Aridisol

Aridisol
a Aridisol profile
Used in: USDA soil taxonomy
Key process: soil carbon oxidation
Climate: desert, semi-arid

Aridisoils (or desert soils) are a soil order in USA soil taxonomy. Aridisoils (from the Latin aridus, for “dry”) form in an arid or semi-arid climate. Aridisoils dominate the deserts and xeric shrublands, which occupy about one third of the Earth's land surface. Aridisoils have a very low concentration of organic matter, reflecting the paucity of vegetative production on these dry soils. Water deficiency is the major defining characteristic of Aridisols. Also required is sufficient age to exhibit sub-soil weathering and development. Limited leaching in Aridisols often results in one or more subsurface soil horizons in which suspended or dissolved minerals have been deposited: silicate clays, sodium, calcium carbonate, gypsum or soluble salts. These subsoil horizons can also be cemented by carbonates, gypsum or silica. Accumulation of salts on the surface can result in salinization.

See also

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, February 07, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.