| Summary: | The present study investigated the spatial variation of the physico-chemical characteristics of lateritic soil profiles (up to 60 cm in depth) in a sloping mango orchard (1 ha; slope gradient = 6 %) in North Peninsular Malaysia. The study revealed that horizontal variation for the exchangeable Al and Mg, and the particle size fractions in the topmost soil layer (0–15 cm) within the orchard was higher than their vertical variation within the soil profile, and that, in contrast, the opposite trend was found for the total N, cation exchange capacity, and base saturation. Furthermore, preferential accumulation of soil organic matter and nutrients such as total N and available P were found at the lower (LS) and/or middle (MS) slope positions than the upper (US) one, while the lower clay content with the higher clay activity index was observed at LS compared to MS and US. These results suggest that these variations occur by the scattered accumulation of fertilizer-derived nutrients (i.e. N, P, K, and Mg) in the surface soil layers and the translocation of the surface litter, soil and nutrients towards the downslope in addition to enhanced eluviation process with the residual of clays at the downslope in the sloping orchard. © 2022, Malaysian Society of Soil Science. All rights reserved.
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