Clay Mineralogical Diversity in Soil Systems: Insights from XRD Analyses Across Diverse Soil Orders Jadhav Kavitha P1,*, Ahmed Nayan1, Datta S P2, Ray Prasenjit1, Meena Mahesh Chand3, Shrivastava Manoj4, Chakraborty Debasis5 1ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Research Centre, Ballari, Karnataka, India 2Division of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India 3ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India 4CESCRA, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India 5Division of Agricultural Physics, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India *Corresponding author’s email <kavithajadhav93@gmail.com>, ORCID IDs: Authors have not disclosed – Chief Editor
Online Published on 09 January, 2024. Abstract The objective of this investigation was characterization of clay minerals from soils of Vertisols, Alfisols, Inceptisols, and Entisols orders in India. X-ray diffractograms showed diverse mineralogical compositions in these soil orders. Vertisols were dominated by smectite, illite and kaolinite clay minerals. Alfisols presents a contrasting mineralogical array, with the dominant presence of kaolinite, vermiculite, and illite type clay mineral and these findings accentuate the distinct mineralogical identity characterizing the Alfisols, where smectite, illite, and kaolinite were prevalent. Mineralogical signatures unravel the prevalence composition within Inceptisols. Conversely, the Entisols manifests a distinctive mineralogy by the coexistence of chlorite, hydroxy interlayer chlorite, illite, and kaolinite clay minerals. The comprehensive insights into the distinct clay mineral compositions of diverse Indian soil orders, enhancing our understanding of their unique mineralogical characteristics. Top Keywords Igneous rock sourced clay minerals, Mineral provenance, Minerals in alluvial soils, Parent materials on mineral occurrence, Sedimentary rock sourced minerals, Soil Taxonomy and mineral occurrence. Top |