MAJOR LANDFORMS IN VOLCANIC LANDSCAPES

olcanic regions of the world

Steep slopes,
volcanic hazard,
P fixation,
thixotropy
and structural instability
Volcanic ash, tuff, pumice, cinders and other volcanic ejecta

TUFF PUMICE
http://members.iinet.net.au http://www.athro.com
 CINDER VOLCANIC EJECTA
http://volcano.und.nodak.edu
http://helios.bto.ed.ac.uk
Soils having
a vitric@ or an andic@ horizon
starting within 25 cm from the soil
surface; and
no diagnostic horizons (unless
buried deeper than 50 cm) other
than a histic@, fulvic@, melanic@,
mollic@, umbric@, ochric@, duric@
or cambic@ horizon.
Common soil units
Vitric*, Silandic*, Aluandic*, Eutrisilic*,
Melanic*, Fulvic*, Hydric*, Histic*, Leptic*,
Gleyic*, Mollic*, Duric*, Luvic*, Umbric*,
Arenic*, Placic*, Pachic*, Calcaric*,
Skeletic*, Acroxic*, Vetic* , Sodic*,
Dystric*, Eutric*, Haplic*.
http://www.soils.wisc.edu/

VITRIC ANDOSOL HYDRIC ANDOSOL

No andic horizon overlying a One or more layers within

vittic horizon 100cm Water ret 1500kPa of
100% or more
VITRIC ANDOSOL (Central Anatolia)
Dingil, 2003. Ph.D. Thesis
GELIC ANDOSOLS
Andosols having permafrost within 200cm of the surface

GLEYIC ANDOSOLS
Andosols with gleyic properties within 100cm of the surface

VITRIC ANDOSOLS
Andosols lacking a smeary consistance or a texture which is silt loam or
finer on the weighted average for all horizons within 100cm of the surface
or both

MOLLIC ANDOSOLS
Andosols having a mollic A-horizon

UMBRIC ANDOSOLS
Andosols having an umbric A-horizon

HAPLIC ANDOSOLS
Other Andosols
VITRIC: A vitric horzion must:
1. Have 10% or more volcanic glass and other primary minerals in
the fine earth fraction (250-50µm); and
2. Have
ı. a bulk density less than 0.9kg dm3 or
ıı. Alox + ½Feox more than 0.4%, or
ııı. Phospahte retention more than 25%, and
3. Have a thickness of 30cm or more

ANDIC: An andic horizon must have all of the following

1. A bulk density at field capacity (no prior drying) of less than 0.9kg
dm3; and
2. 10 percent or more clay and an (Alox + ½Feox) value2 in the fine
earth fraction of 2 percent or more; and
3. 70 percent or more phosphate retention; and
4. less than 10 percent volcanic glass in the fine earth fraction; and
5. a thickness of 30 cm or more.
Undulating to mountainous, humid, semi-arid?, arctic
to tropical regions with a wide range of vegetation
types.

A-C or A-B-C profile. Rapid weathering of porous

volcanic material resulting in accumulation of stable
organo-mineral complexes, and minerals such as
allophane, imogolite (Al2 SiO3 (OH), and ferrihydrite
 Allophane
http://www.chem.umass.edu
http://www.uky.edu Imogolite

Allophane commonly occurs as very small hallow rings or spheres

having diameters of approximately 35 - 50 Å. This morphology is
characteristic of allophane, and can be used in its identification.
Ferrihydrite are hydrous iron oxides. Fe2O3.2FeOOH.2.6H2O. Secondary
mineral in an oxidizing environment, strongly dependant on pH. Functions
as allophane. The organically bound Fe is most probably ferrihydrite –Fe.

Imogolite occurs as very small tubes having inside diameters of 10 Å

and outside diameters of 20 Å. These tubes may be several µm in
length, and often form bundles of two to several hundred tubes.
Occasional branching of tubes may occur.
ANDOSOLS

CAMBISOLS/LUVISOLS
VERTISOLS
Presence of andic (rich in allophane) and vitric (rich in volcanic glass)

Allophane Volcanic glass

http://www.mindat.org
Dingil, M. 2003. Ph.D thesis)
Development depends on rapid chemical weathering of
porous, permeable fine grained volcanic minerals +
organic matter eg. Hydrolysis of microcline and augite
yielding sufficient Al and Fe.

KAlSi3O8 + 2 H2O = K+ + Al3+ + 3 SiO2 + 4 OH-

microcline
CaFeSi2O6 + 2 H2O = Ca2+ + Fe2+ + 2 SiO2 + 4 OH-
augite

Fe2 and Al3 form stable complexes with humus.

However, Fe precipitates eventually to
Ferrihydrite
Aluminum alone protects organic
matter against BIODEGRADATION by
developing Al-Humus complexes with
high metal/organic ratio of limited
mobility

This induces accumulation of organic matter in top

soil ie carbon sequestration developing a melanic
surface horizon

The liberated silica in the weathering products partly

yield allophanes and imogolite.
Thus Andosols are of binary composition indiacting
the competition between Al humus complexes and
formation of allophane. Allophane stays stable in
weakly acid and neutral conditions whereas the Al-
humus complexes are dominant in more acid
environments.

The clay contents of Andosols changes over time

particularly in the subsoil as allophane and imogolite
are transformed to halloysite, kaolinite and at
extreme acid conditions to gibsite. Eventually an
Andosol may grade into a Luvisol or Podzol
depending on precipitation
Typical (?) Andosols have an AC or ABC profile with a
dark Ah-horizon (20 - 50 cm thick) on top of a brown B-
or C-horizon.
 The average organic matter content of the surface
horizon (melanic) is between 5-6% but the darkest
profiles may contain more.
 The surface horizon is very porous, very friable, and
has a crumb or granular structure.
 Smeary consistence or a texture which is silt loam or
finer and feels greasy within 100cm. It may become
almost liquid when rubbed, presumably because of sol-
gel transformations under pressure (thixotropy) in Vitric
Andosols.
Excellent drainage because of high porosity
Gleyic properties at shallow ground water
Stagnic in paddy fields

X-ray amorphous materials' of allophane and

imogolite, and/or humus complexes of Al and Fe
together with opaline silica.
Besides primary minerals, ferrihydrite, (disordered)
halloysite and kaolinite, gibbsite and various 2:1 and
2:1:1 layer silicates and intergrades can be present.
Good aggregate stability
Resistant to water erosion
But difficult to disperse for texture analysis
Low bulk density, typically (?) less than 0.9g/cm3 at
some cases of high hydration is as low as 0.3g/cm3
The quantity of available water is generally higher
than other mineral soils because of the high water
content at the permanent wilting point (1500kPa)
Excessive air drying or severe drought conditions
develop irreversible deterioration in water holding
capacity, ion exchange capacity, soil volume and
cohesion of soil particles. Ultimately!, particles fall
apart to a fine dust which is susceptible to wind
erosion.
High exchange properties
Charge dependent on pH and electrolyte
concentration due to high contents of soil organic
matter and allophane
Figure 2 illustrates the variation of charge by pH.
Halloysite and montmorillonite are dominantly
permenantly charged
Base saturation (BS) values are variable due to the
variable charge properties. BS low in strongly leached
Andosols of the humid tropics except in young and dry
region Andosols
These characteristics are attributed to the active Al
already present in humus complexes as well as
exhangeable, interlayer and as allophane and imogolite
Figure 2. NH4+ and Cl- retention curves measured in 0.01 M NH4Cl (0.1 M
NH4Cl for montmorillonite). (a) montmorillonite; (b) halloysite; (c) allophane
905 (Al:Si=2:1, containing some imogolite); (d) allophane PA (Al:Si=1:1).
Wada & Okamura, 1977)
High potential for agricultural production
Fertile at unleached conditions at profiles formed on
intermediate and basic volcanic ash
Active Al is a drawback for phosphate availability –
fixation. This may be remediated via liming and addition
of silica, organic material and phosphate fertilisers
Easy to till with good rootability and water storage
except in strongly hydrated cases
Sugarcane, tobacco, sweet potatoes (tolerant to low P
levels), tea, vegetables, wheat and horticulturalş crops
are suitable for the tropic and sub-humid areas.
On steep slopes they are best kept under forests or
well-managed pastures. In low lands best used for paddy
rice cultivation which bears a problem of development of
dense hardpans due to the development of Fe and Mn
oxides