Terra Rossa Soil

Banin and his colleagues (Banin et al., 1997a) have studied the distribution of trace elements in 45 representative Israeli soils with 0.5-68% of CaC03 and 7.0-8.25 pH (Table 2.4). The total Cu concentration ranges from 3.21 mg/kg in a loessial soil to 62.05 mg/kg in a desert stony soil. In general, alluvial soils, colluvial-alluvial soils, and Terra-Rossa soils contain higher Cu than soils in Mediterranean brown and rendzina. The EDTA-extractable Cu content varies from 2-7.5 mg/kg in rendzinas, alluvial soils, and saline soils. 

The total Zn concentration in 45 Israeli soils varies from 7.94-144.2 mg/kg with an average of 56.1 28.7 mg/kg. Terra-Rossa soils contain higher Zn than rendzina soils. Total Zn concentrations in Mediterranean red soils vary from 200-215 mg/kg, while brown isohumic soils on calcareous sandstone contain 48 mg/kg total Zn. However, soils on alluvians from aeolian deposits have 82-90 mg/kg, and saline alkali soils contain 100-200 mg/kg of total Zn. EDTA-extractable Zn varies from 1.9-13 mg/kg, representing 1.7-9.6% of the total Zn in Mediterranean red soils, reddish-brown isohumic soils and rendinas soils (Aubert and Pinta, 1977). 

Colombo, C. Torrent, J. (1991) Relationships between aggregation and iron oxides in Terra Rossa soils from Southern Italy. Catena 18 51-59... 

In a warm and semi-arid climate thick calcretes can develop. Alteration in the vadose zone is relatively rapid but not as rapid as in the phreatic zone. Surface karst is present locally, and caves are small and rare. The mineralogical changes follow the pattern of Figure 7.25, but at a rate slower than that for a warm, subtropical climate like Bermuda. Under the extreme of a warm, wet tropical climate, extensive terra-rossa soils can develop, and dissolution features, such as caves, solution pipes and fractures, should be prevalent. Mineralogical stabilization should occur rapidly. 

CRM484 Sewage sludge-amended (terra rossa) soil - extractable trace elements Certified values for 5 EDTA- and 5 acetic acid-soluble metals... 

In the case of the sewage sludge-amended soil, little analytical difficulty was experienced, as illustrated by the good agreement obtained between the within-bottle and between-bottle CVs. For the terra rossa soil, however, the lower extractable contents were closer to the detection limits and consequently poorer analytical precision was observed, in particular for Cr (EDTA extractable contents), Cd and Pb (acetic acid extractable contents). 

Table 11.12 Stability tests - EDTA terra rossa soil ...

Khan, D. H., 1959a. Profile distribution of the sand minerals in some rendzinas, red-brown soils and terra rossas. Soil Sci. 88 67. 

Cadmium concentrations in Israeli soils are in the range of 0.07-2.13 and average 0.37 0.34 mg/kg, while cadmium content in Terra-Rossa and Desert Stony soils is higher than that in Rendzina. 

The total Cr concentration in the soils of Israel varies from 7.51-181.8 mg/kg with an average of 41.0 32.2 mg/kg. Terra-Rossa, Mediterranean brown and alluvial soils have higher Cr concentrations than soils in rendzina, brown-red sandy and loessial soils. 

Soil Ni is in the range of 3.93-98.7 mg/kg and averages 31.0 18.5 mg/kg. Colluvial-alluvial soils, alluvial soils, Terra-Rossa and Mediterranean brown soils have higher Ni than brown-red sandy and loessial soils. 

Iron oxides are responsible for the vivid colours of many rocks and sods. The typical yello v-red to purple red colours of the so-called red beds are due to hematite (Torrent Schwertmann, 1987). The strong influence of hematite on soil colour is referred to in various languages and appears in the terms red earths, terra rossa and krasno-zems (see Chap. 15 16). 

Except for the top soil where the colour caused by Fe oxides is often masked by hu-mics, most of the soil profile receives its brown, yellow or red colour from Fe oxides (Bigham Ciolkosz, 1993). Because this is so obvious to the naked eye, soils have been named according to colour in most national classification systems, e. g. red-yellow podzols (USA), sol ochreux (France), Braunerde (Germany), krasnozem (Russia), terra rossa (Italy), and even the current modern international systems (U.S. Soil Taxonomy system and World Reference Base for Soil Resources, WRB) use colour connotations such as Rhodic (red) and Xanthic (yellow). 

The alternation of limestone and island-wide terra-rossa paleosols has formed the principal basis for subdivision of the stratigraphic column. However, Pleistocene sea level oscillations of finer time and elevation scale have resulted in intercalation of marine and eolian grainstones, and in some cases, formation of poorly developed, brownish soil horizons of local extent ("accretionary soils"). These latter stratigraphic features and their interpretation are to some extent the reason for the differences in stratigraphic subdivisions shown in Table 7.3. 

In a humid subtropical area such as the Parana Basin in Brazil, the weathering profile is 30 m thick and has a lower yellow part which is a saprolite. Above this the upper red soil called Terra Rossa consists of kaolinite and iron oxides (Benedetti et al., 1994). The rock being weathered in this area is a 140-million-year-old basalt. Benedetti et al. (1994) found that the calculated weathering rate is increased by a factor of 1.3-5 by including biomass uptake and release of calcium, magnesium, and potassium in their weathering model. 

The Pleistocene terra rossa of central Texas is a soil that developed during times of tropical weathering between 0.7 and 2.0 m.y.b.p. Today it is found almost exclusively as an uncommon cave fill in the Edwards Limestone (Young, 1986). Analysis of the XRD pattern of the terra rossa indicates that it is composed of interstratified kaolinite/smectite and is clearly not the source for the BS I/S (Fig. 5). 

Khadkikar and Basavaiah (2004) have recognised five types of Terrae rossae, ranging from karstified limestone to soil development, that have developed as a result of leaching and residual accumulation of limestone as well as the input of aerosols. The palaeosols commonly have a sharp upper contact but a diffuse lower boundary and residual lumps of weathered aeolianite are present. 

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