Aridisol

Aridisols (or desert soils) are a soil order in <a href="/facts/USDA_soil_taxonomy/HgpyDsEX">USDA soil taxonomy</a>. Aridisols (from the Latin aridus, for "dry", and solum) form in an arid or semi-arid climate. Aridisols dominate the <a href="/facts/Deserts_and_xeric_shrublands/EulbpSBN">deserts and xeric shrublands</a>, which occupy about one-third of the Earth's land surface. Aridisols have a very low concentration of <a href="/facts/Organic_matter/t17tVCvk">organic matter</a>, reflecting the paucity of vegetative production on these dry soils. 
Water deficiency is the central defining characteristic of Aridisols. Also required is sufficient age to exhibit <a href="/facts/Subsoil/URWLX60v">subsoil</a> weathering and development. Limited leaching in aridisols often results in one or more subsurface soil horizons in which suspended or dissolved minerals have been deposited: silicate clays, sodium, calcium carbonate, gypsum, or soluble salts. These subsoil horizons can also be <a href="/facts/Cementation_(geology)/gjsJHkBv">cemented</a> by carbonates, gypsum, or silica. Accumulation of salts on the surface can result in <a href="/facts/Soil_salinity/P6bXhlLE">salinization</a>.
In the <a href="/facts/World_Reference_Base_for_Soil_Resources/dQ5xGQ69">World Reference Base for Soil Resources</a> (WRB), most Aridisols belong to the <a href="/facts/Calcisol/tXjs7jQB">Calcisols</a>, <a href="/facts/Gypsisol/5wxzxmUN">Gypsisols</a>, <a href="/facts/Durisol/nXNE06zH">Durisols</a> and <a href="/facts/Solonchak/7kM5Y3Sd">Solonchaks</a>.

Aridisol open-in-new

Aridisol