Caracterización física y clasificación taxonómica de algunos suelos dedicados a la actividad agrícola de la provincia de El Oro

This work shows the morphological characterization and taxonomic classification of ten representative profiles of the agricultural activity in El Oro province. The study was conducted in Pajonal (Pj), La Iberia (LI), Santa Inés (SI), sectors located in Machala city; Buenavista (Bv), Rájaro (Rj), Río Negro (RN), Vega Rivera (VR), and Tres Cerritos (TC), sectors located in Pasaje city; and Palmales (P1 and P2), located in Arenillas. The taxonomic description of the selected soils was conducted by following the guidelines of the National Soil Survey Center and the Guía para la Descripción de Suelos (Guide for Soils Description) (FAO, 2009). The chemical and physical characterization were performed in the laboratory of soils of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences of the Universidad Técnica de Machala. Two sectors with different morphological and taxonomic properties were identified. The first zone was identified as an alluvial plain and the second zone as the coastal foothill of El Oro province. Inceptisols and Alfisols formed from the carbon consolidated parent material, and Entisols and Inceptisols of unconsolidated sedimentary origin were found, all of them generated from frequent fluvial deposits. The profiles studied enabled the characterization of the most representative soil conditions in the targeted areas, allowing the continuation of the study, which will be more representative with the increase in the number of evaluations.