Soil great group

Haplustol

Of the Ustol suborder; it It is the simplest of the suborder: it does not have a clay horizon or any other feature that places it in a more specific group..

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.
SuborderUstolMolisol from subhumid to semi-arid climate (ustic moisture regime): water is enough in the growing season but there are long dry periods.
Great groupHaplustolWithin the Ustol suborder, it It is the simplest of the suborder: it does not have a clay horizon or any other feature that places it in a more specific group..

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.

The dominant agricultural soil of the semi-arid plain: western Pampas, southern Córdoba, northern La Pampa, the dry Chaco.

Most common surface texture
Loam
Most common drainage
Well drained
Typical effective depth
100 cm

Where it is found

According to the 1:500.000 national map, it covers about 24.598.383 ha, spread over 153 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
Córdoba6.123.916 ha
Santiago del Estero5.237.814 ha
La Pampa3.984.489 ha
Salta2.273.670 ha
Buenos Aires1.974.265 ha
Formosa1.849.272 ha
Chaco1.023.176 ha
San Luis742.677 ha
Catamarca444.722 ha
Jujuy271.028 ha

Districts where it is most common

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

How productive it is

Where it is the main soil of the map unit, the productivity index has a median of 51 (average); half of the units fall between 41 and 60.

Land capability

II
III
IV
VI

class II: 29% · class III: 27% · class IV: 16% · class V: 1% · class VI: 27% · 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.

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

Alta Vista · Epecuen · Estacion Rivera · Estancia Los Manantiales · Estancia Ojo de Agua · Chasico · Puan · Cerro del Chimango · Naposta · Bonete · Sola · Tres Lomas · Comandante Espora · Mascota · Phajouape · Leguizamon · Calderon · Harding Green · Punta Alta · El Caldén · Laboulaye · Los Blancos · La Angelita · Grunbein · Bahia Blanca · General Cerri · Los Alamos · Salinas Chicas · La Gotera · Estancia Los Andes · Pigue

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