6 - Soils

A very well-known quote from Xenphanes goes as follows: 'To be a successful farmer one
must first know the nature of the soil (Soil Science Society of Amerika, N.D.). In this weblog we are looking at the different soil types in the world.

Figure X: Different Soil types in the world (NASA, N.D.)

Spain’s dominant soil type

In figure X, one can see the different soil texture which are common in each country. When looking at Spain, one can see that country is covered with light blue, which indicates loamy soil type. Therefore, we can conclude that Spain’s common soil type is loam (NASA, N.D.). Loamy soils are said to be a mixture of clay, sand and silt which avoid the extremes of each type (Royal Horticultural Society, N.D.).

Figure X: Soil Orders in the World (Soil Science Society of America, N.D.)

When looking for soil order within Spain, one can that the main soil order is inceptisols, which is a slightly developed young soil and lack clay accumulation in the subsoil (Soil Science Society of America, N.D.) (Soil Science Society of Amerika, N.D.).

Olive preferable soil texture

Olive trees grow on a wide variety of soil types like lithosol, regosol, colluvium, rendzina, vertisol, eutric cambisol, calcocambisol, terra rossa, luvisol, planosol, fluvisol and hydroameliorated soil (Matko Bogunović, 2010). Besides, when it come to soil texture, the tree does not really have any preferences as long as it has good drainage (The Palm Centre, N.D.). 

References

Matko Bogunović, A. B. (2010, April 6). SUITABILITY OF DALMATIAN SOILS FOR OLIVE TREE CULTIVATION. Retrieved October 15, 2017, from HRCAK: http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=79589&lang=en

NASA. (N.D.). Hybrid STATSGO/FAO Soil texture. Retrieved October 9, 2017, from NASA: https://ldas.gsfc.nasa.gov/gldas/images/SOILS/tex_statsfao_mod44w_025_full.jpg

Royal Horticultural Society. (N.D.). Soil Types. Retrieved October 14, 2017, from Royal Horticultural Society: https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=179

Soil Science Society of Amerika. (N.D.). Inceptisols. Retrieved October 14, 2017, from Soil Science Society of Amerika: https://www.soils.org/discover-soils/soil-basics/soil-types/inceptisols

Soil Sciene Society of America. (N.D.). Soil Orders. Retrieved October 14, 2017, from Soil Sciene Society of America: http://www.soils4teachers.org/files/images/s4t/soil-orders.jpg

The Palm Centre. (N.D.). Olive Tree Care Guide. Retrieved October 15, 2017, from The Palm Centre: https://www.palmcentre.co.uk/olivecare