Pertanika 11(3), 375-384(1988)
Department of Soil Science,
Faculty of Agriculture,
Universiti Pertanian Malaysia
43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
Key words: Soil properties; parent materials; pedofeatures
ABSTRAK •
Sifat-sifat morfologi, fizik, kimia, mineralogi dan mikromorfologi ke atas limajenis tanahyang terbentuk daripada batuan metamorf (skis kuarza-mika, filit, skis serisit bergrafit, skis amfibol dan serpentinitj telah dikaji. Sifat-sifat ini didapati terpengaruh oleh jenis bahan induk. Tanah-tanih yang ter~ terbentuk daripada batuan yang rendah kandungan mineral senang luluhawa dan jumlah ferum rendah
(skis kuarza-mika, filit, skis serisit) adalah berwarna kuning kemerahan, bertekstur lempung berkelodak, berstruktur blok serta mempunyai jumlah keupayaan pertukaran kation, ketepuan bes dan ferum oksida bebas yang rendah. Horizon diagnostik pada tanah ini ialah horizon argilik. Tanah-tanih yang terbentuk daripada batuan yang tinggi kandungan mineral senang luluhawa (skis amfibol dan serpentinit) adalah berwarna merah hingga coklat f
bertekstur lempung, berstruktur gerintil, serta mempunyai jumlah keupayaan pertukaran kation rendah, ketepuan bes sederhana, kandungan ferum oksida bebas tinggi. Horizon diagnostik ialah oksik. Ciri-ciri pedo yang banyak terdapat dalam kumpulan tanah yangpertama ialah pengisian lempung dan kotoran manakala dalam kumpulan tanah yang kedua pengisisan kotoranlah yang banyak sekali.
ABSTRACT
The morphological physical, chemical, mineralogical and micromorphological properties of five soils developed over some metamorphic rocks (quartz-mica schist, phyllite, graphitic sericite schist, amphibole schist and serpentinite) were examined. These properties were found to be influenced by the parent materials. Soils developed over rocks with low amounts of weatherable minerals (ferromagnesian) and low total iron content (quartz-mica schist, sericite schist and phyllite) are reddish yellow, have silty clay textures and blocky structures, low CEC and base saturation and low free iron oxide content. The diagnostic horizon is argillic. Soils formed over rocks with high amounts of weatherable minerals (amphibole schist and serpentinite) are red to brown, have clayey textures, granular structures, low CEC, moderate base saturation and high free iron oxide content The diagnostic horizon is oxic. Pedofeatures in the first group of soils are dominated by clay and excremental infillings whilst in the second group, only excremental infillings are dominant.
INTRODUCTION and Wong, 1977; Lim, 1977; Paramananthan,
Metamorphic rocks such as phyllite, sericite schist 1977; Loh, 1981; Zainol, 1984) the weathering of and quartz-mica schist are some of the common metamorphic rocks in relation to soil formation parent materials of soils mapped in Peninsular has received less attention than that of igneous
Malaysia. Although there have been many studies and sedimentary rocks. Properties of soils related to the genesis of soils in Malaysia (Eswaran developed on igneous rocks and sedimentary

; v.
\
S. ZAUYAH
6 0 km
P E N I N S U L A R
M A L A Y S I A
1
376
Sampling site of profile
I.
4.
5.
2.
3.
Quartz-mica schist
Graphitic sericlte schist
Phyllite
Amphibole schist
Ssrpentinite
Fig. 1: Map of Peninsular Malaysia showing the locations of the profiles studied.
PERTANIKA VOL. 11 NO. 3, 1988

PROPERTIES OF SOILS DERIVED FROM SOME METAMORPHIC ROCKS rocks have been shown to be dependent on the lithology, and iron content of the rocks from which the soils are derived (Paramananthan, 1977,
Zauyah, 1984). Studies on properties of soils derived from these parent rocks have provided more data for soil classification and soil survey interpretations.
In this study, soils developed on five metamorphic rocks of different metamorphic grades and petrographic properties were examined. They are quartz-mica schist, phyllite, graphitic sericite schist, serpentinite and amphibole schist. The objective of this study is to examine the morphological, physical, chemical, mineralogical and micromorphological properties of these soils and relate these properties to the inherent properties of the parent materials.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Materials
The five soil profiles sampled for the study are in different parts of the Peninsular Malaysia (Fig 1).
The quartz-mica schist is situated in the north of
Kuala Lumpur city and belongs to the Dinding
Schist Formation of Lower Paleozoic. The graphitic sericite schist belongs to the Kajang Formation (predominantly of quartz sericite and graphitic sericite schists) which is of middle Upper
Silurian age. It is located in the Universiti Pertanian Campus in Serdang. The phyllite outcrop is exposed 6 km from Karak town on the Kuala
Lumpur-Karak Highway. It belongs to the Karak
Formation which is of Lower Devonian age and consists predominantly of carbonaceous argillaceous rocks.
Isolated bodies of amphibolites and serpentinites are found in several parts of Peninsular
Malaysia. The serpentinite profile sampled is exposed on a roadcut of an ellipsoidal shaped intrusive body (about i.5 km long) with pre-
Carboniferous quartz-mica schist on the Seremban
-Kuala Pilah road. The amphibole schist profile sampled is a roadcut exposed along the Kuala
Lumpur-Karak Highway near Bentong. It is a lenticular-shaped body (1 km long) occurring within a sequence of low—grade regionally metamorphosed schist of the Bentong Group.
Methods
The soil profiles were examined and the morphological zones were first identified i.e. rock, saprock, saprolite, pedoplasmation zone and soil horizons. Field description of the soil horizons were done following the guidelines in the Soil
Survey Manual (USDA, 1981) and FAO 'Guidelines for Soil Description' (1977). The horizons were then sampled by collecting about 2 kg for bulk analyses, clods for bulk density determinations and undisturbed samples in Kubiena boxes for thin sections. For the amphibole schist and the serpentinite profiles, samples were also collected close to and along the joint planes.
The soil and weathered material were fractioned into clay (< 2 /xm), silt ( 2 - 5 0 jjm) and sand (50-200 jum) by successive sedimentation.
The clays were deferrated following the method of Mehra and Jackson (1960). All the fractions were analysed for their mineralogical composition by X-ray diffraction.
The routine chemical analyses carried out on the soil and some of the weathered samples are as follows: pH (1:2.5) in water, CEC and exchangeable bases (Chapman, 1965), extractable aluminium (Yuan, 1959) and extractable free iron
(Mehra and Jackson, 1960),
Thin sections (9 cm x 12 cm and 9 cm x 6 crn) were prepared by impregnating the samples with unsaturated polyester resin. The micromorphological features related to microstructure, coarse and fine fractions and pedofeatures were described according to the terminology of Bullock
et al (1985). Fresh fracture surfaces of average size 4 mm were also examined with a Jeol 35C scanning electron microscope.
Bulk density was determined by the method of Brasher (1966). The Atterberg Limits (plastic limit and liquid limit) were determined according to the BSI (1975) method of analyses. COLE values were calculated from the bulk densities of the moist soil and oven dried soil as outlined by Grossman et al (1968).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Morphological Properties
The morphological properties of the soils studied are summarised in Table 1. From these properties
PERTANIKA VOL. 11 NO. 3, 1988 3 7 7 ,

S. ZAUYAH
TABLE 1
Morphological properties of the B horizons of soils developed on some metamorphic rocks in Peninsular Malaysia.
* ^ ^ Parent
Properties ^ ^ ^ ^
Phyllite
Graphitic
Sericite Schist Quartz-Mica Schist
Subsoil Texture
Diagnostic Horizon
Silty clay
Argillic
Reddish yellow
7.5 YR 6/8
Colour
Pale brown
10YR 7/4
Structure
Consistency
Drainage
Angular blocky
Firm
Moderately well drained
Depth of Solum Moderately deep
Silty clay
Argillic
Reddish yellow
7.5YR 6/6
Subangular blocky
Firm
Well drained
Moderately deep
Silty clay
Argillic
Reddish yellow
7.5YR 6/8
Subangular blocky
Firm
Well drained
Deep
Amphibole
Schist
Clay
Oxic
Yellowish red
5YR 5/6
Granular
Friable
Well drained
Deep
Serpentinite
Clay
Oxic
Dark reddish brown
5YR 3/3
Granular
Friable
Excessively drained
Deep two distinct groups of soils can be identified:those that developed over the first three parent rocks i.e. quartz-mica schist, phyllite and graphitic sericite and those over the amphibole schist and the serpentinite. The former group corresponds to rocks i.e. quartz-mica schist, phyllite and graphitic sericite schist and those over the amphibole schist and the serpentinite. The former gropp corresponds to rocks with low weatherable minerals
(mainly quartz and mica) whilst the latter group has high weatherable minerals (serpentine, actinolite, epidote). In the field too, these two groups show differences in their profile morphology. The soils developed over rocks low in weatherable minerals or silica rich, have horizons which are easily distinguished in the field. They show characteristics of argillic horizons. On the other hand, soils developed over rocks high in weatherable minerals have almost indistinct horizonation and are oxic in characteristics.
group of soils are : reddish yellow colours, silty clay textures, firm consistency, subangular to blocky structures and are well drained.
378
Other distinctintive properties of the first
The second group of soils (over serperitinite and amphibole schist) are deep, well drained to excessively drained profiles, are red to brown, have clayey textures and friable consistency.
Paramananthan (1977) also noted that soils developed over parent materials high in weatherable minerals show an increase in sesquioxides which resulted in the formation of microaggregates thereby increasing the porosity.
As such these soils are freely drained and lacking in features which can be used to differentiate the horizons.
Chemical Properties
The chemical properties of the soils are given in
Table 2. The soils can be similarly grouped into those that formed on parent rocks low in weatherable minerals and total iron content (phyllite, graphitic sericite schist and quartz-mica schist) and those that formed over amphibole and serpentinite. The first group of soils show almost similar chemical properties: low pH, low CEC and base saturation, high aluminium saturation and low free iron content (by dithionite extraction).
PERTANIKA VOL. 11 NO. 3, 1988

PROPERTIES OF SOILS DERIVED FROM SOME METAMORPHIC ROCKS
TABLE 2
Chemical and physical properties and mineralogy of the B horizons of soils developed on some metamorphic rocks in Peninsular Malaysia.
^ • N . Parent
Phyllite
SoU N v
Properties ^ " s .
pH (H
2
O) 4.5
O fi
<:
Charge
Characteristics
(c mol (+)/kg soil
CEC < 12.5
ECEC < 12.5
Base
Saturation
Al Saturation
(ECEC basis)
< 10%
> 8 5 %
2.6% Free iron oxide
(dithionite)
Sand
Silt
Quartz
Quartz
Kaolinite
Muscovite
Clay
Kaolinite
Quartz
Muscovite
Bulk Density
(g/cm
3
)
Plasticity
Index
Cole
1J3
14
0.015-0.020
Graphitic
Sericite Schist
Quartz-Mica
Schist
4.3
CEC > 16
ECEC < 5
4.5
CEC < 1 6
ECEC < 5
Amphibole
Schist Serpentinite
4.9
CEC < 12.5
ECEC < 16
5.3
CEC < 1 0
ECEC < 1 0
> 7 0 %
3.4-4.1%
Quartz
Quartz
Kaolinite
Muscovite
Kaolinite
Quartz
Muscovite
1.55-1.69
8
0.011-0.012
> 7 0 %
3.4-4.9%
Quartz
Quartz, Kaolinite
Mica-smectite
Kaolinite, Mica-
Smectite, Quartz
<10*
10.6-15.6%
Quartz
Gibbsite
Goethite
Kaolinite
Kaolinite
Goethite
< 3 0 %
0
16.8-19.6%
Quartz
Gibbsite
Kaolinite
Goethite
Kaolinite
Goethite
1.40-1.54
11-14
0.010-0.018
1.27-1.35
13
0.015-0.020
1.25
8 nd
The soils formed on the amphibole and the serpentinite have higher pH, high base saturation (especially on serpentinite), low aluminium saturation and high free iron oxide content. The slightly higher pH in these two soils may be due to the low or absence of extractable aluminium.
Mineralogy
The mineralogy of the sand, silt and clay fractions of the soils developed on the metamorphic rocks studied is given in Table 2. The sand fractions of the soils are dominated by quartz. The silt fractions of the soils developed over the phyllite, graphitic sericite schist and quartz-mica schist are composed essentially of kaolinite, quartz and muscovite. The silt fractions of the quartz-mica schist also contain mica-smectite, which is one of the alteration products of biotite. The muscovite in the graphitic sericite schist and phyllite shows some alteration as can be seen by the opening up of the 1.0 nm peaks. The silt fractions of the soils developed over amphibole schist and serpentinite are composed of kaolinite, gibbsite and goethite.
In general, the clay fractions of all the soils are dominated by kaolinite. Traces of quartz and muscovite occur in the first three profiles whilst in the last two profiles, there are traces of goethite.
Physical Properties
The physical properties of the B-horizons of the soils studied are given in Table 2. The bulk density of the soils developed over phyllite, sericite schist and quartz-mica schist is slightly greater
PERTANIKA VOL. 11 NO. 3, 1988 379,

S. ZAUYAH
TABLE 3
Some micromorphological properties of the B-horizons of soils developed over some metamofphic rocks in Peninsular Malaysia.
Parent
^ ^ R o c k
P r o p e r t i e s ^ ^ ^
Micro structure c/f related distribution b-fabric
Common
Pedofeatures
Phyllite
Graphitic
Sericite Schist Quartz-Mica Schist
Amphibolite
Schist Serpentinite
Angular blocky
Open porphyric
Reticulate striated
Subangular blocky
Double spaced porphyric
Reticulate striated
Subangular blockychannel
Single spaced porphyric
Mosaic-speckled
Ferruginous nodules
Clay coatings.
Channel infillings a. Loose, continuous, excremental infillings.
b. Dense, complete excremental infillings.
c. Dense, complete, clay infillings.
Ferruginous nodules
Clay coatings.
Loose, continuous excremental infillings in channels.
Granular Granular
Open porphyric
Open porphyric
Stipplespeckled and cross striated
Stipplespeckled and undifferentiated
Channel infillings: a. Dense, complete excremental infillings with bow-like internal fabric.
b. Loose, continuous excremental infillings.
than the bulk density of soils developed over the amphibole schist and the serpentinite. The soils in the second group have been so bioturbated that they have become very porous due to numerous channels. There is little variation in plasticity indices of these soils which range from 8 to 14.
The COLE values too showed no difference between these two groups of soils. All the COLE values are low ranging from 0.01 to 0.02.
Micromorphological Properties
The micromorphological properties of the B horizons of the soils studied are given in Table 3.
Blocky microstructures are the norm for the soils developed over phyllite, sericite schist and quartzmica schist. On the other hand, soils which developed over amphibole schist and the serpentinite show granular microstructures.
The c/f (coarse to fine) related distribution at the limit of 5 fjm is porphyric for all the soils.
The quartz-mica schist and sericite schist contain much more quartz grains which dominate the coarse fractions thus making the c/f related distribution single-spaced to double-spaced
380 porphyric. Since the coarse grains make up a small percentage of the groundmass of the soils developed over amphibole schist and the serpentinite, the c/f related distribution is open porphyric.
A range of b-fabrics (birefringence) was observed in the profiles studied. The profiles formed over sericite schist and phyllite show reticulate b-fabric. Porostriated and granostriated b-fabrics are present in some small areas.
The quartz-mica schist shows mosaic speckled b-fabric. The striations in the first two profiles may be caused by the preferred orientation of the clay minerals due to pressure and also to wetting and drying.
The profiles formed over serpentinite and amphibole schist show a dominance of stipple speckled b-fabric. ^
Pedofeatures found in the first three profiles are similar i.e. clay coatings with strong orientations in channels (Plate l) f
ferruginous nodules disseminated in the groundmass and channel infillings. These infillings are of three types: a. loose, continuous and discontinuous excremental infillings (Plate II).
PERTANIKA VOL. 11 NO. 3, 1988

I tn
0 o
Coating of speckled clay with strong orienta tions in channel
Plate II Loose, discontinuous excremental in fillings in channel.
8 i
8
2 m
O
8
I
I
Dense, complete clay infillings in channel.
Plate IV: Dense, complete excremental infillings with bow-like internal fabric in channel

S. ZAUYAH b. dense, complete excremerftal infillings.
c. dense, complete clay infillings (Plate nil
Pedofeatures in the soils over serpentinite and amphibole are only those formed by faunal activity i.e. channel excremental infillings which are of two types: a. loose and continuous b. dense, complete with bow-like internal fabric (Plate IV).
Relationship between some Physico-chemical
Properties and B-Fabric of the Soil
Many workers (Stoops, 1967; Flach et at. 1968;
Nettleton et at. 1969; Eswaran, 1972 and Zainol,
1984) have attemptd to relate the birefringence fabric (b-fabric) which was previously termed as the plasmic fabric (Brewer, 1964) to some soil properties such as COLE values, free iron oxide content and mineralogy.
A comparison of the b-fabric with free iron oxide content (extractable by dithionite and oxalate) COLE values and plasticity indices are given in Table 4.
The dithionite-extractable free iron oxide content of the profiles developed over the phyllite, graphitic sericite schist and quartz-mica schist ranges from 2 to 5 %. In this range of values, the b—fabrics observed are reticulate striated and mosaic speckled. In the profiles developed over amphibole schist and serpentinite, the dithionite extracted free iron oxide content range from 10 to
20 %. In these soils, stipple speckled to undifferentiated b-fabrics are observed. There is thus some influence of the free iron oxide content over the b-fabrics of the soils. The amorphous iron (Fe
Q
) content is also much higher for the serpentinite soils when compared to the other soils. Presence of a high amount of amorphous iron may also be the reason for the undifferentiated b-fabric. This amorphous iron coats the clay minerals (observed under SEM) and thus masked its orientation. A high free iron content « 18 %) was also found in soils with isotic plasmic fabric by Eswaran
(1972).
The author believes that the size of the clay particles may play a part in the b—fabric of the soils. As observed under SEM, the clay particles in the first three profiles are definitely larger (1 to 2
382
Parent Rock
Quartz Mica Schist
Graphitic
Sericite Schist
Phyllite
Amphibole
Schist
Serpentinite
Btl
Bt2
Bt3
Bt4
Best
Btl
B/C
Btl
Bt2
B/C
Bol
Bo2
Bo 3
Bol
Bocl
Bo2
TABLE 4
Comparison between b-fabric and free iron oxide, COLE and PI of. soils formed over some metamorphic rocks in Peninsular Malaysia.
Horizon B-Fabric
Mosaiospekled
Reticulate and granostriated
Reticulate and mosaicspeckled
Reticulate and poro striated id to Btl
Reticulate and cross striated
Stipple-speckled and cross striated
Undifferentiated and stipple-speckled
Free Iron Oxide %
F e d
3.11
2.60
2.74
11.60
10.60
15.61
3.44
3.85
4.88
4.06
4,14
3.42
2.0
19.60
16.03
16.75
F e o
0.45
0.64
0.61
0.33
0.26
0.10
0.08
0.90
1.29
0.19
0.20
0.26
0.14
2.23
0.83
0.55
COLE
0.019
0.018
0.012
0.013
0.011
0.012
0.008
0.016
0.020
0.018
0.021
0.020
0.015
nd
PERTAN1KA VOL. 11 NO. 3, 1988
P.I.
13
14
14
12
13
8
12 nd
8
11
14
12
12
8
8
8

Parent
Rock
Graphitic
Sericite
Schist
Quartz
Mica Schist
Phyllite
Serpentinite
Amphibole
Schist
PROPERTIES OF SOILS DERIVED FROM SOME METAMORPHIC ROCKS
TABLE 5
Some properties of the major B soil horizons and the weathering stage of soils developed over five metamorphic rocks in Peninsular Malaysia. (Amt. = Amount)
ACEC
Meq/lOOgclay
Properties Of Major B Soil Horizons
Weathering
Fine Silt Clay Stage Of Soil
Amt. of weatherable mineral in sand fraction clay Coatings ^
1 9 8 5 )
> 2 5
< 2 5
< 2 5
< 2 5
< 2 5
0.3-0.7 Present Intermediary
(Stage 3)
0.5 - 0.8 Present Intermediary
(Stage 3)
0.3-0.5 Present Intermediary
(Stage 3)
0.2 Absent Ultimate
(Stage 4)
0.06-0.09 Absent Ultimate
(Stage 4) jL/m) whereas in the amphibole schist and the serpentiniite soils, they are finer (some even less than 0.5 /xm). Thus orientation of larger kaolinite and also muscovite grains in the micromass of the graphitic sericite schist and phyllite may acount for the reticulate b-fabric.
Weathering Stage of Soil
Many criteria have been used to indicate the stage of weathering of soils. Van Wambeke (1962) used the fine silt/clay ratio for tropical soils. Sys (1985) suggested the following set of criteria to indicate the stage of ferrallitic weathering:
1. Apparent CEC - more or less than 25 meq/lOOg clay.
2. Amount of weatherable minerals in the sand fractions - more or less than
5%.
3. Fine silt/clay ratios (intermediary stage : < 0.15 for metamorphic rocks)
4. Development of soil structure.
5. Presence or absence of clay coatings.
Using these criteria, the weathering stage of each of the soil studied has been determined
(Table 5). The soils developed over quartz-mica schist, phyllite and sericite schist are in the intermediary stage, whilst soils developed over the serpentinite and the amphibole schist have the characteristics of the ultimate stage of weathering.
CONCLUSIONS
This study shows that many of the properties of soils developed over metamorphic rocks in Peninsular Malaysia are dependent on the parent material from which the soils are formed. The soils studied can be divided into two broad groups: those forming over rocks low in weatherable minerals and those forming over rocks high in weatherable minerals. There are differences in profile morphology, colour, texture, structure, drainage, mineralogy, some micromorphological properties and some physico-chemical properties.
The first group of soils are determined to be in the intermediary stage of weathering whilst the second group is in the ultimate stage of weathering.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The author wishes to thank Universiti Pertanian
Malaysia for the research grant extended towards this study.
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384 PERTANIKA VOL. 11 NO. 3, 1988