Soil subgroup

Argiudol ácuico

Shows signs of saturation with water within the first meter (mottles, gray reduction colors): it has a temporary water table or waterlogging.

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.
SuborderUdolMolisol humid climate (udic moisture regime): the profile almost never spends more than three months dry.
Great groupArgiudolWithin the Udol suborder, it has a clay accumulation horizon (argillic): clay washed from the surface accumulated lower.
SubgroupácuicoShows signs of saturation with water within the first meter (mottles, gray reduction colors): it has a temporary water table or waterlogging.

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.

It is the emblematic soil of the Pampa Ondulada: Pergamino, Rojas, Arrecifes. Deep, dark, well drained, with a textural B that retains water but can slow down roots when it is very clayey.

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

Where it is found

According to the 1:500.000 national map, it covers about 4.592.570 ha, spread over 88 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
Santa Fe1.820.179 ha
Buenos Aires1.342.740 ha
Entre Ríos801.971 ha
Corrientes265.463 ha
Chaco126.425 ha
Córdoba111.729 ha
Santiago del Estero87.152 ha
Tucumán36.912 ha

Districts where it is most common

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

How productive it is

Where it is the main soil of the map unit, the productivity index has a median of 47 (average); half of the units fall between 41 and 58.

Land capability

II
III
IV

class I: 1% · class II: 9% · class III: 73% · class IV: 16% · class VII: 1%

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 Argiudol 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.

Entre Ríos

La Emiliana · Tezanos Pinto · Arroyo Los Bayos · Lazo · Puntas del Gato · Tacuaras · Palmarito · Arroyo Masitas · La Lidia · Costa Grande · Antelo · Paso de la Arena · Chapetón · Hasenkamp · Chajarí · Puerto San Juan · Pueblo Brugo · Arroyo Animal · La Carola · Pueblo San Martín · Isletas · El Retiro · San Francisco I · Puiggari · Aragón · Millán · El Terrón · Enrique Carbó · Oro Verde · La Curtiembre · Las Garzas · Colonia Nueva · Malambo · El Progreso · Alvear · Las Cabezas · El Supremo · El Cardal · Arroyo Perdices

Corrientes

Ombu

Buenos Aires

Loberia · La Oriental · Gouin · Arrecifes · Santa Luisa · La Reforma · Monsalvo · Chascomus · Corrales · La Laguna · Cañuelas · Rincon de Lopez

Misiones

Monteagudo

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