GENESIS AND CLASSIFICATION OF CLAY SOILS WITH VERTIC PROPERTIES IN SASKATCHEWAN

Clayey soils formed in glaciolacustrine sediments in semiarid and subhumid regions of Saskatchewan were studied to understand their genesis and to examine their classification according to the amended definition of Vertisols. Although slickensides were common to all soils, semiarid soils displayed weak horizons, whereas subhumid soils had argillic horizons and prominent mollic epipedons. All the soils had high potential to swell and shrink and were characterized by seasonal moisture deficits sufficient to induce cracking. Soil displacement, as evidenced by slickensides, was attributed to differential wetting in the subsoil.