Mineralogies of silt and clay fractions of twelve soil profiles in the Bolivian Andes (Callavaya Region)

Mineralogies of a soil catena in the Pampa of Ulla Ulla (4,300–4,600 m) and the soils of the steep slopes of the Cordillera de las Muñecas (“steep area”) were investigated. The latter area includes three altitudinal zones: herbaceous zone (3,900–4,800 m), shrub zone (2,700–3,900 m), and mountain forest zone (up to 2,700/2,800 m). The soils were classified according to Soil Taxonomy as Entisols, Mollisols, and Inceptisols. They were mainly derived from quartzitic schists and slope debris. Each horizon of each profile was representatively sampled for analyses.Muscovites and illites were the dominant minerals in the fine silt and clay fraction, respectively. Besides kaolinite, pyrophyllite and vermiculite, regular illite/vermiculite mixed layers, chlorite, feldspar and quartz were detected in both fractions. In a Typic Cryaquent from the Pampa of Ulla Ulla, smectites had been formed. Pyrophyllite, illite/vermiculite mixed layers and chlorite seemed to be unstable under acid conditions in most of these soils.