Vertisols

Vertisol Soils

Vertisols are most commonly found in eastern Mississippi, western Alabama, and southeast, south, and central Texas. These are clay soils characterized by shrinking and swelling as moisture content varies. The clay content is generally present at 1 meter or more (Brady and Weil 1999). These soils are generally sticky during the wet season and hard in the dry season, so they require special management practices regardless of the type of equipment used. Shrink-swell processes in Vertisols are related to the total clay content, the content of fine clay, and mineralogy. They generally have high clay content (50-70%), with a relatively large proportion in the fine clay fraction.