Reference soil Zambia 10: Nitisol

ZM010

Distribution of Nitisols (rough estimation supplied by soilgrids)

No. of rain days applies to no. of days with more than 1 mm rainfall. References: Soil Survey Unit, Mt Makulu, Chilanga, profile COP 2/77

WRB 2006:

Acric Ferralic Nitisol(Hyperdystric Clayic Rhodic)
25-200 cm	nitic horizon

FAO-UNESCO-ISRIC 1988:

FAO-UNESCO 1974:

Hyperdystri-

Rhodic Nitisol

Rhodic Ferralsol

0-6 cm	ochric A horizon
6-150 cm	argic B horizon
	nitic properties

0-6 cm	ochric A horizon
6-200 cm	oxic B horizon

Other classification

USDA-NRCS (1999)

Typic

Haplustox

USDA-SCS (1975)

Typic

Haplustox

very fine

mixed

isohyperthermic

Classification (other)

Malashi clay

Location:

Copperbelt Province, Ndola Rural District, Mpongwe Block 1, traverse B2-Om

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Physical

Particle size distribution:

Depth (cm)		Gravel (%)	Very Coarse Sand (%)	Coarse Sand (%)	Medium Sand (%)	Fine Sand (%)	Very Fine Sand (%)	Total Sand (%)	Coarse Silt (%)	Fine Silt (%)	Total Silt (%)	Clay (%)
0-6	:	-	0.6	2.0	4.9	16.0	10.5	34	10.6	8.5	19.1	46.9
6-25	:	-	0.4	1.6	3.0	10.2	7.9	23.1	7.4	7.3	14.7	62.2
25-68	:	-	0.7	1.4	2.3	7.3	6.8	18.5	7.3	4.8	12.1	69.4
68-100	:	-	0.6	1.3	2.0	7.7	7.6	19.2	8.1	5.9	14	66.7
100-150	:	-	0.5	1.3	2.0	7.6	7.6	19	7.1	6.3	13.4	67.5
250-300	:	-	0.5	1.3	1.3	6.1	7.5	16.7	8.7	6.6	15.3	68.0
300-	:	-	4.2	14.6	17.1	18.6	35.6	90.1	8.5	0.3	8.8	1.0

Other physical data

Depth (cm)		Bulk Density (kg/dm³)	Spec. Surf. Area (m2/g)	COLE (cm/cm)	Water Disp. Clay (%)	Clay (%)
0-6	:	-	64	-	-	46.9
6-25	:	-	68	-	-	62.2
25-68	:	-	72	-	-	69.4
68-100	:	-	66	-	-	66.7
100-150	:	-	62	-	-	67.5
250-300	:	-	71	-	-	68.0
300-	:	-	1	-	-	1.0

Chemical characteristics

Depth (cm)		pH H2O	pH KCl	EC 1 : 2.5 (mS/cm)	CaCO3 (%)	Org. C (%)	Org. N (%)	C / N	Exch. Acid (cmol/kg)	Exch. Al (cmol/kg)	Ca (cmol/kg)	Mg (cmol/kg)	K (cmol/kg)	Na (cmol/kg)	Sum Cations (cmol/kg)
0-6	:	5.2	4.2	0.05	-	1.81	0.11	16	1.2	0.8	0.8	0.7	0.2	0	1.7
6-25	:	5.0	4.1	0.04	-	0.81	0.07	12	1.5	1.2	0.2	0.7	0.1	0	1
25-68	:	5.1	4.2	0.01	-	0.42	0.04	11	1.1	0.3	0.4	0.3	0.0	0	0.7
68-100	:	5.3	4.6	0.01	-	0.29	0.04	7	0.4	0.0	0.6	0.7	0.0	0	1.3
100-150	:	5.4	4.8	0.01	-	0.20	0.03	7	0.2	0.0	0.8	0.7	0.1	0	1.6
250-300	:	5.5	5.0	0.01	-	0.22	0.03	7	0.2	0.0	1.0	0.7	0.0	0	1.7
300-	:	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Depth (cm)		CEC Soil (cmol/kg)	CEC Clay (cmol/kg)	CEC Org (cmol/kg)	ECEC (cmol/kg)	Base sat. (%)	Al sat. (%)	ESP (%)
0-6	:	9.3	-	6.3	-	18	-	0
6-25	:	8.6	-	2.8	-	12	-	0
25-68	:	6.7	-	1.5	-	10	-	0
68-100	:	6.7	-	1.0	-	19	-	0
100-150	:	5.4	-	0.7	-	30	-	0
250-300	:	5.8	-	0.8	-	29	-	0
300-	:	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Depth (cm)		pH NaF	P Retention (%)	ODOE	Melanic Index	Fe o (wt%)	Al o (wt%)	Si o (wt%)	Fe d (wt%)	Al d (wt%)	Fe p (wt%)	Al p (wt%)	C p (wt%)
0-6	:	-	-	-	-	0.39	0.31	0	5.26	0.42	0.15	0.14	-
6-25	:	-	-	-	-	0.42	0.32	0	6.57	0.47	0.05	0.09	-
25-68	:	-	-	-	-	0.43	0.30	0	7.00	0.46	0.01	0.05	-
68-100	:	-	-	-	-	0.39	0.22	0	6.79	0.43	0.01	0.04	-
100-150	:	-	-	-	-	0.36	0.20	0	7.00	0.42	0.01	0.03	-
250-300	:	-	-	-	-	0.32	0.20	0	7.18	0.42	0.00	0.03	-
300-	:	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Elemental composition of the clay:

Depth (cm)		SiO2 (wt%)	Al2O3 (wt%)	Fe2O3 (wt%)	CaO (wt%)	MgO (wt%)	K2O (wt%)	Na2O (wt%)	TiO2 (wt%)
0-6	:	33.8	32.9	16.6	0.03	0.45	1.40	-	0.99
6-25	:	34.2	33.4	16.2	0.01	0.42	1.25	-	0.91
25-68	:	34.5	33.5	16.2	0.00	0.39	1.18	-	0.91
68-100	:	34.1	33.3	16.3	0.00	0.37	1.25	-	0.92
100-150	:	34.2	33.4	16.4	0.01	0.40	1.27	-	0.94
250-300	:	33.8	33.2	16.1	0.00	0.40	1.25	-	0.92
300-	:	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Depth (cm)		MnO2 (wt%)	P2O5 (wt%)	Ign.Loss clay (wt%)	Total clay (%)	SiO2 / Al2O3 (mol/mol)	SiO2 / Fe2O3 (mol/mol)	SiO2 / R (mol/mol)	Al2O3 / Fe2O3 (mol/mol)
0-6	:	0.10	0.40	11.9	98.57	1.7	5.4	1.3	3.1
6-25	:	0.07	0.30	12.1	98.86	1.7	5.6	1.3	3.2
25-68	:	0.06	0.23	12.3	99.27	1.7	5.7	1.3	3.2
68-100	:	0.06	0.15	12.4	98.85	1.7	5.6	1.3	3.2
100-150	:	0.05	0.18	12.3	99.15	1.7	5.5	1.3	3.2
250-300	:	0.05	0.15	12.4	98.27	1.7	5.6	1.3	3.2
300-	:	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Elemental composition of the soil:

Depth (cm)		SiO2 (wt%)	Al2O3 (wt%)	Fe2O3 (wt%)	CaO (wt%)	MgO (wt%)	K2O (wt%)	Na2O (wt%)	TiO2 (wt%)
0-6	:	60.0	17.8	10.5	0.04	0.32	0.92	-	2.13
6-25	:	52.2	21.8	11.9	0.02	0.33	0.96	-	1.77
25-68	:	50.5	24.6	13.0	0.01	0.36	1.03	-	1.64
68-100	:	51.0	23.8	12.7	0.02	0.35	1.05	-	1.65
100-150	:	51.2	24.4	13.2	0.03	0.36	1.09	-	1.74
250-300	:	51.2	25.3	13.1	0.03	0.35	1.13	-	1.57
300-	:	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Depth (cm)		MnO2 (wt%)	P2O5 (wt%)	LOI (wt%)	SiO2 / Al2O3 (mol/mol)	SiO2 / Fe2O3 (mol/mol)	SiO2 / R (mol/mol)	Al2O3 / Fe2O3 (mol/mol)
0-6	:	0.07	0.18	2.6	5.7	15.2	4.2	2.7
6-25	:	0.06	0.15	8.8	4.1	11.7	3.0	2.9
25-68	:	0.06	0.12	9.1	3.5	10.3	2.6	3
68-100	:	0.05	0.08	8.6	3.6	10.7	2.7	2.9
100-150	:	0.05	0.08	8.5	3.6	10.3	2.6	2.9
250-300	:	0.05	0.06	8.8	3.4	10.4	2.6	3.0
300-	:	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Clay mineralogy:

Depth (cm)		Kaolinite	Mica / illite	Vermiculite	Chlorite	Smec	Halloysite	Mixed layer	Quar	Feldspar	Gibbsite	Goethite	Hematite
0-6	:	strong	very weak to weak	-	-	-	-	weak to medium	-	-	weak to medium	very weak to weak	-
6-25	:	strong	very weak to weak	-	-	-	-	weak to medium	-	-	weak to medium	very weak to weak	-
25-68	:	strong	very weak to weak	-	-	-	-	weak to medium	-	-	weak to medium	very weak to weak	-
68-100	:	strong	very weak to weak	-	-	-	-	weak to medium	-	-	weak to medium	very weak to weak	-
100-150	:	strong	very weak to weak	-	-	-	-	weak to medium	-	-	weak to medium	very weak to weak	-
250-300	:	strong	very weak to weak	-	-	-	-	weak to medium	-	-	weak to medium	very weak to weak	-
300-	:	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Profile description:

Ah 0-6 cm	reddish brown (2.5YR 4/4, dry) dark reddish brown (2.5YR 3/4, moist), sandy clay, weak fine subangular blocky and and crumb, slightly hard friable slightly sticky slightly plastic, many fine and medium pores and few coarse pores moderately porous (40-60 vol%), common fine and few medium roots, non calcareous, clear smooth boundary to,
BA 6-25 cm	red (10R 4/6, dry) red (10R 4/6, moist), clay, moderate fine and medium subangular blocky, hard friable sticky plastic, broken moderately thick clay and sesquioxide cutans, common fine pores and few medium pores moderately porous (40-60 vol%), common fine and few medium roots, non calcareous, gradual smooth boundary to,
Bt1 25-68 cm	(10R 4.5/6, dry) (10R 3.5/6, moist), clay, moderate fine and medium subangular blocky and moderate coarse subangular blocky, hard friable sticky plastic, broken moderately thick clay and sesquioxide cutans, common fine pores and few medium pores moderately porous (40-60 vol%), few fine and medium roots, few weathered green schist fragments, non calcareous, diffuse smooth boundary to,
Bt2 68-200 cm	(10R 4.5/6, dry) (10R 3.5/6, moist), clay, weak fine and medium subangular blocky and weak coarse subangular blocky, hard friable sticky plastic, broken moderately thick clay and sesquioxide cutans, common fine and medium pores moderately porous (40-60 vol%), few fine roots, few weathered green schist fragments, non calcareous,

The main parent rock/ material over which the soil has been formed (1st entry)	dolomitic limestone
Mode of Accumulation or deposition of parent material (1st entry)	residual material
Texture of parent material (1st entry)	clayey
Weathering status of solid rock (1st entry)	highly
Resistance against weathering (solid rock) (1st entry)	poor
Depth1 of lithological boundary	cm
The main parent rock/ material over which the soil has been formed (2nd entry)
Resistance against weathering (solid rock) (2nd entry)
Soil Depth; depth to which roots can easily penetrate throughout the year	200 cm
Remarks on Parent Materials	limestone possibly intercalated with basic rocks

Soil erosion type (1st entry)
Occurrence of soil aggradation	absent
Slope Stability	stable

Current land use at the site	(semi-)natural vegetation
Major crops
Main type of irrigation
Rotation scheme
Vegetation Type;The natural vegetation at the site	woodland
Status of vegetation	cut over
Remarks on Land Use / Vegetation	Vegetation: Miombo (Brachystegia-Julbernardia-Isoberlinia) woodland with Hyperrenia, Panicum and Digitaria

The altitude of the soil profile relative to mean sea level, specified in meters	1200 m asl
Regional landform	plateau
Topography of the surrounding country	flat or almost flat
Physiographic Unit in the immediate surrounding of the site	gentle long slope
The slope refers to the inclination of the land immediately surrounding the site. The measured or estimated slope angle is specified to the nearest per cent	2 %
The physiographic position of the site where the profile is located	slope
Form of the slope surrounding the site	straight
Slope Aspect of the site	north

Depth of groundwater table	cm
Groundwater Top	cm
Groundwater Bottom	cm
Kind of groundwater table	no groundwater table observed
Top Stagnating Layer	cm
Bottom Stagnating Layer	cm
Runoff	slow
Flooding frequency	never
Estimated permeablity (class) of least permeable part of the profile	moderate
Drainage Class	well
To Drainage Class
Moisture conditions of the profile: dry from -to	cm
Moisture conditions of the profile: moist from -to	0-200 cm
Wet From - To	cm

Microrelief type: small-scale differences in relief in the direct vicinity of the site
Microrelief Pattern	none
Microrelief Height
Rockiness	none
Stoniness	none
Average size of stones
Shape of stones (on average)
Cracks	no cracks observed
Slaking of aggregates by tillage, rainfall or frost	no surface slaking/crusting observed
Evidence of salt	non-saline
Evidence of alkali	non-alkaline

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Reference soil Zambia 10: Nitisol