Soil subgroup

Natrargid típico

It is the central concept of the great group: it has its features and none that brings it closer to another 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 orderAridisolSoil arid climate: water is lacking most of the year and the profile accumulates what the rain cannot wash away (carbonates, gypsum, salts) or clay from more humid times.
SuborderArgidAridisol with a clay accumulation horizon, inherited from a more humid past climate.
Great groupNatrargidWithin the Argid suborder, it has a natric horizon: accumulation of clay with a lot of exchangeable sodium, which disperses the clay and blocks the passage of water and roots.
SubgrouptípicoIt is the central concept of the great group: it has its features and none that brings it closer to another group.

What it means for farming

Without irrigation there is no agriculture: they are soils of native woodland, extensive grazing or, with water, irrigated oases (Mendoza, San Juan, the valleys of the NOA).

Most common surface texture
Sandy 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 4.727.553 ha, spread over 26 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
Chubut2.723.809 ha
Río Negro1.690.448 ha
Buenos Aires249.112 ha
Córdoba40.478 ha
Neuquén23.706 ha

Districts where it is most common

How productive it is

Where it is the main soil of the map unit, the productivity index has a median of 21 (low); half of the units fall between 18 and 42.

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 Natrargid subgroups

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