What is podzol soil definition?
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podzolic soil, podzolic also spelled podsolic, also called lessivé soil, soil usually forming in a broadleaf forest and characterized by moderate leaching, which produces an accumulation of clay and, to some degree, iron that have been transported (eluviated) from another area by water.
What are the characteristics of podzol soil?
CHARACTERISTICS OF PODZOL SOILS
- Deep organic layer comprising L (litter), F (fermenting organic matter) and H (humus) under forest, less under moorland.
- An ash-grey, structureless, silica rich E or eluvial horizon, generally grey in colour.
What causes podzol soil?
Podzolization (or Podsolization) is complex soil formation process by which dissolved organic matter and ions of iron and aluminium, released through weathering of various minerals, form organo-mineral complexes (chelates) and are moved from the upper parts of the soil profile and deposit in the deeper parts of soil.
Is podzol a peat?
peat podzol A podzol soil profile distinguished by having a surface mor (peaty) humus up to a maximum thickness of 30 cm, and usually with an iron pan at the top of the B horizons. The term occurs in most of the classification systems derived originally from the work of V. V. Dokuchaev, published in 1886.
What is podzol made of?
Podzols form under forested landscapes on coarse parent material that is high in quartz. They have a characteristic subsurface layer known as the spodic horizon made up of accumulated humus and metal oxides, usually iron and aluminum.
What is podzol geography?
In soil science, podzols are the typical soils of coniferous or boreal forests. They are also the typical soils of eucalypt forests and heathlands in southern Australia. In Western Europe, podzols develop on heathland, which is often a construct of human interference through grazing and burning.
Where does podzol type of soil is found?
Occupying almost 4 percent of the total continental land area on Earth, they range from Scandinavia to Russia and Canada in the Northern Hemisphere, to The Guianas near the Equator, to Australia and Indonesia in the Southern Hemisphere. Podzols are closely similar to the Spodosol order of the U.S. Soil Taxonomy.
What colour is podzol soil?
Podzols are soils with an ash-grey subsurface horizon, bleached by organic acids, on top of a dark ac- cumulation horizon with brown or black illuviated humus and/or reddish iron compounds.
Is podzol a Sandy?
Most Podzols have a sandy texture and weak aggregation to structural elements; their bleached eluvia- tion horizon contains normally less than 10 percent clay but the clay content could be slightly higher in the underlying illuvial horizon. values between 3.5 and 4.5.
What does podzol look like?
Podzol is usually found in the Old Growth Pine Taiga biome. Podzol looks a lot like dirt but it has orange and green colors mixed in it making it very easy to spot.
What is Podzolization process?
Definition of podzolization : a process of soil formation especially in humid regions involving principally leaching of the upper layers with accumulation of material in lower layers and development of characteristic horizons specifically : the development of a podzol.
What is the meaning of podzol?
Definition of podzol. : any of a group of zonal soils that develop in a moist climate especially under coniferous or mixed forest and have an organic mat and a thin organic-mineral layer above a light gray leached layer resting on a dark horizon that is marked by illuviation and enriched with amorphous clay. —.
What is podzolization?
Podzolization (or Podsolization) is complex soil formation process by which dissolved organic matter and ions of iron and aluminium, released through weathering of various minerals, form organo-mineral complexes (chelates) and are moved from the upper parts of the soil profile and deposit in the deeper parts of soil.
What is podzolic soil?
In some British moorlands with podzolic soils, cambisols are preserved under Bronze Age barrows (Dimbleby, 1962). Podzol means “under-ash” and is derived from the Russian под (pod) + зола́ (zola); the full form is “подзо́листая по́чва” (podzolistaya pochva, “under-ashed soil”). The term was first given in middle of 1875 by Vasily Dokuchaev.
Why are podzols bad for agriculture?
Most Podzols are poor soils for agriculture due to the sandy portion, resulting in a low level of moisture and nutrients. Some are sandy and excessively drained. Others have shallow rooting zones and poor drainage due to subsoil cementation. A low pH further compounds issues, along with phosphate deficiencies and aluminum toxicity.