ChileanJAR

The distribution, chemical and physical properties and the classification of the Vertisols in Chile are discussed. The published soil survey reports werethe main sources of information. According to those reports, the Vertisols are spread over the central region of Chile, under xeric soil moisture and thermic soil temperature regimes, covering about 67,205 hectares. It was concluded that Pell and Chrom do not separate satisfactorily the poorly drained from the better drained Vertisois. Considering the presence of soils with more than 40% Na saturation, the definiton of a “Sodic” subgroup is suggested.