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Vertisols of the world A more detailed map of the global distribution of Vertisols. A vertisol is a Soil Order in the USDA soil taxonomy [1] and a Reference Soil Group in the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB). [2] It is also defined in many other soil classification systems. In the Australian Soil Classification it is called ...
Expansive clay, also called expansive soil, is a clay soil prone to large volume changes (swelling and shrinking) directly related to changes in water content. [1] Soils with a high content of expansive minerals can form deep cracks in drier seasons or years; such soils are called vertisols.
Other soils which have a mollic epipedon are classified as Vertisols because high shrink swell characteristics and relatively high clay contents dominate over the mollic epipedon. These soils are especially common in parts of South America in the Paraná River basin receiving abundant but erratic rainfall and extensive deposition of clay -rich ...
Water-reactive substances [1] are those that spontaneously undergo a chemical reaction with water, often noted as generating flammable gas. [2] Some are highly reducing in nature. [ 3 ] Notable examples include alkali metals , lithium through caesium , and alkaline earth metals , magnesium through barium .
Soils with this shrink-swell capacity fall under the soil order of Vertisols. [6] As these soils dry, deep cracks can form on the surface, which then allows water to penetrate to deeper levels of the soil. [7] This can cause the swelling of these soils to become cyclical, with periods of both shrinking and swelling.
A soil family category is a group of soils within a subgroup and describes the physical and chemical properties which affect the response of soil to agricultural management and engineering applications. The principal characteristics used to differentiate soil families include texture, mineralogy, pH, permeability, structure, consistency, the ...
Cation-exchange capacity (CEC) is a measure of how many cations can be retained on soil particle surfaces. [1] Negative charges on the surfaces of soil particles bind positively-charged atoms or molecules (cations), but allow these to exchange with other positively charged particles in the surrounding soil water. [2]
The main processes of soil formation of oxisols are weathering, humification and pedoturbation due to animals. These processes produce the characteristic soil profile.They are defined as soils containing at all depths no more than ten percent weatherable minerals, and low cation exchange capacity.