Soil subgroup

Argialbol argiácuico

The clay horizon is saturated with water part of the year.

What the name says

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

Taxonomic orderMolisolSoil with a thick, dark surface horizon rich in organic matter (the mollic epipedon), with more than half of its exchange capacity occupied by calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium. It forms under grassland.
SuborderAlbolMolisol with a clear, washed (albic) horizon between the surface and the clay horizon, and water hanging over it in humid times.
Great groupArgialbolWithin the Albol suborder, it has a clay accumulation horizon (argillic): clay washed from the surface accumulated lower.
SubgroupargiácuicoThe clay horizon is saturated with water part of the year.

What it means for farming

They are the soils agricultural lands par excellence: the Pampas grassland formed them and most of Argentine agriculture is done on them. They retain water and nutrients; its limitation, when there is one, is below: clay, sodium, calcareous hardpan or drainage.

Most common surface texture
Silt loam
Most common drainage
Imperfect
Typical effective depth
120 cm

Where it is found

According to the 1:500.000 national map, it covers about 845.420 ha, spread over 35 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
Buenos Aires446.633 ha
Chaco162.695 ha
Santa Fe125.369 ha
Corrientes107.191 ha
Santiago del Estero3.531 ha

Districts where it is most common

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

How productive it is

Where it is the main soil of the map unit, the productivity index has a median of 34 (low); half of the units fall between 34 and 35.

Land capability

III
IV
V
VI

class III: 21% · class IV: 14% · class V: 50% · class VI: 14%

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.

Other Argialbol subgroups

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.

Buenos Aires

Olascoaga · Napaleofu · Navarro · Gorostiaga · Estancia Tarrhue · Tambo Nuevo

Soils it shares map units with

Several soils share each map unit. These are the ones most often found alongside this one: on a property, you will likely find them in the nearby low ground or on the next rise.

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