Chemical Properties of the Coastal Alluvial Soils of the Republic of Guinea
1967
Horn, M. E. | Hall, V. L. | Chapman, S. L. | Wiggins, M. M.
Tides along the coast of the Republic of Guinea in West Africa and in estuaries, have influenced most coastal soils by salt water intrusion. The soils are mostly clays and poor drainage is general. Some leaching of salts from surface layers occurs during wet seasons in higher-lying soils while in lower areas fresh-water flooding causes surface flushing or dilution of saline ground water. Laboratory studies of 129 samples representing 34 soil profiles show wide ranges in salinity (electrical conductivities of < 1 to > 50 mmhos/cm). Acid-sulfate or “cat-clay soils” occur that have pH values of 2.6 to 4.0, and up to more than 500 ppm KCl-extractable Al. Their subsoils contain segregations of a yellowish Fe-S compound (identified as a mixture of jarosite and natrojarosite). High organic matter and S contents combined with low Ca contents in some unreclaimed soils point to potentially severe acidity upon drainage.
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