What is Alfisol soil good for?

What is Alfisol soil good for?

Alfisols form in semi-arid to humid areas, typically under a hardwood forest cover. They have a clay-enriched subsoil and relatively high native fertility. Because of their productivity and abundance, the Alfisols represent one of the more important soil orders for food and fiber production.

Is Alfisol good for agriculture?

Alfisols are mostly found in temperate humid and subhumid regions of the world. This, along with the native fertility, allows Alfisols to be very productive soils for agriculture and silviculture. Alfisols have a thin, dark A horizon, rich in organic matter and nutrients.

What is Alfisol soil made of?

Alfisols typically exhibit well-developed, contrasting soil horizons (layers) depleted in calcium carbonate but enriched in aluminum- and iron-bearing minerals. Below the surface horizon lies a region with significant accumulation of translocated (migrated) layer silicate clay.

What is the pH of Alfisol?

The pH of Alfisols is between 5.0-6.0 (see figure 13 for reference), while the base saturation must be greater than 35%, and its Smectite clays (2:1 usually) have a higher Cation Exchange Capacity (>16 cmol/kg).

Where is Mollisols soil found?

Mollisols primarily occur in the middle latitudes and are extensive in prairie regions such as the Great Plains of the U.S. Globally, they occupy approximately 7.0 percent of the ice-free land area. In the U.S., they are the most extensive soil order, accounting for approximately 21.5 percent of the land area.

What is Ultisols soil?

Ultisols (from Latin ultimus, “last”) are strongly leached, acid forest soils with relatively low native fertility. They are found primarily in humid temperate and tropical areas of the world, typically on older, stable landscapes. With these inputs, however, Ultisols can be very productive.

What kind of soil is Alfisols?

leached soils
Alfisols are moderately leached soils that have relatively high native fertility. These soils have mainly formed under forest and have a subsurface horizon in which clays have accumulated. Alfisols are primarily found in temperate humid and subhumid regions of the world.

What’s the difference between an Alfisol and an Ultisol?

Ultisols replace alfisols in the southeastern USA, where the older soils of unglaciated regions have been weathered to a much greater degree and are more completely leached than the younger soils to the north. Distinctive red or yellow subsoils have developed under the warmer climate. Ultisols are generally less fertile than alfisols.

What kind of soil is an Alfisol made of?

Alfisols contain a subsurface layer of loamy material (a mixture of mostly clay and sand with little silt) that has a relatively high water-holding capacity (Weil and Brady, 2016). O.C. Spaargaren, J.A. Deckers, in Encyclopedia of Soils in the Environment, 2005

Which is a significant factor in the formation of Alfisols?

Incorrect: Native vegetation and biota make up one of the five main soil-forming factors, significant in Alfisol formation. Check the description in this section for more information.

Where are vertisols and Alfisols found in India?

The Vertisols and associated soils of Peninsular India are located in the heartland of the dry farming region of India. They are developed in situ from “Deccan Trap” base-rich geologic mate- rials mainly basalt and dolomite.