ABSTRACT The soil map of Madagascar has not been substantially updated since the 1960s. The number of reported soil profiles that meet the criteria of the Reference Pedon Description – the highest level of data reliability used to ascertain FAO soil unit classification – is also limited for a country-scale soil map. Therefore, we conducted a soil survey in the east coast and the central highlands, the most populated and major food-producing areas in Madagascar, to assess need for reconsideration of the current soil map. As compared to the latest soil map, our results indicate that Ferralsols cover less area on the flat terrains from the east coast to the central highlands and that Geric Ferralsol is more frequently observed soil type rather than Haplic Ferralsol on acidic rocks. The soil type of paddy fields in the southwestern plain of Lake Alaotra – the country’s largest rice-producing region – was Vertisol with a hydragric horizon rather than Histosol. This is attributed to long-term paddy cultivation in the region or the difference of the definition of peat soils between the current and old soil classification systems. The volcanic-origin soils that sporadically exist in the central highlands can be classified as Eutric Andosol rather than Eutric Cambisol. These results show the need for updating the current soil map based on the quantitative data and also have important implications regarding the land history and for appropriate land management in agriculturally intensive areas in the east coast and central highlands of Madagascar.

中文翻译：

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东海岸和中部高地土壤调查表明需要更新马达加斯加土壤图

摘要 马达加斯加的土壤图自 1960 年代以来没有实质性更新。符合参考土壤描述标准的报告土壤剖面数量——用于确定粮农组织土壤单位分类的最高数据可靠性——对于国家级土壤图也有限制。因此，我们在马达加斯加人口最多和主要粮食产区的东海岸和中部高地进行了土壤调查，以评估重新考虑当前土壤图的必要性。与最新的土壤图相比，我们的结果表明，在从东海岸到中部高地的平坦地形上，Ferralsols 覆盖的面积较小，并且在酸性岩石上，Geric Ferralsol 是更常见的土壤类型，而不是 Haplilic Ferralsol。该国最大的水稻产区 Alaotra 湖西南部平原的稻田土壤类型是 Vertisol，具有水文地层，而不是 Histosol。这归因于该地区长期的水稻种植或当前和旧土壤分类系统之间泥炭土壤定义的差异。中部高地零星存在的火山源土壤可归类为 Eutric Andosol 而不是 Eutric Cambisol。这些结果表明需要根据定量数据更新当前的土壤图，并且对土地历史和马达加斯加东海岸和中部高地农业密集区的适当土地管理也具有重要意义。