Soil great group

Duracuol

Of the Acuol suborder; it has a duripan: a horizon cemented by silica.

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.
SuborderAcuolMolisol with excess water: saturated near the surface for part of the year, with redox depletions (gray, mottles) in the profile.
Great groupDuracuolWithin the Acuol suborder, it has a duripan: a horizon cemented by silica.

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
Sandy loam
Most common drainage
Poor
Typical effective depth
60 cm

Where it is found

According to the 1:500.000 national map, it covers about 111.091 ha, spread over 10 districts.

Loading map…

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

ProvinceArea
Córdoba107.688 ha
Buenos Aires1.930 ha
Santiago del Estero1.473 ha

Districts where it is most common

It also appears on the detailed maps of: Buenos Aires.

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.

Buenos Aires

Salazar · Tronconi · Estancia La Alicia · Goyena · Videla Dorna

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