Luvisols are a group of soils, comprising one of the 32 Reference Soil Groups in the international system of soil classification, the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB).[1] They are widespread, especially in temperate climates, and are generally fertile. Luvisols are widely used for agriculture.[2]
Luvisols cover 500–600 million ha of land area, mainly in the temperate zones. They form on a wide variety of mineral parent materials. In Mediterranean regions, the formation of hematite can produce red-coloured Chromic Luvisols.[2]
The main characteristic of Luvisols is an argic horizon, a subsurface zone with higher clay content than the material above it.[1] This typically arises as clay is washed downward by water and accumulates at greater depth. The clay minerals have not been extensively weathered and are therefore of the high-activity, 2:1 type, giving these soils high cation exchange capacities and high base saturation.[1][2] In uneroded landscapes, a lighter, clay-depleted eluvial horizon occurs above the argic horizon.[2]
