Current Status of Acid Soils Under Different Landform Types in an Expanding Equatorial Agricultural Region

Juan David Mahecha-Pulido, Juan Manuel Trujillo-González, Marco Aurelio Torres-Mora, Francisco J. García-Navarro and Raimundo Jiménez-Ballesta ()
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Juan David Mahecha-Pulido: Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales de la Orinoquia Colombiana ICAOC, Facultad de Ciencias Básicas e, Ingeniería, Universidad de los Llanos, Campus Barcelona, Villavicencio 500001, Colombia
Juan Manuel Trujillo-González: Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales de la Orinoquia Colombiana ICAOC, Facultad de Ciencias Básicas e, Ingeniería, Universidad de los Llanos, Campus Barcelona, Villavicencio 500001, Colombia
Marco Aurelio Torres-Mora: Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales de la Orinoquia Colombiana ICAOC, Facultad de Ciencias Básicas e, Ingeniería, Universidad de los Llanos, Campus Barcelona, Villavicencio 500001, Colombia
Francisco J. García-Navarro: High Technical School of Agricultural Engineers of Ciudad Real, University of Castilla-La Mancha, 13071 Ciudad Real, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain
Raimundo Jiménez-Ballesta: Department of Geology and Geochemistry, Autonomous University of Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Madrid, Spain

Land, 2025, vol. 14, issue 5, 1-19

Abstract: This study assesses the current status of selected soil properties of an expanding equatorial agricultural region (Arauca, Colombia) across six landscapes, with the final focus being on evaluating overall soil quality. Field surveys, morphological descriptions, and laboratory analyses of 133 soil profiles were investigated. The landscapes include mountains (25 profiles), foothills (17), hills (11), alluvial plains (43), alluvial plains with dunes (21), and alluvial valleys (16). Soils are classified into six Reference Soil Groups (WRB FAO): Gleysols, Acrisols, Arenosols, Ferralsols, Leptosols, and Cambisols. The findings indicate high acidity, low fertility, and deficient exchangeable bases. Indeed, pH ranges from extremely acid to slightly acid (3.5–6.4), and exchangeable acidity saturation percentage (%SAI) values reach 100% in some areas. Soil textures vary from clay loam to sandy loam and clay. Nutrient contents are ranked in the order Cambisols > Gleysols > Arenosols > Ferralsols > Acrisols > Leptosols. Correlation analysis reveals that clay content positively influences the exchangeable basis percentage, while organic matter (OM) negatively correlates with the nutrients phosphorus, calcium, and magnesium. This study highlights that landscape position influences soil quality, with lower landscape positions having better quality than upper ones. These results provide insights into soil fertility and nutrient availability, which helps to predict suitable plant cultivation areas when increasing areas for agricultural use versus forestry in Arauca. The inclusion or maintenance of diverse tree species is a key element in maintaining the production of organic matter and, consequently, generating better soil quality.

Keywords: acid soils; genesis; land suitability; nutrient limitation; landform; land use; multivariate analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:14:y:2025:i:5:p:1073-:d:1656525

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