Author(s)

Magboul M. Sulieman^1*, Ibrahim S. Ibrahim¹, Jamal T. Elfaki²

¹Department of Soil and Environment Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Khartoum, Shambat, Sudan.
²Faculty of Agriculture, Nile Valley University, Atbara, Sudan.

Soils developed in the alluvium terraces of the River Nile at Khartoum North, Sudan was analyzed in an attempt to classify it as well as to refer them to their origin. Three river terraces comprising nine profiles were selected to cover the physiographic positions. Lack of B horizon and carbonate accumulation were main pedogenic processes in subsurface horizons, whereas orhric epipedon was developed on top soil surface. The microscopic inspection of heavy sand mineralogy indicated that the origin of the sand was the Ethiopian plateau. The most abundant clay mineral was smectite, followed by illite, kaolinite and chlorite. The presences of micas (illite) and chlorite in all studied soil samples might emphasize that these soils were young from the pedological viewpoint and less weathered. The soils of the River Nile terraces at Khartoum North were classified into: Typic Torrifluvents (1st terrace), Entic Haplocambids (2nd terrace) and Typic Haplocambids (3rd terrace). Mineralogy analysis indicated that the Entisols and Aridisols of the River Nile terraces in the study area had the same origin that of the igneous and metamorphic rocks from Ethiopian plateau.

Pedogenesis Processes, Ochric Epipedon, River Nile Terraces, Entisols, Aridisols, Ethiopian Plateau

Sulieman, M. , Ibrahim, I. and Elfaki, J. (2016) Genesis and Classification of Some Soils of the River Nile Terraces: A Case Study of Khartoum North, Sudan. Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection, 4, 1-16. doi: 10.4236/gep.2016.43001.