Soil great group

Albacualf

Of the Acualf suborder; it has a albic horizon (clear and washed) about a sudden change in texture.

What the name says

Soil Taxonomy names are built from parts, and each part says something about the soil. From general to specific:

Taxonomic orderAlfisolSoil with a clay accumulation horizon (argillic or natric) and good base saturation, but without the thick, dark surface of a Molisol.
SuborderAcualfAlfisol with excess water: saturated near the surface part of the year, with redox depletions.
Great groupAlbacualfWithin the Acualf suborder, it has a albic horizon (clear and washed) about a sudden change in texture.

What it means for farming

Acceptable fertility, but the surface layer is thinner and poor in organic matter. In the Pampas region many Alfisoles are sodic or floodable (Natracualfes) and are left for livestock.

Most common surface texture
Sandy loam
Most common drainage
Poor
Typical effective depth
80 cm

Where it is found

According to the 1:500.000 national map, it covers about 1.718.322 ha, spread over 31 districts.

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National map units that list it. The scale is 1:500.000: good for seeing the region, not a single property.

ProvinceArea
Formosa1.010.396 ha
Corrientes480.553 ha
Santa Fe106.332 ha
Córdoba68.705 ha
Chaco44.805 ha
Santiago del Estero4.844 ha
Neuquén2.688 ha

Districts where it is most common

It also appears on the detailed maps of: Buenos Aires, Corrientes, Entre Ríos, Santiago del Estero.

How productive it is

Where it is the main soil of the map unit, the productivity index has a median of 32 (low); half of the units fall between 13 and 32.

Land capability

V
VI
VII

class V: 75% · class VI: 8% · class VII: 17%

Taken from the maps that include this data. A map unit with several soils has a single index, and it is only attributed to the dominant soil.

Subgroups on the maps

Soil series

Series are the specific soils, named after places, that detailed maps describe under this name. Two properties with the same series have the same soil.

Entre Ríos

Bouchel · General Nazar

Buenos Aires

San Luis Beltran · Martin Colman

Corrientes

Mariano I Loza

The definitions are a plain-language summary of the USDA Keys to Soil Taxonomy. The formal definition includes thickness, color and percentage thresholds that are left out here.

Sources