Mineral Nature of Soils

Often, golf courses have fairways and fairways that have been roughs built on the original soil with its mineral nature, and it is therefore important to know the origin of the different soils and their characteristics. A first approach to understanding them starts with the lithological study of the area, as this will give us information about the nature of the soil of our streets.

Thus, the different lithologies that abound in the vicinity of the golf course will give rise through weathering, erosion, etc. to the soil of our fairways and fairways. roughs.

The possible land horizons for our streets are:

• "Mollic", rich in organic matter, dark, thick and well-structured.
• "ochreous", light-coloured, with little organic carbon, low thickness, very compacted when dry.
• "Calcic" with accumulations of calcium carbonates, petrocalcic (similar to calcic but hardened).
• "Gypsic and petrogypsic (also called yessic and petrogypsic),
• "Argic" with clay accumulations

The weathering of soils results in the migration of poorly soluble minerals (calcite), moderately soluble (gypsum), very soluble as sodium and sulphate salts, and even colloidal particles carried in suspension.

The carbonate nature of many lithological materials determines that calcium carbonate washout plays a very important role in the genesis of many soils, as is the case with the calcic horizons and petrocalcic, the latter characterised by strong cementation caused by massive accumulation of calcium carbonate.

The gypsification process consists of the translocation in solution of gypsum from the surface to precipitate at depth, being petroglypsic if it is very intense and forms a cemented layer in the soil.

In the case of salts that are more soluble than gypsum, their mobility is greater, producing downward and upward movements due to capillarity phenomena caused by high temperatures and evaporationsaline horizons are then produced.

The process of illimerisation or translocation of clay is the mobilisation, by washing in suspension, of clay from an upper horizon to a lower horizon in which it is deposited, giving rise to an argic horizon.