Plinthosols are iron-rich soils characterized by the presence of plinthite, petroplinthite or pisoliths.
Plinthosols | |
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Groundwater Laterite, Plinthaquox (USDA) | |
Used in | WRB |
WRB code | PT |
Key process | Accumulation of Fe under hydromorphic conditions |
Parent material | basic rock, Fe |
Climate | wet tropics |
Softer plinthosols are common in the wet tropics, including in the eastern Amazon basin, the central Congo Basin and parts of Southeast Asia. Dryer areas, including the Sudano-Sahelian zone, Southern African savannah, the Indian subcontinent, and parts of Southeast Asia and northern Australia feature mostly harder pisoliths and petroplinthite.