96 Sota Tanaka, Sarrah D. Sambajon, Koya Kobayasi, Megumi Hoshina, Alex P. Camaya and Sevella G.

Tabayag-Almorfe

11. Characteristics of Volcanic Soils around Mt.

Mayon, the Philippines

Sota Tanaka, Sarrah D. Sambajon,

Koya Kobayasi, Megumi Hoshina,
Alex P. Camaya and Sevella G. Tabayag-Almorfe

1. Characteristics of Typical Volcanic Soils, Andisols

Located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, there are many volcanos in the Philippines and Japan and, therefore, the
lands and soils are likely to be influenced by the past and current volcanic activities to some extent. This
chapter starts from brief description on well-developed volcanic soils and their characteristics. Based on
international soil classification systems, such soils are classified into Andisols in Soil Taxonomy (Soil Survey
Staff, 2014) and Andosols in WRB (FAO, 2014). The term of “Kurobokudo” is used in the Japanese
classification (Committee Soil Class. Nomencl., 2017). The concepts, definition and characteristics are similar
between these soil classes despite some differences in the criteria for the classification.
In Japan, volcanic ash has spread extensively over the land, especially eastward of volcanos, due to the
influence of the westerlies as represented by the distal tephra. As a result, Kurobokudo accounts for the largest
area (31%) among the soil classes in Japan, followed by Brown Forest Soils (30%) and Lowland Soils (14%)
(Obara et al. 2016). On the global scale, however, Andisols are a minor soil class, accounting for less than 1 %
of the land area. Thus, the Japanese soil scientists have led the study field related to volcanic soils in the world.
Andisols are defined by the dominant appearance of the Andic soil properties. Simply speaking, this Andic
soil properties principally come from the peculiar clay mineralogy and the concomitant high contents of soil
organic matter. The clay mineralogy is composed mainly of amorphous or quasi-crystalline clay minerals such
as allophane and imogolite. The nature of these minerals is considerably different from that of crystalline
silicate clay minerals common in non-volcanic soils. Abundant hydroxyl groups of these minerals can form
organo-mineral complexes with humic substances and protect them from decomposition, resulting in a high
level of soil organic matter. By this, aggregate structure can well-develop in Andisols, providing a favorable
soil physical basis for plant growth with high water holding capacity, high water permeability, low
compactness and good tilth. These features of Andisols are clearly expressed in the Japanese name “Kuro-
boku-do”. “Kuro” means black color derived from highly-humified soil organic matter, “boku” soft and fluffy
property from the well-developing aggregate structure, and “do” soils. In fact, Kurobokudo was one of the
local names used for such volcanic soils among farmers, and then it has been adopted in soil science.
 Characteristics of Volcanic Soils around Mt. Mayon, the Philippines 97

Furthermore, “An-do” in Andosols derives from the Japanese synonym with a meaning of “An” for dark color
and “do” again for soils while “sol” is “solum” meaning soil in Latin. “An-di” in Andisols is modified,
replacing “o” with “i”.
In contrast to the superior physical properties, the Andic soil properties show negative aspects in chemical
properties. The availability of phosphorus (P), one of the three major essential elements for plants, is
extremely low in intact Andisols due to the nature of the amorphous and quasi-crystalline clay minerals to
adsorb P strongly. Despite abundant charge sites of the amorphous and quasi-crystalline minerals as well as
humic substances, they are variable and pH-dependent, and therefore, the retention ability for cationic
nutrients of Andisols such as potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and ammonium (NH4) would be
low under a strongly acidic condition. Furthermore, some of Andisols show strongly acidic nature with a high
level of soluble aluminum (Al) which would restrict root expansion of common crops.
In Japan, the major landuse of Kurobokudo in the past used to be grassland and pasture because of such
drawbacks in the chemical properties. Nowadays, plentiful application of P fertilizers and liming materials has
successfully converted Kurobokudo into productive agricultural soils, which accounts for 47 % of upland
fields (vegetable fields and fruit gardens). However, rice farming is not always common because their
favorable physical properties, in turn, would become the nuisance for wetting and drying works in paddy
fields.

2. Volcanic Soils and the Previous Studies in the Philippines

What are volcanic soils in the Philippines? Despite a volcanic country, Andisols are the minor soil class,
accounting only for 0. 1 % (399 km2) of the total land area (Table 1). Because of less influence of the
westerlies at the low latitude, the mass of volcanic ash tends to deposit around a volcano. Volcanic soils close
to the currently or recently erupting volcanos are immature to be classified into Andisols. Instead, they are
likely to be the subgroups of Inceptisols (relatively young soils) with Andic soil properties in Soil Taxonomy
(Soil Survey Staff, 2014). Otherwise, because of readily weatherable nature of volcanic ash, the warm and
humid climate would accelerate the
Table 1 Major soil order and their extent of distribution based
weathering process, resulting in the formation
on soil taxonomy map of the Philippines (1: 1, 000, 000,
of Ultisols or Alfisols (both are highly Bureau of Soils and Water Management. Cited from Carating
weathered soils). Thus, mature Andisols are et al. 2014, p.238).
seldom found in the Philippines. Soil order Estimated area (ha) Percent of total
According to Carating et al. (2014; land area (%)
Inceptisols 144,652,684 48.8
Introduction), historically, soil surveys in the
Ultisols 8,113,453 27
Philippines have substantially started since Alfisols 3,973,611 13.2
1930s. Successive soil survey sections of the Entisols 1,540,737 5.1
Mollisols 762,767 2.5
government sector played a leading role for Vertisols 733,117 2.4
soil mapping and classification. The outcome Oxisols 39,922 0.1
Andisols 39,854 0.1
of their endeavor was a series of soil maps Histosols 342 0
published during 1970s. However, Amano Total 29,856,487 99.5
(1985) pointed out that such early works had The soil taxonomy map of the Philippines is based on Soil
been insufficient for practical use because Taxonomy (Soil Survey Staff, 2014).
98 Sota Tanaka, Sarrah D. Sambajon, Koya Kobayasi, Megumi Hoshina, Alex P. Camaya and Sevella G. Tabayag-Almorfe

they had been based on the soil classification system of USA before the Second World War, which had lacked
a concept of volcanic soils.
In 1970s, Japanese soil scientists well-acquainted with volcanic soils and paddy soils in their country have
started the collaboration with the Philippine colleagues. Kawaguchi and Kyuma (1977) assessed soil fertility
status of lowland paddy fields in 10 tropical Asian countries upon the initiation of the Green Revolution and
regarded the soil fertility in the Philippines to be superior among those countries, especially in terms of clay
mineralogy and base status. Then, the detailed studies at Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Laguna, Bicol, Iloilo
and Cotabato (Miura et al. 1997, 1998; Miura and Badayos 1999) clarified that high soil fertility of the
lowland paddy fields could be ascribed to the alluvial deposit of basic volcanic materials which were the
sources of soil nutrients and clay fractions with predominating highly-active 1.4 nm minerals. Meanwhile,
Ostuka et al. (1988) proposed two different weathering and soil formation processes based on their
investigation into clay mineral composition of volcanic soils at 9 volcanos in Luzon, Iloilo and Leyte Islands:
one was the halloysite-forming sequence in the regions with clear wet and dry seasons, and the majority of
their soils followed this sequence. The other was the allophane-forming sequence in the regions under a
relatively perhumid climate, which overlapped the sequence of Japanese Andisols. They also suggested that
inherent fertility of the volcanic soils in the Philippines was higher than that of Japanese Andisols judging
from higher base status as well as similar levels of cation exchange capacity. These previous studies suggest
that high fertility of lowland soils could be the basis for double or triple rice cropping practices in the
Philippines.
Following those early studies conducted in a large-scale, the recent studies on in the Philippines tend toward
the detailed investigation on volcanic soils within one volcano-sphere in order to clarify the mechanisms to
control soil formation processes and characteristics. For example, the soils of Mt. Taal (Babiera and Takahashi
1997; Dela Cruz et al. 2003) and Mt. Pinatubo (Sasaki et al. 2003) in Luzon and Mt. Kitanglad in Mindanao
(Poudel and West 1999) have been reported in relation to the influences of the distance and/or the
toposequence from the crater (Figure 1).
Besides volcanic soils, Hamazaki and Paningbatan (1996) investigated the formation processes and
characteristics of various Red-Yellow soils (highly
weathered soils in many cases) across the Philippines.
Recently, detailed studies on soils originating from
limestone, sedimentary rocks or basaltic rocks as well as
degraded soils have been conducted in Leyte Island by one
enthusiastic group of local soil scientists (Asio et al. 2006;
Navarrete et al. 2009, 2011, 2013). After 50 years of the
study by Kawaguchi and Kyuma (1977) mentioned above, a
research group including the author of this chapter has
carried out a series of the follow-up studies in the Philippines
(Nakao et al. 2021) as well as Thailand (Yanai et al. 2020)
and Peninsular Malaysia (Tanaka et al. 2021) and found that
soil fertility status of lowland paddy fields in all countries
has been successfully improved by fertilizer application
irrespective volcanic or non-volcanic soils.
A quarter century ago, Hamazaki et al. (1996) pointed out Figure 1 Map of the Philippines.
 Characteristics of Volcanic Soils around Mt. Mayon, the Philippines 99

that although careful soil management techniques appropriate for each soil with different characteristics
should be indispensable for sustainable agricultural development, the Philippines was far away from entire
understanding of their own soil resources. Despite the increasing number of soil science studies as mentioned
above, this situation seems not to be much changed until the present (Introduction in Carating et al. 2014).
Because of the expanding impacts of anthropogenic activities and the growing concerns of global and local
environmental issues as well as food security, farther understanding is required on the soils in the Philippines.

3. A Study on Soil Characteristics around Mt. Mayon and in San Miguel Island
in the Bicol Region

3.1 Mt. Mayon and San Miguel Island and the Agricultural Landscapes
Mt. Mayon is located at the southeastern end of the
Bicol region in Luzon Island (Figures 1, 2). It is the
single-peak, active stratovolcano with an altitude of
2463 m a.s.l.. The east foot goes down to Tabaco
Bay. This volcano repeats eruption more than 50
times since the 17th century. The latest was on
January 2018. The lava is predominated by basaltic
andesite to andesitic. Meanwhile, San Miguel Island
lies on the opposite side of Tabaco Bay, constituting
the western end of the strip of islands in the
Figure 2 Location of Mt. Mayon and study sites
Lagonoy Gulf.
(Google map).
Travelling along the peripheral road around Mt.
Mayon, one can see different agricultural landscapes between the east and the west sides of this volcano. In the
east side, paddy fields spread from gentle foot slopes in high elevation to lowlands until the coastline. Most of
the paddy fields on the slopes are carefully terraced. In contrast, the major agriculture in the west side is
upland farming of coconuts, abaca. corn and vegetables except for the depressions used for rice cultivation.
Both upland and paddy fields are fertilized with significant amounts of chemical fertilizers (NPK and Urea)
except for the case that farmers practice organic farming. Meanwhile, in San Miguel Island, sweet potato and
sugarcane are planted with limited fertilizer application while lowland rice is planted exceptionally in small
patches close to springs. Thus, three different belts of agriculture landscapes exist parallel to the coast.

3.2 Climate and Soils as Possible Determinant Factors for Different Agricultural Landscapes
What are the determinant factors for such different agriculture types? For lowland paddy cultivation, the
minimum requirements are to supply plentiful water and to keep waterlogging condition until maturing of rice
plants.
The climate in the Bicol region is classified to the tropical rainforest climate (Af) in the Köppen’ s
classification with the wet season for seven to nine months and the dry season for less than 2 months. It is
Type Ⅱ in the Philippine’s classification without dry season but with a pronounced rainfall during November
to January. The average daily temperature and annual precipitation are 27.5 ℃ and 3,432 mm during 1981 to
2010 at Legazpi, the largest city in Albay Province of the Bicol region. Monthly precipitation does not lower
100 Sota Tanaka, Sarrah D. Sambajon, Koya Kobayasi, Megumi Hoshina, Alex P. Camaya and Sevella G. Tabayag-Almorfe

below 100 mm in a year. However, the precipitation and its pattern seem to fluctuate widely year by year and
place by place depending on factors such as location, topography and the occurrences of typhoons: the
prevailing westward-local wind containing high moisture from the sea may be blocked by Mt. Mayon,
bringing plentiful rainwater to the east side but creating rain shadow in the west side. Typhoons frequently hit
the Bicol region, which supply more rainwater to the east side.
Meanwhile, paddy soils must have a hard plow pan or the bedrock at a shallow depth so that water
percolation is restricted during waterlogging. In this sense, we assumed that soil characteristics might be
different between the west and the east sides of Mt. Mayon, which would affect farmers’ adoption for
agriculture types: the local wind from the sea might have transported volcanic ash westward, resulting in thin
ash deposition and shallow soil formation in the east side, but thick deposition and deep soil formation in the
west side. It might be also possible that the storms and typhoons hitting the east side would have eroded ash
deposit on the slope and outcropped the bedrock at a shallow depth.
Regarding to upland farming in San Miguel Island with less dependence on chemical fertilizers, a part of
plant nutrients, especially K, Ca and Mg as well as sodium (Na), might be supplied from sea salts from the
surrounding sea.

3.3 Study Objectives and Methods

To verify the assumption that soil characteristics might differ between three belts of different agriculture
landscapes around Mt. Mayon and in San Miguel Island, we launched the international joint study between
Bicol University in the Philippines and Kochi University in Japan. This study can provide the information on
soil fertility status to give the perspectives for appropriate soil conservation and sustainable agriculture
schemes. The following is a part of the results from our ongoing research.
Soil survey was conducted on March 2019 in the four directions of Mt. Mayon (northeast, southeast,
northwest and southwest). Three study sites were selected for each direction, named as NE1 to NE3, SE1 to
SE3, NW1 to NW3 and SW1 to SW3, respectively. They were located around the perimeter of the foot slopes,
about six kilometers apart from the crater (Figure 2). In addition, along Mt. Mayon Park Road connecting the
foot and the Mayon Skyline View Deck on the mountainside (760 m a.s.l.) in the northwest direction, one
study site was selected each at 300, 500 and 700 m a.s.l. as well as one site along a trekking trail above the
Deck (800 m a.s.l.). They were MS1 to MS4 with decreasing altitude. Because most of paddy fields were used
all year round and could not be surveyed, the study sites were upland crop fields and were planted with annual
crops such as winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus L.), string bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and okra
(Abelmoschus esculentusa L.). MS1 was a degraded secondary forest patch composed of Ficus spp,
Macaranga spp and so on. Meanwhile, in San Miguel Island, only two sites (SM1 and SM2) could be
surveyed due to the time limitation. Both were upland fields after harvest of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas
L.). Because the area within 6 km was designated as the restricted area due to the eruption in 2018, we
obtained the research permission from DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Recourses) and
PAMB (Protected Area Management Board).
Soil profile description was carried out at the five sites of NE1, SE2, NW1, SW2 and MS3 by using a soil
survey handbook (Japanese Society of Pedology) and a Munsell Soil Color Chart. Soil hardness was examined
using a Yamanaka-type push-cone penetrometer. Bulk density was determined in a laboratory of Bicol
University by using undisturbed 100 mL core samples from the depths of 0-10 cm and 20-30 cm in triplicate.
Due to abundant presence of rock fragments, the samples at the depth of 20-30 cm in NE1 could not be
 Characteristics of Volcanic Soils around Mt. Mayon, the Philippines 101

collected while the sampling depth in SE2 was changed from 20-30 cm to 10-20 cm.
Soil samples were collected from the depths of 0-10 and 20-30 cm in triplicate in each study sites for
laboratory analysis in Kochi University. They were mixed well to make one composite sample, air-dried and
passed through a 2 mm mesh sieve. The samples were analyzed for general physicochemical properties as
listed in Table 1. The data were log-transformed and compared between NE, SE, NW, SW and MS by using
Turkeys’ multiple comparison after one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) (Excel Statistics for Windows,
BellCurve, Tokyo). The data of MS1 under secondary forest and SM1 and SM2 were omitted from the data
analysis because of the lack of replication.

Table 1 Simple description of soil physicochemical analysis.

Properties Methods
pH (H2O) A glass electrode method with a soil to water ratio of 1:5.
pH (NaF) A glass electrode method after 2 minutes for equilibration with a soil to 1 M NaF solution ratio
of 1: 50.
Total C and N Dry combustion method using a CN Corder (JM1000N; J-Science, Kyoto).
Exchangeable bases After extraction using 1 M CH3COONH4 adjusted to pH 7. 0, atomic absorption
(Ca, Mg, K and Na) spectrophotometry for Ca, Mg, and K, and flame photometry for Na (AA-6800; Shimadzu,
Kyoto).

CEC After successive extraction using 10% NaCl following the extraction for the exchangeable bases,
the indophenol blue method to determine NH4 as CEC.
Exchangeable Al and H After extraction with 1 M KCl, titration with 0.01 M NaOH for the determination of exchange
acidity (Al + H) and titration with 0.01 M HCl for exchangeable Al.
Available P The Bray II method.
Particle size distribution A pipette method after dispersion of soil particles at pH 10, otherwise at pH 3.5.

3.4 Morphological Properties of the Soils around Mt. Mayon

Soil horizon stratification was clearly observed based mainly on soil texture class, color, hardness and the
abundance of rock fragments (Photo 1, Table 2). Irrespective of study sites, the bulk of rock fragments were
composed of slightly weathered fine gravels (0.2 mm to 1 cm in the major axis) and/or gravels (1 to 5 cm),
which occasionally formed consolidated, hard layers. Soils were coarse-textured, ranging from sand to sandy
loam classes with the dominance of coarse sand (200㎛ to 2 mm in diameter) than fine sand (20 to 200㎛) (see
Table 4) except for two horizons in NE1 (clay loam in Ap and sandy clay loam in Bgir). The bulk density was
high except for the 0-10 cm soils in NE1 and SE2 compared with a common level of less than 0.9 g mL-3 for
Andisols (Table 3). Very low silt and clay contents (2 to 20㎛ and < 2㎛) and high bulk density indicate poor
clay formation from volcanic ash. Some of the horizons at deep layers showed a darker color compared with
the overlying and underlying horizons and could be regarded as the buried A horizon with a high content of
soil organic matter. Based on these morphological properties, volcanic soils around Mt. Mayon were regarded
to be immature and young due to the interception of the weathering and formation processes by repeating ash
deposition. The fine texture in NE1 in the east side might be the result from loading of finer particles eroded
from the upper part of the slope.
As expected, clear differences were found in soil morphological properties between the different directions
of Mt. Mayon. In the east side (NE1 and SE1), the soils were shallow with the consolidated, hard rock layer at
102 Sota Tanaka, Sarrah D. Sambajon, Koya Kobayasi, Megumi Hoshina, Alex P. Camaya and Sevella G. Tabayag-Almorfe

the bottom. They were relatively wet, and the seepage of groundwater was observed at the depth of 55 cm in
NE1 and 35 cm in SE2, indicating a high groundwater level. The presence of distinct iron mottling at the Bgir
horizons in NE1 and SE2 and the underlying Cgir, 2Cgir and 3Cgir horizons in case of NE1 indicates
changing redox conditions of soils due to the fluctuation of the water table. The root zone was shallow and
restricted down to the C horizon in NE1 and the Bgir horizon in SE2 probably because of the excessive moist
condition unfavorable for upland crops. In fact, NE1 was used for vegetable production all year round but
surrounded by other paddy fields while SE2 was rotated with single vegetable and double rice cropping and
also surrounded by paddy fields. Meanwhile, the soils in the west side (NW1, SW2 and MS3) were deep and
we could not reach the bottom end by manual digging. Despite dry soil condition, plant roots were recorded
down to the 3C horizon in NW1 and the 7C1 horizon in SW2. Meanwhile, the root zone was shallow at the
Bw2 horizon in MS3 due to the presence of the underlying gravelly 2C horizon. Thus, the differences in soil
depth and moisture condition as well as precipitation seem to be the determinant factor for different agriculture
landscapes between the east and west sides of Mt. Mayon.

Photo 1 Soil profiles in NE1, SE2, NW1, SW2 and MS3

 Characteristics of Volcanic Soils around Mt. Mayon, the Philippines 103

Table 2 Soil morphological properties at NE1, SE2, NW1, SW2 and MS3
NE1 (N13º19'21'', E123º44'08'', 26 m a.s.l., slope direction: N30° E, slope gradient: 1°)
Hor. Depth (cm) Description
Ap 0-11 10YR2/3 (brownish black); clay loam; few slightly weathered fine gravels; moderate medium
subangular blocky structure; many very fine to medium roots; penetr. 10 mm; clear smooth
boundary to
Bgir 11-18 2. 5Y3/3 (dark olive brown); common distinct, irregular mottling with 7. 5YR4/6 (brown);
sandy clay loam; few slightly weathered fine gravels; moderate medium subangular blocky
structure; common very fine to medium roots; penetr. 12 mm; clear smooth boundary to

Cgir 18-26 10YR3/2 (brownish black); common faint, root-like mottling with 10YR4/6 (brown); soil
texture undeterminable; dominant slightly weathered fine gravels and gravels (almost gravel
layer); structureless; few fine to medium roots; penetr. unmeasurable; clear smooth boundary
to
C 26-32 10YR3/3 (dark brown); sandy loam; soil texture undeterminable; dominant slightly weathered
fine gravels; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; very few very fine roots; penetr. 16
mm; clear smooth boundary to
2Cgir 32-34 10YR3/3 (dark brown); few distinct, root-like mottling with 7.5YR4/6 (brown); sandy loam;
no rock fragment; massive structure; no roots; penetrometer 12 mm; clear smooth boundary to
3Cgir 34-40 2.5Y4/4 (olive brown); common distinct, root-like mottling with 5YR3/6 (dark reddish brown);
sandy loam; no rock fragment; massive structure; no roots; penetr. 15 mm; clear smooth
boundary to
4C 40-60 + 2. 5Y3/1 (brownish black); soil texture undeterminable; dominant slightly weathered fine
gravels; no roots. seepage of ground water at 55cm
SE2 (N13º10'37'', E123º42'35'', 90 m a.s.l., slope direction: S20° E, slope gradient: a flat, terraced field
Hor. Depth (cm) Description
Ap1 0-10 10YR2/2 (brownish black); sand; few slightly weathered fine gravels; moderate fine granular
(ridge) structure; many very fine to medium roots; penetr. 12 mm; gradual smooth boundary to
Ap2 10 = 22 = 10YR2/2 (brownish black); sand; few slightly weathered fine gravels; moderate medium to
coarse subangular blocky structure; many very fine to medium roots; penetr. 12 mm; clear
smooth boundary to
Bgir 22-30 10YR3/3 (dark brown); few distinct, irregular mottling with 10YR5/8 (yellowish brown); sand;
many slightly weathered fine gravels; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; few very
fine to fine roots; penetr. 17 mm; clear smooth boundary to
2C 30-40 10YR3/3 (dark brown); sand; many slightly weathered fine gravels and gravels; structureless;
no roots; penetr. unmeasurable; gradual wavy boundary to
3C 40-45 + 10YR2/2 (brownish black); sand; abundant fresh fine gravels; structureless; no roots; penetr.
unmeasurable; seepage of ground water at 45cm
NW1 (N13º18'21'', E123º38'18'', 246 m a.s.l., slope direction: N40° W, slope gradient: 1°)
Hor. Depth (cm) Description
Ap1 0-15 10YR3/3 (dark brown); loamy sand; common slightly weathered fine gravels and few slightly
(ridge) weathered gravels; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; many very fine to medium
roots; penetr. < 1 mm; clear smooth boundary to
Ap2 15-27 10YR2/3 (brownish black); loamy sand; common slightly weathered fine gravels and few
slightly weathered gravels; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; common very fine
to fine roots; penetr. 9 mm; clear smooth boundary to
104 Sota Tanaka, Sarrah D. Sambajon, Koya Kobayasi, Megumi Hoshina, Alex P. Camaya and Sevella G. Tabayag-Almorfe

Bw 27-35 10YR3/4 (dark brown); sandy loam; many slightly weathered fine gravels; moderate medium
subangular blocky structure; common very fine to fine roots; penetr. 15 mm; gradual smooth
boundary to
2AC 35-49 10YR3/4 (dark brown); loamy sand; abundant slightly weathered fine gravels and few slightly
weathered gravels; moderate fine to medium subangular blocky structure; few very fine to fine
roots; penetr. 19 mm; clear smooth boundary to
3C 49-60/65 7. 5YR3/4 (brownish black); sand; dominant slightly weathered fine gravels and gravels;
structureless; very few very fine to fine roots; penetr. 18 mm; clear wavy boundary to
4A 60/65-73 10YR3/4 (dark brown); loamy sand; many slightly weathered fine gravels; moderate medium
angular blocky structure; no roots; penetr. 17 mm; gradual smooth boundary to
4C1 73-83 10YR3/4 (dark brown); sand; dominant slightly weathered fine gravels and gravels;
structureless; no roots; penetr. 21 mm; clear smooth boundary to
4C2 83-105 10YR4/4 (brown); loamy sand; many slightly weathered fine gravels; moderate medium
angular blocky structure; common very fine to fine roots; penetr. 18 mm; gradual smooth
boundary to
5C 105-127 10YR4/6 (brown); sand; dominant slightly weathered fine gravels and gravels; structureless;
no roots; penetr. 18 mm; clear smooth boundary to
6A 127-140 10YR4/6 (brown); loamy sand; many weathered fine gravels; structureless; no roots; penetr. 18
mm; gradual smooth boundary to
6C 140-135 + 10YR4/6 (brown); sand; abundant weathered fine gravels and gravels; structureless; no roots;
penetr. 15 mm
SW2 (N13º12'03'', E123º39'18'', 239 m a.s.l., slope direction: S40° W, slope gradient: 4°)
Hor. Depth (cm) Description
Ap 0-12 2.5Y4/2 (dark grayish yellow); loamy sand; common slightly weathered fine gravels; weak
(ridge) medium subangular blocky structure; many very fine to medium roots; penetr. 8 mm; clear
smooth boundary to
AC 12-18 2.5Y3/2 (brownish black); sand; many slightly weathered fine gravels and gravels; massive
structure; common very fine to medium roots; penetr. 11 mm; clear smooth boundary to
2A 18-35 10YR3/3 (brownish black); loamy sand; common slightly weathered fine gravels and gravels;
weak fine subangular blocky structure; common very fine to fine roots; penetr. 10 mm; clear
smooth boundary to
3A 35-45 10YR3/4 (dark brown); soil texture undeterminable; dominant slightly weathered fine gravels
containing pumice and gravels (almost gravel layer); structureless; very few very fine to fine
roots; penetr. unmeasurable; clear smooth boundary to
4C 45-51 10YR2/3 (brownish black); loamy sand; dominant slightly weathered fine gravels and gravels
(almost gravel layer); structureless; very few very fine to fine roots; penetr. unmeasurable;
clear smooth boundary to
5C 51-58 10YR2/3 (brownish black); sand; few slightly weathered fine gravels and gravels; weak fine
subangular blocky structure; very few very fine to fine roots; penetr. 6 mm; gradual wavy
boundary to
6C 58-65/71 10YR2/2 (brownish black); sand; dominant slightly weathered gravels to large stones;
structureless; very few very fine to fine roots; penetro. 7 mm; clear smooth boundary to
7C1 65/71-75/82 10YR2/2 (brownish black); sand; many slightly weathered fine gravels containing pumice;
massive structure; very few very fine to fine roots; penetr. 12 mm; clear wavy boundary to
 Characteristics of Volcanic Soils around Mt. Mayon, the Philippines 105

7C2 75/82-92/94 10YR2/3 (brownish black); sand; few slightly weathered fine gravels; massive structure; very
few fine roots; penetr. 7 mm; gradual smooth boundary to
7C3 92/94-110 10YR2/2 (brownish black); sand; abundant slightly weathered gravels; structureless; many
very fine to medium roots; penetr. 8 mm; gradual wavy boundary to
7C4 110-120 + 10YR2/2 (brownish black); sand; dominant slightly weathered gravels; structureless; no roots;
penetr. unmeasurable; gradual smooth boundary to
MS3 (N13º17'37'', E123º39'55'', 535 m a.s.l., slope direction: N50° W, slope gradient: 12°)
Hor. Depth (cm) Description
A 0-11 10YR2/2 (brownish black); sandy loam; common slightly weathered fine gravels; moderate
medium subangular blocky structure; common very fine to fine roots; penetr. 16 mm; clear
smooth boundary to
Bw1 11-23 10YR3/4 (dark brown); sandy loam; common slightly weathered fine gravels; moderate to
coarse subangular blocky structure; few very fine to fine roots; penetr. 20 mm; clear smooth
boundary to
Bw2 23-28 10YR3/4 (dark brown); sandy loam common slightly weathered fine gravels; moderate
medium subangular blocky structure; very few very fine roots; penetr. 19 mm; abrupt smooth
boundary to
2C 28-35 10YR3/3 (dark brown); soil texture undeterminable; gravel layer (slightly weathered, φ< 1
cm); structureless; no roots; penetr. 15 mm; abrupt smooth boundary to
3C 35-40 10YR3/4 (dark brown); sand; many slightly weathered fine gravels (φ< 0.5cm); structureless;
loose; no roots; penetr. 8 mm; abrupt smooth boundary to
4C 40-53 2.5Y3/3 (dark olive brown); soil texture undeterminable; gravel layer (slightly weathered, φ< 2
cm); structureless; no roots; penetr. 6 mm; abrupt smooth boundary to

5A 53-60/65 10YR3/4 (dark brown); loamy sand; common slightly weathered fine gravels; massive; no
roots; penetr. 16 mm; Al test +; clear wavy boundary to
6C 60/65-80 + 10YR2/1 (black); soil texture undeterminable; gravel layer (slightly weathered, φ< 2 cm);
structureless; no roots; penetr. unmeasurable
Penetr.: the reading of a Yamanaka-type push-cone penetrometer. In general, soil hardness with the reading of
about 10 mm is adequate for plants. When the reading exceeds 25mm, plant roots cannot expand into such
hard soils.

Table 3 Bulk density (g mL-1).

NE1 SE2 NW1 SW2 MS3

0~10 cm 0.76 0.83 0.98 1.41 1.09

1) 2)
20~30 cm ND 1.13 0.87 1.32 1.03

Average values for triplicated samples.

1) no sample collected, 2) the depth was 10-20 cm.
106 Sota Tanaka, Sarrah D. Sambajon, Koya Kobayasi, Megumi Hoshina, Alex P. Camaya and Sevella G. Tabayag-Almorfe

3.5 Physicochemical Properties of the Soils around Mt. Mayon

The averages of soil physicochemical properties are given in Table 4. As a whole, the soils collected around
Mt. Mayon were acidic both at the depth of 0-10 cm and 20-30 cm. The level of cation exchange capacity
(CEC) was relatively low less than 10 cmolc kg-1 due to coarse soil texture. The ratio of effective CEC (ECEC;
the sum of exchangeable bases and Al) to CEC was low even for the case of NE and SE of which pH (H2O)
was 6.2 and 6.4, respectively, indicating the dominance of variable charge characteristics, reflecting the Andic
soil properties. Exchangeable bases almost accounted for ECEC. They were dominated by Ca, and Mg to a
lesser extent, while the levels of exchangeable K and Na were low. The levels of exchangeable Al and H were
negligible, suggesting that Al toxicity is not to be the matter for crops.
It should be noted that the soil properties in MS2 to MS4 (crop fields) except available P were virtually
similar to those in MS1 (a degraded secondary forest patch). This result suggests that a substantial loss of
fertilizer nutrients might occur unless taken up by crops although the comparison should be carefully done
because of non-replicated sample and the higher elevation and location close to the crater for MS1. In contrast,
despite supposed P adsorption due to the Andic soil properties, the content of available P was higher in MS2 to
MS4 than in MS1, which could be ascribed to the positive effect of P fertilizer application similarly to the case
of Japanese Andisols. Considerable improvement of soil P availability was also found in the above-mentioned
follow-up studies on lowland paddy fields (Yanai et al. 2020, Tanaka et al. 2021, Nakao et al. 2021).
Similarly to the morphological properties, some differences between the east side (NE and SE) and the west
sides (NW, SW and MS) were found in the soil physicochemical properties. The levels of total C and N were
significantly lower in the east side than in the west side, probably due to a higher decomposition rate of soil
organic matter under moist condition in the former. Exchangeable Mg and Na was significantly higher in the
east than the west side with similar trends for Ca and K, suggesting the input of basic cations from sea salt in
the east side. Meanwhile. in the west side, levels of exchangeable bases and available P were relatively high in
MS compared with NW. This might be ascribable to the location of MS close to the smoking crater. These
elements are likely to be supplied continuously to soils as fine particles in the smoke.
It is interested from the viewpoint of soil science that pH (NaF) values were higher than 9.5 in the west side
but lower than 9.5 in the east side. This pH (NaF) is one of the criteria to identify volcanic soils, for which
threshold is above 9.5. This distinction method is based on the reaction in which abundant active Al fractions
in volcanic soils react with F- and release OH-, resulting in a large increase in the pH value. Based on the
similar result of volcanic soils around a hot spring in central Java, Indonesia, Yuliani et.al (2017) suggested
that high concentration of SO42- might block the aluminol OH groups to react. In fact, Takayanagi (1997)
detected high SO42- concentrations in spring water at the foot of Mt. Mayon close to our SE sites, probably due
to the dissolution of volcanic hydrogen sulfide gas.
 Characteristics of Volcanic Soils around Mt. Mayon, the Philippines 107

Table 4 Averages of soil physicochemical properties.

*MS1 was a degraded secondary forest and the soil sample was collected only from a depth of 0-10 cm.
Different alphabetical characters indicate statistical difference among NE, SE, NW, SW and MS for each soil
property at p < 0.05 based on Turkey’s multiple comparison. EC: electric conductivity, Avail. P: available P,
CEC: cation exchange capacity, Exch.: exchangeable, Sum bases: the sum of exchangeable Ca, Mg, K and Na,
ECEC: effective CEC calculated as sum of exchangeable bases and Al, Base sat.: base saturation calculated as
the percentage of exchangeable bases in CEC.
108 Sota Tanaka, Sarrah D. Sambajon, Koya Kobayasi, Megumi Hoshina, Alex P. Camaya and Sevella G. Tabayag-Almorfe

3.6 Physicochemical Properties of the Soils in San Miguel Island

The soils in San Miguel Island (SM1 and SM2) showed different features from those around Mt. Mayon.
Because of low pH (NaF) values, the soils could be regarded as non-volcanic soils, probably originating from
coral limestone. They were fine-textured (sandy loam to light clay) while a higher clay content at the depth of
20-30 cm than 0-10 cm. Thus, the soils were strongly weathered with clay illuviation. The levels of
exchangeable bases except K were very high. The base saturation exceeded 100% at the depth of 0-10 cm,
suggesting salt accumulation due to continuous input of sea salt to the surface soils in addition to the supply
through weathering of the parent materials. In contrast, the level of available P was considerably low,
reflecting insufficient inputs of the fertilizer.

3.7 Soil Characteristics and Recommendation for Soil Managements

Based on the morphological and physicochemical properties, the soils around Mt. Mayon can be regarded as
young volcanic soils, of which weathering and formation processes were intercepted by repeated ash
deposition. Despite the differences between the east and west sides, the soils seem to be classified into the
subgroups of Inceptisols with the Andic soil properties or the related class in Soil Taxonomy (Soil Survey
Staff, 2014) although the detailed soil analysis should be required to confirm the soil class. Meanwhile, the
soils in San Miguel Island were considerably different from those around Mt. Mayon and seem to originate
from coral limestone. The soils could be classified into a suborder of Alfisols.
The soil characteristics were influenced by physiographic environments. The soils in the east side of Mt.
Mayon were shallow and considerably moist, which would lead to the prosperity of rice farming. Meanwhile,
the soils in the west side of Mt. Mayon were deep and dry, for which the farmers seem to adopt upland
farming. The soils in the east side and in San Miguel Island could be supplied with basic cations from sea salts
while soils closed to the crater might be fertilized through natural nutrient input from the smoke.
Despite on-going research, we can tentatively make several recommendations for soil managements. For the
soils about six kilometers around Mt. Mayon, split application of NK fertilizers is appropriate to prevent
leaching loss due to a low clay content and the resulting low CEC values. The relatively high level of available
P suggests the possibility to reduce the amount of P fertilizer although P application rates must be carefully
examined considering P adsorption characteristics of volcanic soils. Liming materials are not necessary
because exchangeable Al is negligible, and other Ca and Mg fertilizer might be also omitted or reduced in the
east side with expected natural supply as sea salts. Meanwhile, the soils in San Miguel Island should require
more application of NPK fertilizers to build up sufficient stocks of these elements as well as to adjust base
balance against very high level of Ca and Mg.

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