Soil-geomorphology relationships of alluvial fans in Costa Rica

Journal Pre-proof Soil-geomorphology relationships of alluvial fans in Costa Rica

Manuel E. Camacho, Adolfo Quesada-Román, Rafael Mata, Alfredo Alvarado PII:

S2352-0094(20)30007-9

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geodrs.2020.e00258

Reference:

GEODRS 258

To appear in:

Geoderma Regional

Received date:

9 December 2019

Revised date:

3 February 2020

Accepted date:

5 February 2020

Please cite this article as: M.E. Camacho, A. Quesada-Román, R. Mata, et al., Soilgeomorphology relationships of alluvial fans in Costa Rica, Geoderma Regional(2020), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geodrs.2020.e00258

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© 2020 Published by Elsevier.

Journal Pre-proof Soil-geomorphology relationships of alluvial fans in Costa Rica Manuel E. Camacho1,2* , Adolfo Quesada-Román3,4 , Rafael Mata1 and Alfredo Alvarado1 1

Laboratorio de Recursos Naturales, Centro de Investigaciones Agronómicas, Universidad

de Costa Rica, 11503-2060 San Pedro, Costa Rica. 2

North Carolina State University. Department of Crop and Soil Science, Campus Box 7620,

101 Derieux Street, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA. Climate Change Impacts and Risks in the Anthropocene, Institute for Environmental

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Escuela de Geografía, Universidad de Costa Rica, 2060 San Pedro, Costa Rica

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Sciences, University of Geneva, 66 Boulevard Carl-Vogt, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland.

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*Corresponding author E-mail: [email protected]

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Journal Pre-proof Highlights Soil–geomorphology relationships were studied in a basin in southern Costa Rica

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Quaternary alluvial fans present different age and degree of soil development

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Weathered soils developed mainly in the oldest alluvial fans from Late Pleistocene

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Entisols or Inceptisols were found associated with Ultisols on later alluvial fans

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The most weathered soils were Anionic Acrustox found on early alluvial fans

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Journal Pre-proof Abstract The precise determination of landforms and their formation processes are key to accomplish detailed soil mapping and better understand of soil genesis. The Upper General River Basin is located at the southeast of Costa Rica on the transition between Cordillera de Talamanca and General River Valley, forming an extensive alluvial fan sequence. Our work aims to determine the soil–geomorphology relationships on these alluvial fans. The employed

consisted

of geomorphological mapping

using

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methods

1:25,000

aerial

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photographs to determine five alluvial fans: buried inactive, modeled inactive, early,

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intermediate, and late. Soil maps were established by combining landforms with soil survey

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data that allowed to differentiate twelve soil units of Ultisols associated with Oxisols, Inceptisols and Entisols. The most weathered soils were classified as Anionic and were

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Acrustox found on the oldest landforms located on buried inactive and early alluvial fans.

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These soils were found associated with Typic Rhodustults and Ustic Haplohumults. Typic Ustifluvents occurred on early alluvial fans and modeled inactive alluvial fans. Similar

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morphologic and chemical characteristics of the evaluated Oxisols were found for soils

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previously classified as Ultisols. These findings support the hypothesis that many soil currently classified as Ultisols could be reclassified as Oxisols (if the appropriate mineralogical analyses were conducted). These results put in perspective that the origin of the fans and hence their ages control the consequent soil development. In addition, the study contextualizes the implications of mapping and classifying highly weathered tropical soils for territorial planning, agricultural management and natural resources conservation. Keywords: Tropical geomorphology; Soil mapping; Alluvial fans; Oxisols; Tropical weathered soils; Tropics.

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Journal Pre-proof 1. Introduction Soil forming processes are intimately related to landforms and geomorphic processes. The balance between morphogenesis-pedogenesis in the same environment and factors such as climate, vegetation, lithology, topography, time, and anthropogenic alteration represents the basic principles of soil geomorphology or geopedology (Birkeland 1984; Schaetzel and Anderson 2005; Zinck 2016).

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Tropical soils formed under particular weathering conditions such as intense rainfall

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patterns, high temperatures, and the intense biological activity, that could be affected by

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anthropogenic modifications such as agriculture and urbanism (Sanchez and Buol 1975;

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van Wambeke 1992; Sanchez and Logan 1992; Boul 2017). The unique common characteristic to all soils in tropical latitudes is the small seasonal soil temperature. Other

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physical, chemical, and mineralogical properties are comparable to those many other soils

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in the temperate latitudes. However, the order of Oxisols is not found in the in those temperate regions afore mentioned (Buol 2017), and its distribution is mostly concentrated

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Buol et al. 2011).

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in the southern hemisphere occupying about 24% of the tropics (FAO-UNESCO 1988;

In specific, Oxisols develop in tropical Quaternary alluvial fans and terraces (Tsai et al. 2007; 2016). Nevertheless, specific studies about soil-landscape interactions and genesis of Oxisols in old alluvial fans for the region of Central America are very scarce (Kesel and Spicer, 1985). The geomorphology of alluvial fans in our study area (Fig. 1) and their interactions with landscape has been studied by Bergoeing (2011) and Quesada-Román (2016). Adjacent to the Upper General River Basin (UGRB) Krishnaswamy et al. (2001) analyzed the hydro-climatology conditions in order to understand the implications of land 4

Journal Pre-proof use change for Térraba Basin regional hydrology. Specific studies have reported Oxisols occurrence in General River Valley (Martini and Macías, 1974; Kesel and Spicer, 1985; Krishnaswamy and Richter, 2002). However, a detailed Oxisols classification and its distribution in a suitable landscape as the Upper General River alluvial fans sequence have not been done, neither the study of the relationships with other soil orders. Here, we apply geomorphological and pedological approaches to investigate (i) tropical alluvial fans and

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soil interactions in order to map soil units, (ii) regional landscape dynamics that favor the

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Oxisols formation, and (iii) implications of Oxisols classification for territorial and

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agricultural management in the tropics

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2. Materials and Methods

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2.1. Study area

The study area is located 80 km southeast of San José, the capital city of Costa Rica,

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bounded by the geographic coordinates of 9° 25’ to 9° 7’, and 83° 48’ to 83° 24’, and

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amounting to approximately 380 km2 of the Pérez Zeledón central-south zone of Costa Rica (Fig. 1). The landscape of the study area is the result of complex tectonics. Its architecture

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has a direct relationship to the subduction processes between the Cocos and Caribbean plates. In addition, the collision of the Cocos Ridge, the triple junction of the CocosCaribbean-Nazca plates, and an active strike-slip regional fault system associated with the Panama microplate have favor high uplift rates from 1.7 to 8.5 m/ka during the Quaternary (DeMets et al., 2010; Gardner et al., 2013; Morell, 2016; Alvarado et al., 2017). The study area can be differentiated between the Cordillera de Talamanca hills to the north of the basin and the alluvial fans, the floodplain, and the Fila Brunqueña, a steep-fronted, linear mountain range to the south (Quesada-Román and Zamorano-Orozco, 2019). 5

Journal Pre-proof In the lowest part of the basin there is a clear deposition of sedimentary materials associated with the alluvial fans. On the other hand, the floodplain and the Fila Brunqueña are composed

of sedimentary Oligocene-Miocene age

rocks including sandstones,

conglomerates and shales (Marshall, 2007).

The influence of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) caused the development of glacial

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landforms including cirques, U-shaped valleys, moraines, and glacial lakes which eroded

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the mountain landscape over 3000 m asl (Lachniet and Seltzer, 2002; Veas et al., 2018;

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Quesada-Román et al., 2019). The UGRB has two periods of maximum precipitation, one

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in April-May and the other between the months of August and November (Fig. 2). The first stage of rainy season is influenced by the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), while the

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second is linked to tropical anomalies in the Caribbean Sea such as tropical depressions and

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hurricanes (Alfaro and Quesada-Román, 2010; Alfaro et al., 2010; Campos-Durán and Quesada-Román, 2017a, Campos-Durán and Quesada-Román, 2017b). The combination of

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these phenomena accounts for a yearly rainfall mean greater than 2500 mm in the lowlands

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(<1000 m asl), to more than 4000 mm per year between 1000 and 2500 m asl, and less than 2000 mm per year in the highest parts of the mountain zones (Quesada-Román, 2017).

2.2. Geomorphological mapping Geomorphological mapping was divided into three phases: pre-mapping, fieldwork, and post-mapping (Otto and Smith, 2013). During the pre-mapping phase the morphogenetic map was built based on aerial photo interpretation at 1:25,000 scale from PRIAS-CENAT (2005) project using a Geographic Information System (ArcGIS ® 10.3). This method

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Journal Pre-proof showed the morphology, evolution, and age of the different landforms (Bishop et al., 2012; Otto et al., 2017). The fieldwork was accomplished in four field checks made between 2016 and 2018 to verify the different landform dynamics and boundaries. The post-mapping was conducted to develop the geomorphological legend that divides the landform genesis into endogenic (tectonic) and exogenic (fluvial) landforms (Gustavsson et al., 2006). 2.3. Soil survey and soil data

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Available soil data of the study area were taken from Sandoval and Mata (2014) who

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compiled information for over 1500 soil pedons across the territory of Costa Rica. This

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database has been updated with soil pedons from a soil survey conducted by Camacho

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(2017) and other profiles available on soil database of NCSS (2017), classified according to

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the latest version of Soil Taxonomy (Soil Survey Staff, 2014). The database was screened to ensure good representation, including soil pedons with complete field soil descriptions,

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laboratory analysis, and geographic coordinates.

Following the screening approximately 80 soil pedons distributed within the study area

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were reviewed (Table S1). All of the pedons were described according to the guidelines from Schoeneberger et al. (2002) and further classified according to Soil Taxonomy (Soil Survey Staff, 2014). Soil profile description and color assessment were conducted following guidelines described in Munsell (2004) and Schoeneberger et al. (2002). Soil physical and chemical analysis methods used in soil pedons taken from the database were reviewed. Soil pH, in 1:1 H2 O and KCl 1N, exchangeable bases (Ca, Mg, K, Na) and cation exchange capacity at pH 7(CEC 7 ) were measured following guidelines from DiazRomeu and Hunter (1978). Cation exchange capacity of clay (CEC c) and effective cation 7

Journal Pre-proof exchange capacity of clay (ECEC c) were calculated following guidelines in Buol et al. (2011). Organic carbon contents (OC) were determined by dry combustion (Horneck and Miller, 1998). Nanocrystalline Fe and Al (Churchman and Lowe 2012; McDaniel et al. 2012) content were extracted using ammonium oxalate and phosphate retention as described by Blakemore et al. (1987). Particle size distribution analysis (PSDA) was measured using modified Bouyoucos

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hydrometer (Day, 1965). Bulk density was determined through volumetric cylinder sample

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and particle density was measured using volumetric flasks (Forsythe, 1985). Soil water

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retention was measured on undisturbed samples and pressure plates (Richards, 1941;

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Forsythe, 1985).

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The soil map was derived from the geomorphological map and the soil survey pedons. The base of the soil map units delineation are the landforms. These alluvial fans units were

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differentiated based on landform shape, age and dynamics. Once the geomorphological

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units were determined, the soil pedon for the different pedological units were assigned

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depending on the predominant taxa presented, and soil associations or consociations from relative abundance of every taxonomic subgroup found on the landform according to Bromley and Miller (2016), Dobos and Hengl (2009), Farshad et al. (2013), Zinck (2013, 2016). 3. Results 3.1. Geomorphological map Geomorphological units were divided into endogenic and exogenic landforms (Fig. 3). Tectonic landforms as endogenic morphologies are related to the displacement and rupture of a strike-slip transform fault oriented approximately 25° NW-SE and 25 km long. This 8

Journal Pre-proof tectonic system is located in the central sections of the area. The coalescence of several alluvial fans that are related to the mountain zone with the General River represents river deflections, sag ponds, and shutter ridges with a measured displacement between 2 and 2.5 lineal kilometers. Among landforms of tectonic origin fault escarpments and shutter ridges prevail. The fault escarpments are abrupt changes in a surface whose height and genesis are variable. The

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origin of this slope is the result of the relative movement of the strike-slip transform fault.

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This movement creates a steep step that varies between 20 and 80 m, divided in at least five

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parts along its location. On the other hand, shutter ridges are small deformed areas

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produced by the pressure between different traces of the fault zone. These units can be

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moved along the disruption and seal the drainage or divert rivers and streams. In the study site, 41 shutter ridges were identified along the trace of the strike-slip transform fault,

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generally aligned with two orientations: 40-45° (NW-SE) and 45-90° (NE).

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Exogenic landforms are divided into fluvial erosional and depositional landforms. The

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erosional fluvial landforms are rivers and fluvial valleys, which draw a parallel drainage pattern on these alluvial fans sequence. The depositional fluvial landforms are characterized for the transition floodplain, frequently affected by extraordinary floods, located among the alluvial fans. The development of the alluvial fans is related to the deposition of several differing amounts of sediments from the fast deglaciation of the extensive glaciers on the Cordillera de Talamanca heights before and after the LGM. Besides the impact of the ice and snow, the alluvial fans were deposited and modeled in association with the high rates of rainfall and the intense weathering velocity. According to their geomorphological and stratigraphic 9

Journal Pre-proof position, alluvial fans are here classified as buried inactive, modeled inactive, earlier, intermediate, and late. Inactive alluvial fans (buried and modeled) are the older landforms of the proluvial sequence. The buried inactive alluvial fans are extensive old coalescence alluvial fans formed at the toe of the accumulation glacis. They are recognizable as an abrupt rupture between the active fans and the wide floodplain of the General River. There is a total of five landforms with slope angles less than 26°, and intense erosion rates. Buried

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inactive fans are located over the early, intermediate, and late alluvial fans. The modeled

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inactive alluvial fans are wide sedimentary surfaces located in the drastic slope change

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between the mountain hillslopes and piedmont area, they are represented by seven

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examples. Their most common characteristics are the high drainage density and the development of fluvial valleys between 60 and 400 m depth. Modeled inactive fans are

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below and covered by more recent alluvial fans e.g. early, intermediate, and late alluvial

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fans.

The early alluvial fans are composed of five proluvial units of the piedmont with gentle

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slopes (~7°) and high drainage densities. Tectonically, these units are laterally moved

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approximately 2.2 km by the strike-slip fault at the south-east of the study site. These variables made these fans the most modeled and transformed units. A total of six examples of the intermediate alluvial fans were located in gentle slopes (7° and 15°), a profound dissection of their valleys (20–60 m), and dislocated due to the transform strike-slip fault. The late alluvial fans are composed of four units recognized by their fluvial tracks related with recent floods and initial erosional patterns in their borders. Their slopes are below 7° and they are the youngest landforms of the study area.

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Journal Pre-proof 3.2. Soil map and map units In general, the soil moisture and temperature regimen selected for the soil pedons assessed in the study area were ustic and isohyperthermic respectively. Those regimes were assigned based on the soil water holding capacity data, the climatic data (precipitation and temperature) and the hypsometry of the soil sites (Fig. 1 and 2). The relative abundance of different soil taxonomic categories (order, suborder, great group, and subgroup) estimated

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for the geomorphological units assessed on the geomorphological map for the UGRB are

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presented in Figure 4. A total of four soil orders, five sub orders and seven great groups

were:

Typic

Ustifluvents,

Typic

Dystrustepts,

Ustic

Palehumults,

Ustic

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identified

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were identified (Fig. 4 A, B, and C, respectively). The major taxonomic subgroups

Haplohumults, Typic Haplustults, Typic Rhodustults, Plinthic Kandiustox, and Anionic

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Acrustox. Major characteristics of the subgroups are summarized in Table 1. Ultisols were

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the most abundant soils covering all the geomorphological units. They were more frequently found on buried inactive and modeled inactive fans (Fig. 4A) as taxonomic

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subgroups Ustic Haplohumults and Typic Haplustults (Fig. 4.D). The most abundant

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Oxisols found on early and intermediate alluvial fans were Anionic Acrustox (Fig. 4D). Entisols were mainly found on early alluvial fans and Inceptisols on late alluvial fans and modeled fans (Fig.4A). Map units were identified as distinct soil associations. These were established from relative abundance soil analyses and the interpretation of geomorphologic units on the soil map generated for the study area (Fig. 5). Associations of Oxisols and Ultisols were found mainly on early and intermediate old alluvial fans. Inceptisols and Entisols with relatively less pedological development were found on late and modeled inactive alluvial fans.

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Journal Pre-proof Map units established on southeastern early and intermediate alluvial fans consisted of Anionic Acrustox/Typic Rhodustults and Typic Rhodustults/Anionic Acrustox associations surrounded by of Ultisols subgroups on buried inactive and late alluvial fans (i.e. Ustic Haplohumults/Typic Haplustults). In the center region,

intermediate and

Haplohumults/Typic Haplustults and

late alluvial fans correspond

with Ustic

Typic Haplustults/Typic Dystrustepts respectively.

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as Typic Rhodustults/Ustic Palehumults (Fig. 5).

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On the other hand, overlaying a buried alluvial fan another pedological unit was identified

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In the northwestern region, pedological units were considered as Ustic Haplohumults/Typic

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Dystrustepts or Ustic Haplohumults/Typic Ustifluvents associations (Fig. 5). Ustifluvents

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were found in landforms with high density of creeks and tributary rivers, where erosion, stream action, and fluvial deposition have a considerable influence. These units are located

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on the modeled inactive and subsequent intermediate-late alluvial fans and in the northern

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piedmont. In this same region an Ustic Haplohumults/Plinthic Kandiustox association was

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found developing on intermediate alluvial fans overlying an early alluvial fan of Ustic Haplohumults/Anionic Acrustox. Ultisols dominated on the oldest and most stable geomorphological units. However, morphological characteristics of representative soil pedons, such as horizon color and distribution across depth on different profiles evaluated were similar to those reported in literature for Oxisols (Fig. 6). In addition, some physical and chemical properties were similar to those found in pedons classified as Oxisols (Table 1). This same pattern was found on different soil landscapes located on early alluvial fan along the studied area where deep, reddish and clayey soils frequently appeared (Fig. 7). 12

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4. Discussion 4.1. Landforms and processes The current geomorphological configuration of the alluvial fans sequence responds to its regional and local tectonics, climatic changes, and the degree of weathering. Otherwise, influence of anthropogenic effects such as fires, plowing for land preparation have also

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transformed these landscapes. The local faults and the neotectonic axis along the alluvial

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plain of the General River indicate a continuous process of relaxation of this tectonic

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graben (Denyer and Alvarado, 2007). In addition, a continuous tectonic activity triggers

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mass movements as inputs to the fluvial system (Alvarado et al., 2009a; Alvarado et al., 2009b; Quesada-Román and Zamorano-Orozco, 2018).

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Furthermore, during the LGM and even in prior periods during the Late Pleistocene, the

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highest summits of Cordillera de Talamanca were glaciated, producing a near-continuous landscape of glacial cirques, valleys, and lakes with an extensive debris cover from the

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movement of the ice masses and the subsequent erosion and deposition (Cunningham et al.,

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2019; Potter et al., 2019).

During the Late Pleistocene the alternation of glacial-interglacial periods (Hughes et al., 2013) provoked the progressive transition of large masses of sediments along the General River, forming the Pacific piedmont of the Cordillera de Talamanca (Quesada-Román and Zamorano-Orozco, 2019). Consistently,

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C dates reported by Kesel and Spicer (1985),

alluvial fans vary in ages between 100 years for the youngest ones, 7 ka the intermediate fans, and between 85 and 45 ka for the oldest ones. The alluvial fans soil ages correspond with mean and wettest periods during the MIS 1 (7 ka soils), and the MIS 2-3 (85-45 ka soils). In the case of the intermediate soils, Islebe and Hooghiemstra (1997) determined that 13

Journal Pre-proof the current wet and warm conditions started around 8.5 ka, which is consistent with intermediate alluvial fans age. The oldest fans are consistent with δ18 O time series from Useries dated stalagmites collected from a cave on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica (Lachniet et al., 2009), and consonant with the regional climate trend in studies of Guatemala (Hodell et al., 2008) and Panama (Shadik et al., 2017). The structural control favored the arrangement of the river channels and their activity,

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especially in the east side of the proluvial ramp where a strike-slip fault moved six alluvial

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fans and created 41 shutter ridges (Quesada-Román and Zamorano-Orozco, 2019). The

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current high rates of rainfall (between 2500 and 5500 mm/y) since 8.5 ka after the Younger

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Dryas terminus and the extant climatological conditions (Islebe et al. 1995; Leyden, 1995)

alluvial fans.

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4.2. Soil formation dynamics

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have facilitated the intense weathering velocity that has shaped the modeled and buried

Soil mapping units were mainly composed of Ultisols, represented as distinct taxonomic

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subgroups on soil associations established on the soil map. Occurrence of Ultisols on

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distinct landforms, is led by their structural stability over periods of time, allowing formation of argillic or kandic horizons (West et al., 1998; Buol et al., 2011). Pedogenesis of Oxisols can be explained by old alluvial materials deposited in the wettest periods between 85-45 ka reported in Costa Rica (Lachniet et al., 2009) and consistent with regional moist periods in Guatemala (Hodell et al., 2008) and Panama (Shadik et al., 2017). The material was reworked by mass movements and transport forming very stable alluvial fans on which Ultisols and Oxisols formed (Martini and Macías, 1974; Kesel and Spicer, 1985). Similar conditions for Oxisol development have been reported in the literature (Buol and Eswaran, 2000; Buol et al., 2011). 14

Journal Pre-proof While comparing among soil pedons, specifically Ultisols and Oxisols described in the same landforms, morphological and physical characteristics were similar (Table 1 and Fig. 6). This pattern on soil pedon morphology (i.e. profile depth, horizon distribution and color, as well as vegetation development), was observed on other sites of the UGRB with similar morphologies (Fig. 7). This reinforces the hypothesis that certain soil pedons obtained from the soil database of Sandoval and Mata (2014) for the landforms examined

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could be reclassified as Oxisols after the performing the corresponding mineralogical

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analysis of weatherable mineral content on sand and CEC in the clay fractions.

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The Oxisols sampled and described in present study presented weatherable mineral content

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lower than 9% by volume on sand fraction for kandic horizons corresponding with soils on

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our early and intermediate alluvial fans (Fig. 8.A, B). In addition, it was found magnetite (MG) as the primary mineral affected by the oxidation process and quartz in mosaics, as

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well as altered sedimentary fragments (FSA). This petrographic analysis confirmed the presence of minerals commonly found in sedimentary materials, including conglomerates

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and sandstones described for that region (Alvarado et al., 2009a). This last point reinforces

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the concept of soil genesis from Quaternary alluvial materials (old and stable alluvial fans) during the last two glaciation periods. Weatherable mineral content in the sand fraction is a fundamental criterion to classify Oxisols, allowing differentiation from Ultisols with kandic horizon when this content is lower than 10% (Buol and Eswaran, 2000; Buol et al., 2011). Clay mineralogy in kandic horizons found in present study for those same soil profiles mentioned above (Fig. 8.C) is composed mainly of kaolinite (KK), gibbsite (GI) and Fe oxides such as goethite and hematite (GE and HE, respectively). These results are 15

Journal Pre-proof concurrent with some chemical properties including low values of ECEC and CEC found in Oxisols, in agreement with those reported by other authors for soils developing over old alluvial materials from Quaternary in Central America (Martini and Macías 1974; Kesel and Spicer 1985; Alvarado et al. 2014).

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On the other hand, the development of Typic Ustifluvents on lowlands of modeled

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inactive, intermediate and late alluvial fans located at the northwestern part, can be explained by its geomorphological and stratigraphic position and the influence of the

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General river tributaries and Peñas Blancas and tributaries (Bergoeing, 2011; Quesada-

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Román, 2016). These sources provide alluvial sediments and distribute them around the

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lowlands and floodplains of these landforms in accordance with concepts discussed by

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Buol et al. (2011).

Fluvents formation is led by intermittent deposition of alluvial materials over time. This

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process inhibits horizons development in the profile due the steady addition of new

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material during flood events. This deposition process is faster than the rate of material assimilation into pedogenetic horizons (Bertsch et al., 2000; Buol et al., 2011). Under tropical environments, Entisols, such as Fluvents, are normally found developing on the lowest position such as natural levees (Kesel and Spicer, 1985). On the other hand, Ultisols are commonly located on upper positions of terraces or alluvial fans (Tsai et al., 2016). This is in agreement with the findings of this present study and the wettest and warmer conditions since 8.5 ka with Younger Dryas terminus (Islebe and Hooghiemstra, 1997).

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The development of Inceptisols (Typic Dystrustepts) in association with Ultisols on the intermediate and late alluvial fans located at the southeastern can be attributed to colluvial processes triggered by fault movement prevailing in this site of the basin associated with climate changes during the Quaternary (Fig. 3). Thomas (2004) studied the landscape sensitivity to rapid environmental changes, providing examples of colluvial processes in

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the tropics (Brazil), where colluvial-deposition activity during Quaternary started with

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abrupt changes in the landscape. Graham and Buol (1990) also reported soil geomorphic

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relationships where Ultisols and Inceptisols where found developing under colluvial

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landforms in Blue Ridge Mountains Front (eastern United States). Consistently, Tsai et al.

genesis of three geologic terraces.

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(2016) found soil Pleistocene landscape interactions in Taiwan to understand the soil

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The landforms, climate and time seem to control the soil formation and their resulting

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distribution of soil types along studied landforms on General River Upper Basin. Islebe

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and Hooghiemstra (1997) explain changes in the vegetation patterns due to gradual changes on humidity and temperature during early and middle Holocene. In addition, there are reports about the increase of fire frequency during later Holocene that coincides with drier periods and development of “arid regions” or savannas in the region (Horn and Sanford, 1992; Horn, 1993). Changes in soil use due to anthropomorphic activities including agriculture and urbanism in this region affects directly the landscape dynamics (Miranda, 1983). Present work results could be a useful tool in soil mapping, aiming to improve knowledge on the genesis and taxonomy for those soils developing on tropical alluvial fans. Similar 17

Journal Pre-proof research has been successfully developed on other countries with tropical conditions (Bautista et al., 2011; Krasilnikov et al., 2011; Tsai et al., 2016). Excluding the study performed by Kesel and Spicer (1985) in the General River Valley where they established soil age geomorphic relationships, there are no previous reports of this kind of geomorphological-pedological studies in Costa Rica nor Central America. Under tropical conditions, landforms stability plays a fundamental role on soil genesis of

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weathered soils (van Wambeke 1992; West et al. 1997; Buol and Eswaran 2000; Boul et al.

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2011). Therefore, proper identification of depositional landforms as old alluvial fans is

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fundamental in order to find development of highly weathered soils, as mentioned by other

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authors (Kesel and Spicer 1985; Krishnaswamy and Richter 2002; Bautista et al., 2011;

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Krasilnikov et al., 2011; Tsai et al. 2016). Our results are critical in the Central American region where the hydrography, the geologic and geomorphologic characteristics allow the

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development of old alluvial landforms (Marshall 2007).

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Our results reinforce the importance of data quality on quantitative pedology towards

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sustainable production and management in the Tropics, as stated by Buol et al. (1975). Soil taxonomy and its corresponding survey data becomes the entry point for fertility capacity soil classification. This system was developed to provide useful rational information for plant production (agriculture, forestry and forages) in the tropical regions (Sanchez et al. 1982; Sanchez et al. 2003). Therefore, weathered soils (Ultisols and Oxisols) are commonly found associated with other soil orders (van Wambeke 1992; West et al. 1997; Buol and Eswaran 2000).

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Journal Pre-proof 5. Conclusions Major landforms found in the Upper General River Basin were buried inactive, modeled inactive, early, intermediate, and late alluvial fans. These landforms responded to Late Pleistocene stadials and interstadials. These climatic conditions produced large amounts of sediments and created this piedmont under the differing weathering degrees. Soil map units were mainly composed of Ultisols, associated with Oxisols on the oldest landforms (i.e. inactive,

early,

and

intermediate

alluvial fans).

Soils with less pedologic

of

buried

ro

development such as Entisols and Inceptisols were found on younger structures (i.e. early

-p

and modeled alluvial fans), in agreement with those reported in the literature for soils

re

developing on old alluvial fans. The most weathered soils found along the basin studied were classified as Anionic Acrustox, developing mainly on early and buried inactive

characteristics

similar

to

those

reported

for

Ultisols

on

similar

na

morphologic

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alluvial fans located on the southeastern portion of the studied area. Those pedons showed

geomorphologic units. Further soil surveys are suggested, in order to review and confirm

Jo

ur

current soil taxonomic classification.

More analysis on sand and clay mineralogy should be perform for soil profiles classified as Ultisols on early and intermediate alluvial fans. This would facilitate collection of more accurate data to verify the current taxonomy or reclassify them as Oxisols, if appropriate. Soil mineralogy provided valuable information for understanding soil forming processes and factors such as parent material and time, allowing an aid to explain the soil genesis. Present work focused on geomorphology and soil interactions for a Quaternary basin river of Costa Rica, with similar soils and geomorphologic conditions to those reported for other tropical regions, included neighboring countries in Central America. Therefore, we 19

Journal Pre-proof recommend continuing with research following this approach, aiming to improve the information level available for planning and agriculture development, as well as to enhance knowledge on soil – landscape relationships on tropics.

Acknowledgements We are glad to thank M.Sc. Russell Losco for his invaluable help with English revision and

of

comments. In a very special way, we appreciate the reading of the manuscript and valuable

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corrections and suggestions by Dr. Stanley W. Buol. Also, we want to thank Mr. Manuel

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Barrantes for his help with mineral identification on thin sections.

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Zinck, J.A. 2016. The Geopelogic Approach. In: Zinck, J. A., Metternicht, G., Bocco, G., De Valle, H. F. (Eds). Geopedology: An integration of Geomorphology and Pedology for Soil and Landscape Studies. Springer. 556 pp. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-31919159-1

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Figures

Fig. 1. Localization, tectonics and hypsometry of the Upper General River Basin in the Costa Rican context. HE: Hess escarpment; ND: Nicaraguan depression; CCRDB: Central Costa Rica deformed belt; NPDB: North Panama Depression Belt; SPDB: South Panama Depression Belt; PFZ: Panama Fracture Zone; PTJ: Point Triple Junction (De Mets et al., 2010; Morell, 2016).

28

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300

A

PD Et0

B

PD Et0

30

T

T

25

20

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0

C

15

D

30

ro

400

300

re

200

lP

100

25

20

15

Month

ur

na

Ja n Fe uar br y ua r M y ar ch Ap ril M ay Ju ne Ju A l Se ug y pt us ie t m O ber ct N ob ov e e r D mb ec e em r be r Ja n Fe uar br y ua r M y ar ch Ap ril M ay Ju ne Ju A l Se ug y pt us ie t m O ber ct N ob ov e e r D mb ec e em r be r

0

Temperature (°C)

100

-p

Atmospheric water balance (mm)

200

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Fig. 2. Atmospheric water balance and mean temperature from four representative sites of study area in Pérez Zeledón, south of Costa Rica. A) La Ceniza, B) El Porvenir, C) El Ceibo, D) Repunta. PD: dependable precipitation, Et0 : monthly average potential evapotranspiration, T: Monthly average temperature.

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l a

e

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r P

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Fig. 3. Geomorphological map of the Upper General River Basin, Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica.

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Fig. 4. Relative abundance for taxonomic order (A), suborder (B); great group (C) and subgroup (D) identified at five different landforms assessed at the Río General Upper Basin, Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica.

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Fig. 5. Soil-geomorphological map of the Upper General River Basin, Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica.

32

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Fig. 6. Schematic representation of soil profiles for main taxonomic subgroups found in different alluvial fans in the Upper General River Basin, Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica. Soil profiles colors according to Munsell (2004).

33

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Fig. 7. Typical landscape of old alluvial fans with sugarcane production (A). Modal soil profile developing on early alluvial fan (B). Teep slopes showing deep soil profile development on early alluvial fan (C). Intermediate alluvial fan commonly found along the Upper General River Basin, Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica (D).

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Fig. 8. Sand and clay mineralogical characterization of two kandic horizons assessed on Oxisols developed on intermediate and early alluvial fans from Upper General River Basin, Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica. Thin sections fine sand fraction from Plinthic Kandiustox Btv horizon (A), Anionic Acrustox Bt horizon (B), and their corresponding x-ray diffraction pattern for clay mineralogy analysis (C). Color lines represent different treatments on clay: black (MgCl2 ) gray (KCl and calcination at 500°C). FE = Iron oxides, MG = magnetite, AR = clay, QZ = quartz, FSA = altered sedimentary fragment, kaolinite (KK), gibbsite (GI), goethite (GE), hematite (HE).

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Table 1. Selected characteristics of representative soil pedons from Upper General River Basin, Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica. Depth

Color

pH

CEC7

Bases

Horizon cm

(moist)

Acidity

OC

Clay

-1

H2 O

cmolc kg

Sand

Silt

T exture

%

A

0-20

10YR 3/3

5.5

21.4

10.3

0.3

3.7

24

C

20-41

10YR 3/4

5.3

20.3

9.7

0.3

3.2

22

C2

41-67

10YR 4/3

5.5

20.4

11.0

0.3

3.1

22

C3

67-103

10YR 3.5/5

5.6

22.7

12.2

0.2

C4

103-120

10YR 4/2

5.7

20.8

11.1

0.2

Ap

0-8

10YR 3/2

4.8

13.6

4.6

1.7

Bw

8-32

5YR 3/4

4.4

10.2

2.7

2.1

Bw 2

32-86

2.5YR 4/6

4.8

9.6

2.4

Bw 3

86-120

2.5YR 4/6

4.9

9.2

Ap

0-15

2.5YR 3/3.5

4.3

12.3

Bt

15-28

2.5YR 3/5

4.3

Bt 2

28-60

2.5YR 3.5/6

4.3

Bt 3

60-80

2.5YR 4/6

Bt 4

80-130

2.5YR 4/6

Ap

0-7

10YR 3/4

A2

7-25

5YR 3/4

Bt

25-40

5YR 4/3

Bt 2

40-65

Bt 3 Bt 4

subgroup

34

42

L

38

40

L

32

46

L

26

2.1

24

50

L

1.0

28

f o 30

42

CL

3.7

34

38

28

CL

2.8

32

40

28

CL

1.7

1.9

30

40

30

CL

2.0

1.0

1.5

28

40

32

CL

3.5

2.0

2.8

36

32

32

CL

11.0

2.4

1.0

1.7

48

34

18

C

10.5

3.0

1.0

1.5

50

32

18

C

10.2

2.7

0.4

0.8

50

30

20

C

9.6

2.7

0.5

0.5

52

28

20

C

12.3

3.46

2.0

8.4

64

21

15

C

5.3

11

2.35

1.0

4.5

78

10

12

C

5.4

10.5

3.03

1.0

1.1

79

2

19

C

5YR 4/6

5.9

10.2

2.71

0.4

1.0

78

3

19

C

65-105

5YR 4/6

6.0

9.6

2.72

0.5

0.5

83

3

14

C

105-160

5YR 3/4

6.2

9.8

2.6

0.5

0.4

78

6

16

C

rn

u o 5.0 4.8

J

5.3

l a

e

o r p

r P

Typic Ustifluvents

Typic Dystrustpets

CEC7: Cation exchange capacity performed with NH 4OAc pH 7; OC: organic carbon content. Texture classes. L: loam; CL: clayey loam; C: clay.

37

T axonomic

Ustic Haplohumults

Typic P alehumults

Journal Pre-proof

Continuing Table 1. Horizon

Depth

Color

pH

cm

(moist)

H2 O

CEC7

Bases

Acidity

OC

Clay

Sand

cmolc kg-1

Silt

T exture

32

CL

42

28

CL

42

22

CL

38

24

CL

%

Ap

0-18

5YR 3/3

4.5

15.1

4.00

1.0

1.51

28

Bt

18-45

5YR 4/4

4.4

12.6

3.21

1.5

1.04

30

Bt 2

45-73

5YR 4/6

4.5

10.4

3.00

1.5

0.93

36

Bt 3

73-120

2,5YR 4/7

4.7

10.3

2.39

3.0

Ap

0-26

2.5YR 2.5/1

4.4

11.4

2.78

1.5

Bt

26-45

2.5YR 3/4

4.3

9.7

2.10

1.4

Bt 2

45-88

2.5YR 3/6

4.8

9.8

1.89

0.9

Bt 3

88-120

2.5YR 3.5/6

4.9

9.4

1.99

Ap

0-10

7.5YR 3/3

5.5

Bt

10-20

7.5YR 3/3

na

Bt 2

22-46

5YR 5/6

Bt 3

46-90

2.5 YR 4/8

Btv 4

90-150

2.5YR 4/6; 10 YR 4/4

Btv 5

150-180

2.5YR 4/6; 10 YR 4/4

Ap

0-20

7.5YR 3/2

Bt

20-48

2.5YR 4/6

Bt 2

48-95

Btv 3 Btv 4

40

o r p

f o

Typic Haplustults

0.46

38

1.04

26

34

40

CL

1.04

28

28

44

CL

0.93

28

34

28

CL

0.4

0.46

40

34

26

CL

6.3

0.3

3.8

63

12

25

C

e

Typic Rhodustuls

na

r P na

na

na-

73

4

23

C

5.3

2.9

0.3

1.0

79

7

14

C

4.7

l a 4.8

1.9

0.3

0.7

79

9

12

C

4.4

4.6

1.4

0.3

0.4

76

9

14

C

4.4

4.3

0.9

0.3

0.3

76

14

10

C

4.7

12.9

3.0

1.4

5.0

44

30

26

C

4.7

5.2

0.7

0.9

1.6

68

7

24

C

2.5YR 4/8

5.0

4.1

0.7

0.3

0.9

69

13

19

C

95-148

10 R 4/6; 10 YR 5/8

4.6

3.2

0.7

0.1

0.4

57

28

16

C

148-180

10 R 4/6; 10 YR 5/8

4.5

4.4

0.6

0.1

0.3

59

18

24

C

n r u 5.0

Jo

10.8

T axonomic subgroup

P linthic Kandiustox

CEC7: Cation exchange capacity performed with NH 4OAc pH 7; OC: organic carbon content. Texture classes CL: clayey loam; C: clay. na: not analyzed.

38

Anionic Acrustox

Journal Pre-proof

Manuel E. Camacho1,2* , Adolfo Quesada-Román3,4 , Rafael Mata1 and Alfredo Alvarado1 1

Laboratorio de Recursos Naturales, Centro de Investigaciones Agronómicas, Universidad de Costa Rica, 11503-2060 San Pedro,

f o

Costa Rica. 2

North Carolina State University. Department of Crop and Soil Science, Campus Box 7620, 101 Derieux Street, Raleigh, NC 27695,

USA. 3

Climate Change Impacts and Risks in the Anthropocene, Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva, 66 Boulevard

Carl-Vogt, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland. 4

e

o r p

l a

r P

Escuela de Geografía, Universidad de Costa Rica, 2060 San Pedro, Costa Rica

n r u

Jo

39