Full Lenght Research Paper

The origin of montmorillonite in vertisols from the Southern Serbian Pcinja District

Aleksandar Djordjevic¹, Sladjana Golubovic², Zorica Tomic¹, Velimir Aleksic¹, Natasa Nikolic¹* and Olivera Jovanovic³

¹Faculty of Agriculture, Zemun, Serbia.

²College of Agriculture and Food Technology, Prokuplje, Serbia.

³College of Vocational Studies – Belgrade Polytechnic, Belgrade, Serbia.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: natasa.nikolic@agrif.bg.ac.rs

Accepted 17 January, 2012

 Abstract

This paper presents research results of the mineral composition of vertisols from Pcinja District in the southern part of the Republic of Serbia. Geological substrates were identified and positioned on the geological map of Serbia, soil profiles (no.1, 4 to 6) were opened and soil samples were taken in order to perform soil analysis. The mineral composition of soil samples was revealed by the X-ray powder diffraction analysis. The results showed that montmorillonite in these vertisols (from Pcinja District) are partially formed by transformation of primary minerals: micas (mica ® illite ® montmorillonite), feldspars (feldspar ® sericite ® illite ® montmorillonite), plagioclases (plagioclase ® sericite ® montmorillonite) and the rest of montmorillonite originate from the parent material.

Key words: Vertisols, mineral composition, montmorillonite.