NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Podsol

Podsol (also spelled Podzol, or known as Spodosol) is the typical soil of coniferous, or Boreal forests. The name is Russian for "under ash" (pod=under, zola=ash) and likely refers to the common experience of russian peasants of plowing up an apparent under-layer of ash (leached or E horizon)during first plowing of a virgin soil of this type. These soils are found in areas that are wet and cold (for example in Northern Ontario or Russia) and also in warm areas such as Florida where sandy soils have fluctuating water tables (humic variant of the northern podzol or Humod). An example of a warm-climate podzol is the Myakka fine sand, state soil of Florida. Soil is material capable of supporting plant life. ... Orders & Families Cordaitales † Pinales Pinaceae - Pine family Araucariaceae - Araucaria family Podocarpaceae - Yellow-wood family Sciadopityaceae - Umbrella-pine family Cupressaceae - Cypress family Cephalotaxaceae - Plum-yew family Taxaceae - Yew family Vojnovskyales † Voltziales † The conifers, division Pinophyta, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. ... Taiga (SAMPA /taIg@/, from Russian тайга́) is a biome characterized by its coniferous forests. ... Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Latin: Loyal she began, loyal she remains) Official languages English (French has some legal status) Capital Toronto Largest city Toronto Lieutenant-Governor James K. Bartleman Premier Dalton McGuinty (Liberal) Parliamentary representation - House seat - Senate seats 106 24 Area Total â€¢ Land â€¢ Water (% of total) Ranked... Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Area - Total - Width - Length - % water - Latitude - Longitude Ranked 22nd 170,451 kmÂ² 260 km 800 km 17. ...

The bleached soil, which is usually 4-8 cm thick, is low in iron and lime. It is formed under moist, cool and acidic conditions, especially where the parent material, such as granite or sandstone, is rich in quartz. It is found under a layer of organic material in the process of decomposition, which is usually 5-10 cm thick. In the middle, there is often a thin layer of 0.5 to 1 cm. The bleached soil goes over into a red or redbrown horizon called rusty soil. The colour is strongest in the upper part, and change at a depth of 50 to 100 cm progressively to the part of the soil that is mainly not affected by processes; that is the parent material. The soil profiles are designated the letters A (transitional layer with organic matter), E (bleached soil), B (rusty soil) and C (parent material). General Name, Symbol, Number iron, Fe, 26 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 8, 4, d Appearance lustrous metallic with a grayish tinge Atomic mass 55. ... Lime is a general term for various naturally occurring minerals and materials derived from them in which carbonates, oxides and hydroxides of calcium predominate. ... Quarrying granite for the Mormon Temple, Utah Territory. ... Sandstone near Stadtroda, Germany Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-size mineral or rock grains. ... Quartz is amongst one of the most common minerals in the Earths continental crust. ... Organic material or organic matter is informally used to denote a material that originated as a living organism; most such materials contain carbon and are capable of decay. ... This article is in need of attention; please see the talk page. ... A soil profile is a cross section through the soil which reveals its horizons (layers). ... Parent material, in soil science, means the underlying bedrock from which soil horizons form. ...

The main process in the formation of spodosols is podzolisation. Podzolisation is a complex process (or number of sub-processes) in which organic material and soluble minerals (commonly iron and aluminium) are leached from the A to the B horizon.

In podzols, translocation has meant the leaching out from the A horizon of clays, humic acids, iron, and eluvial compounds. These constituents may then accumulate to form a spodic illuvial horizon and in some cases a placic horizon or iron band. Podzolization occurs when severe leaching leaves the upper horizon virtually depleted of all soil constituents except quartz grains. Clay minerals in the A horizon decompose by reaction with humic acids and form soluble salts. The leached material from the A horizon is deposited in the B horizon as a humus-rich horizon band or as a hard layer of sesquioxides. Chromosomal translocation of the 4th and 20th chromosome. ... Leaching is the process of extracting a substance from a solid by dissolving it in a liquid. ... Quaternary clay in Estonia. ... Humic acids are those organic compounds found in soil that are insoluble in acidic conditions. ... Leaching is the process of extracting a substance from a solid by dissolving it in a liquid. ... This article needs to be wikified. ... Humic acids are those organic compounds found in soil that are insoluble in acidic conditions. ... For article about the oriental food, see Hummus. ...

These sub-processes include mobilisation, eluviation and illuviation. Mobilisation and eluviation both move organic materials and minerals through the A horizon into the B horizon. During this, they react with the water (illuviation) to become oxidised. This process of podzolisation results in the characteristic soil profile of spodosols, in which the E horizon is an ashen grey or white colour without structure and there is a distinctive hardpan oxide layer in the B horizon.

However, as conifers allelopathically reduce competition by producing a thick O horizon of acidic and poisonous leaf litter that is slow to decompose, the primary form of plant-soil interactions is that of the conifers themselves. The acidic O horizon, along with rainfall patterns that are similar to that of the moister grasslands, also promotes the illuviation of oxides of aluminium and iron. Orders & Families Cordaitales † Pinales Pinaceae - Pine family Araucariaceae - Araucaria family Podocarpaceae - Yellow-wood family Sciadopityaceae - Umbrella-pine family Cupressaceae - Cypress family Cephalotaxaceae - Plum-yew family Taxaceae - Yew family Vojnovskyales † Voltziales † The conifers, division Pinophyta, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. ... The suppression of growth of one plant species by another due to the release of toxic substances (Webster 1983). ... An Inner Mongolian Grassland. ...

In some podzols, the E horizon is absent -- either masked by biological activity or obliterated by disturbance. Podzols with little or no E horizon development are often classified as Brown Podzolic soils.

In Western Europe podsols are developed on heathland, which is a construct of human interference, whereby the vegetation is maintained through grazing and burning. The soils may well have developed over the past 3000 years in response to vegetation and climatic changes. In some British moorlands with podsolic soils there are brown earths preserved under Bronze Age barrows.

References

Category: Pedology Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a research and degree-granting four-year public university located in Corvallis, Oregon. ... The United States Department of State, often referred to as the State Department, is the Cabinet-level foreign affairs agency of the United States government, equivalent to foreign ministries in other countries. ... The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) formerly known as the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) was founded in 1935 at the urging of Hugh Bennett, who also served as the agencys first chief. ...