Plinthite
Encyclopedia
Plinthite is an iron
-rich, humus-poor mixture of clay
with quartz
and other minerals.
Plinthite is a redoximophic feature in highly weathered soil
. The product of pedogenesis
, it commonly occurs as dark red redox
concretions that usually form platy, polygonal, or reticulate patterns. Plinthite changes irreversibly to an ironstone
hardpan
or to irregular soil aggregates
on exposure to repeated wetting and drying, especially if it is also exposed to heat from the sun. The lower boundary of a zone in which plinthite occurs generally is diffuse or gradual, but it may be abrupt at a lithologic discontinuity. Generally, plinthite forms in a soil horizon
that is saturated with water for some time during the year. Initially, iron is normally segregated in the form of soft, more or less clayey, red or dark red redox concretions. These concretions are not considered plinthite unless there has been enough segregation of iron to permit their irreversible hardening on exposure to repeated wetting and drying. Plinthite is firm or very firm when the soil moisture content is near field capacity
and hard when the moisture content is below the permanent wilting point
.
Plinthite concretions are coherent enough to be separated readily from the surrounding soil. Plinthite commonly occurs within and above reticulately mottled horizons. The part of the iron-rich body that is not plinthite normally stains the fingers when rubbed while wet, but the plinthite center does not. It has a harsh, dry feel when rubbed, even if wet.
Plinthite does not harden irreversibly as a result of a single cycle of drying and rewetting. After a single drying, it will remoisten and then can be dispersed in large part if one shakes it in water with a dispersing agent. In a moist soil, plinthite is soft enough to be cut with a spade. After irreversible hardening, it is no longer considered plinthite but is called ironstone
. Indurated ironstone materials can be broken or shattered with a spade but cannot be dispersed if one shakes tham in water with a dispersing agent.
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
-rich, humus-poor mixture of clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
with quartz
Quartz
Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...
and other minerals.
Plinthite is a redoximophic feature in highly weathered soil
Soil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
. The product of pedogenesis
Pedogenesis
Pedogenesis is the science and study of the processes that lead to the formation of soil ' and first explored by the Russian geologist Vasily Dokuchaev , the so called grandfather of soil science, who determined that soil formed over time as a consequence of...
, it commonly occurs as dark red redox
Redox
Redox reactions describe all chemical reactions in which atoms have their oxidation state changed....
concretions that usually form platy, polygonal, or reticulate patterns. Plinthite changes irreversibly to an ironstone
Ironstone
Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical repacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron compound from which iron either can be or once was smelted commercially. This term is customarily restricted to hard coarsely...
hardpan
Hardpan
In soil science, agriculture and gardening, hardpan or ouklip is a general term for a dense layer of soil, usually found below the uppermost topsoil layer. There are different types of hardpan, all sharing the general characteristic of being a distinct soil layer that is largely impervious to water...
or to irregular soil aggregates
Soil structure
Soil structure is determined by how individual soil granules clump or bind together and aggregate, and therefore, the arrangement of soil pores between them...
on exposure to repeated wetting and drying, especially if it is also exposed to heat from the sun. The lower boundary of a zone in which plinthite occurs generally is diffuse or gradual, but it may be abrupt at a lithologic discontinuity. Generally, plinthite forms in a soil horizon
Soil horizon
A soil horizon is a specific layer in the land area that is parallel to the soil surface and possesses physical characteristics which differ from the layers above and beneath. Horizon formation is a function of a range of geological, chemical, and biological processes and occurs over long time...
that is saturated with water for some time during the year. Initially, iron is normally segregated in the form of soft, more or less clayey, red or dark red redox concretions. These concretions are not considered plinthite unless there has been enough segregation of iron to permit their irreversible hardening on exposure to repeated wetting and drying. Plinthite is firm or very firm when the soil moisture content is near field capacity
Field capacity
Field capacity is the amount of soil moisture or water content held in soil after excess water has drained away and the rate of downward movement has materially decreased, which usually takes place within 2–3 days after a rain or irrigation in pervious soils of uniform structure and texture...
and hard when the moisture content is below the permanent wilting point
Permanent wilting point
Permanent wilting point or wilting point is defined as the minimal point of soil moisture the plant requires not to wilt. If moisture decreases to this or any lower point a plant wilts and can no longer recover its turgidity when placed in a saturated atmosphere for 12 hours...
.
Plinthite concretions are coherent enough to be separated readily from the surrounding soil. Plinthite commonly occurs within and above reticulately mottled horizons. The part of the iron-rich body that is not plinthite normally stains the fingers when rubbed while wet, but the plinthite center does not. It has a harsh, dry feel when rubbed, even if wet.
Plinthite does not harden irreversibly as a result of a single cycle of drying and rewetting. After a single drying, it will remoisten and then can be dispersed in large part if one shakes it in water with a dispersing agent. In a moist soil, plinthite is soft enough to be cut with a spade. After irreversible hardening, it is no longer considered plinthite but is called ironstone
Ironstone
Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical repacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron compound from which iron either can be or once was smelted commercially. This term is customarily restricted to hard coarsely...
. Indurated ironstone materials can be broken or shattered with a spade but cannot be dispersed if one shakes tham in water with a dispersing agent.