Overview of Vertisols: Characteristics and Impacts on Society
1996; Elsevier BV; Linguagem: Inglês
10.1016/s0065-2113(08)60927-x
ISSN2213-6789
AutoresClement E. Coulombe, Larry P. Wilding, J. B. Dixon,
Tópico(s)Soil Management and Crop Yield
ResumoVertisols are clayey soils that shrink and swell extensively upon changing soil moisture conditions. They occur globally under various parent material and environmental conditions. Vertisols exhibit unique morphological properties such as the presence of slickensides, wedge-shaped aggregates, diapir (mukkara), and gilgai. Shrink-swell phenomena are the dominant pedogenic processes in vertisols and are attributed to changes in interparticle and intraparticle porosity with changes in moisture content. This is in contrast to the commonly invoked process of clay interlayer hydration-dehydration to explain shrink-swell phenomena. However, models proposed to explain the genesis of vertisol features have not received universal agreement. Because of their clay content, vertisols are global resources that are resilient to degradation compared to other soils. Degradation of vertisols has occurred and has been reported worldwide regardless of the parent material, environmental conditions, and level of cultural input. Vertisols are significant global resources that serve as the lifeline in subsistence agriculture because of their high productivity. Efforts toward comprehension and successful utilization are imperative for continued productivity and long-term sustainability of these resources for current and future civilizations. This chapter is based on the literature published about vertisols and includes recent developments and concepts concerning vertisols with regard to their distribution, formation, pedogenesis, and classification; their morphological, mineralogical, chemical, biological, and physical properties; and their management as a soil resource in the world.
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