The soils of the study area are from weathered
phyllites and are classified as Ferric Lixisols or
Leptosols/Regosols (FAO/UNESCO/WRB 1990).
They are deep, moderately well drained and
brashy with a silty-loam humus texture in the
0–15 cm soil layer, which gives it a high moisture
retention capacity (Ministry of Food and Agriculture
2000).