The Mollisols
The Mollisols and their close relatives make up the breadbasket of the
world. They are
the dark, organic-rich, fertile, short-grass prairie soils of the Great Plains of U.S. and
Canada, the Steppes of Russia and Ukraine and the Pampas of Argentina.
In Hawaii the Mollisols are fertile soils that require irrigation for cultivation
of most
crops.
|
In Hawaii the Mollisols are closely associated with the Vertisols but do
not shrink and
crack or harden to the degree of Vertisols. The word "mollis" which is greek for "soft"
points to one property that makes Mollisols so desirable for agriculture. An example of
a Mollisol is the Waialua soil on Oahu. It is a Mollisol that can be mistaken for a
Vertisol. On the other end of the Mollisol spectrum we have the Mamala series which
is
a shallow red soil formed in alluvium deposited on the raised coral reefs of the Ewa
plains.