Vertisolic - Soils of Saskatchewan

Vertisolic

Vertisolic soils are found throughout the Prairie Ecozone on parent materials high in clay (i.e., greater than 60 % clay). Typically they occupy level landsurfaces such as the Eston and Regina Plains that were glacial lakes during the retreat of the last (Wisconsinan) glaciers. The heavy clay swells when wet and shrinks when the soil dries out, which causes cracking at the soil surface and mixing of the soil layers underneath the surface. Because of the mixing, soil horizons of the Vertisols are relatively weakly developed compared to comparable Chernozemic soils.

Great Groups of the Vertisolic Order

Two Great Groups of the Vertisolic Order occur in Saskatchewan. Both have B and/or C horizons with evidence of mixing (Bv or Cv) and polished surfaces along fracture planes (Bss or Css).

Humic Vertisol Soils

These soils occur in the moister, central part of the agricultural region and have a darker A horizon than the Vertisol Great Group.

Vertisol Soils

Soils of the Vertisol Great Group have an A horizon that is difficult to distinguish from the underlying B or C horizon. They occur in the drier variants of the heavy clay landscapes in Saskatchewan.

Distribution of Vertisolic soils in Saskatchewan