	0.91	0.03	30	0.7	0.5	0.4	0.3	0	0.0	0.7
12-32	5.1	4.3	0.02	-	0.38	0.03	13	0.8	0.7	0.0	0.3	0	0.0	0.3
32-50	5.2	4.3	0.02	-	0.26	0.04	7	0.5	0.4	0.2	0.3	0	0.0	0.5
50-70	5.1	4.2	0.02	-	0.20	0.00	-	0.8	0.5	0.0	0.3	0	0.0	0.3
72-106	5.0	4.2	0.01	-	0.14	0.03	5	0.8	0.7	0.0	0.0	0	0.0	-
106-130	5.0	4.2	0.01	-	0.14	0.03	5	0.8	0.7	0.0	0.0	0	0.0	-
130-150	5.0	4.2	0.01	-	0.06	0.04	2	0.8	0.6	0.0	0.0	0	0.0	-

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 %
0-12	20	3.5	21	3.2	-	14	0
12-32	9	3.5	19	1.3	-	20	0
32-50	22	2.3	9	0.9	-	17	0
50-70	14	2.2	8	0.7	-	23	0
72-106	-	2.8	10	0.5	-	25	0
106-130	-	1.9	8	0.5	-	37	0
130-150	-	2.0	8	0.2	-	30	0

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
0-12	-	-	-	0.11	0	0.56	0.01	0.10	0.09	-	0.04
12-32	-	-	-	0.10	0	0.61	0.01	0.15	0.11	-	0.04
32-50	-	-	-	0.10	0	0.68	0.00	0.10	0.07	-	0.03
50-70	-	-	-	0.09	0	0.75	0.00	0.05	0.06	-	0.03
72-106	-	-	-	0.08	0	0.80	0.12	0.02	0.04	-	0.03
106-130	-	-	-	0.08	0	0.81	0.12	0.02	0.04	-	0.02
130-150	-	-	-	0.08	0	0.80	0.12	0.01	0.03	-	0.02

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
0-12	40.9	37.2	5.4	0.02	0.12	0.29	-	1.60
12-32	41.1	37.5	5.4	0.00	0.12	0.27	-	1.56
32-50	41.5	37.7	5.4	0.00	0.10	0.26	-	1.52
50-70	41.2	37.4	5.4	0.00	0.11	0.26	-	1.53
72-106	41.4	37.2	5.4	0.00	0.08	0.26	-	1.51
106-130	41.4	37.4	5.4	0.00	0.08	0.26	-	1.53
130-150	41.0	37.2	5.4	0.00	0.10	0.26	-	1.50

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
0-12	0.05	0.32	13.9	99.8	1.9	20.1	1.7	10.8
12-32	0.03	0.19	13.9	100.07	1.9	20.2	1.7	10.9
32-50	0.01	0.15	13.9	100.54	1.9	20.4	1.7	10.9
50-70	0.01	0.14	13.8	99.85	1.9	20.3	1.7	10.8
72-106	0.01	0.10	13.8	99.76	1.9	20.4	1.7	10.8
106-130	0.01	0.09	13.7	99.87	1.9	20.4	1.7	10.8
130-150	0.01	0.09	14.0	99.56	1.9	20.2	1.7	10.8

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
0-12	6.5	0.00	1.6	0.06	0.01	-	88.0	0.47
12-32	7.8	0.00	1.7	0.06	0.02	-	85.8	0.51
32-50	9.9	0.00	2.0	0.08	0.03	-	84.7	0.60
50-70	10.2	0.00	2.0	0.08	0.02	-	82.8	0.62
72-106	10.8	0.00	2.1	0.08	0.02	-	82.1	0.67
106-130	10.9	0.00	2.2	0.09	0.02	-	82.1	0.69
130-150	11.4	0.00	2.2	0.08	0.02	-	80.9	0.73

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
0-12	6.4	4.0	0.01	0.03	23	146.2	19.9
12-32	7.2	3.6	0.01	0.01	18.7	134.1	16.4
32-50	7.8	4.2	0.00	0.01	14.5	112.6	12.9
50-70	8	4.3	0.00	0.01	13.8	110	12.2
72-106	8.1	4.3	0.00	0.01	12.9	103.9	11.5
106-130	7.8	4.2	0.00	0.01	12.8	99.2	11.3
130-150	8.1	4.3	0.00	0.01	12	97.7	10.7

Clay mineralogy

Depth (cm)	Chlorite	Feldspar	Gibbsite	Goethite	Halloysite	Hematite	Kaolinite	Mica / illite	Mixed-layer	Quartz	Smec	Vermiculite
0-12	-	very weak to weak	-	weak to medium	-	-	very strong	very weak to weak	very weak to weak	-	-	-
12-32	-	-	-	weak to medium	-	-	very strong	very weak to weak	very weak to weak	-	-	-
32-50	-	-	-	weak to medium	-	-	very strong	very weak to weak	very weak to weak	-	-	-
50-70	-	-	-	weak to medium	-	-	very strong	-	very weak to weak	-	-	-
72-106	-	-	-	weak to medium	-	-	very strong	-	very weak to weak	-	-	-
106-130	-	-	-	weak to medium	-	-	very strong	-	very weak to weak	-	-	-
130-150	-	-	-	weak to medium	-	-	very strong	-	very weak to 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
72-106	0.2	-	99.8	33	-	100

Minerals

Depth (cm)	Anatase % w/w	Andalusite % w/w	Apatite % w/w	Augite % w/w	Biotite % w/w	Hornblende (basaltic) % w/w
72-106	10	-	-	-	-	-

Depth (cm)	Brookite % w/w	Chloritic % w/w	Disthene % w/w	Epidote % w/w	Garnet % w/w	Glaucophane % w/w
72-106	-	-	1	-	-	-

Depth (cm)	Grenate % w/w	Grossular % w/w	Muscovite % w/w	Rutile % w/w	Sillimanite % w/w	Spinel % w/w
72-106	-	-	-	9	-	-

Profile description

Ah 0-12 cm	dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4, moist) brown (7.5YR 5/4, dry)sandy loam,weak fine and medium subangular blocky,soft very friable non sticky non plastic,many very fine pores,many fine and medium roots,non calcareous,gradual smooth boundary to,
12-32 cm	(dark) brown (7.5YR 4/4, moist) strong brown (7.5YR 5/6, dry)sandy loam,very weak fine and medium subangular blocky,soft very friable non sticky non plastic,many very fine pores,common fine roots,non calcareous,diffuse smooth boundary to,
Bw1 32-72 cm	strong brown (7.5YR 5/6, moist) strong brown (7.5Y 5/8, dry)sandy clay loam,very weak fine and medium subangular blocky to crumb,soft friable slightly sticky slightly plastic,many very fine pores,common fine and medium roots,non calcareous,diffuse smooth boundary to,
Bw2 72-106 cm	strong brown (7.5YR 5/6, moist) reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/6, dry)strong brown (7.5YR 5/6, moist) reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/6, dry),sandy clay loam,sandy clay loam,very weak fine subangular blocky to crumb,very weak fine subangular blocky to crumb,soft friable slightly sticky slightly plastic,soft friable slightly sticky slightly plastic,many very fine pores,many very fine pores,few fine and medium roots,few fine and medium roots,non calcareous,non calcareous,diffuse smooth boundary to,

Kind 1 (parent material) ; Parker (eds), 1984	non calcareous sandstone
Mode of accumulation or deposition of parent material	residual material
Remarks on Parent Materials	Precambrian quartzites of the Kibaran System (Upper Basement Complex)
Soil Depth	150cm
Texture of parent material	loamy
Weathering Resistance	moderate
General characterization of the status of weathering of solid rock	highly

Occurrence of soil aggradation (McDonald et al., 1984)	absent
Slope stability	stable

Land use or vegetation in the immediate vicinity of the site	woodland, grazed
Remarks on Land Use / Vegetation	VEGETATION: Dominant species: Brachystegia spiciformis, Brachystegia boehmi, Julbernardia paniculata, Anysophyllea boehmi and Parinati curatellifolia
Status of vegetation; Guidelines for soil description - Fourth edition (FAO, Rome, 2006)	secondary
Major vegetation type; Guidelines for soil description - Fourth edition (FAO, Rome, 2006)	deciduous woodland

Altitude	1384m
Physiographic Unit	summit
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.	plateau
Slope	1%
Topography; Guidelines for soil description - Fourth edition (FAO, Rome, 2006)	undulating

Drainage class ; FAO (2006) - Guidelines for soil description	well
Flooding frequency (FAO, 1986)	never
Kind of ground water table (USDA, 1979)	no groundwater table observed
Moist From - To	0-160cm
Estimated permeability (class) of least permeable part of the profile	high
Estimated run off (class)	medium

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
Microrelief pattern	none
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 Zambia 05: Ferralsol

Characteristics

Reference soil ZM005: Ferralsols

Classification