Search results for "Pedogenesis"
showing 10 items of 40 documents
The role of pedogenic overprinting in the obliteration of parent material in some polygenetic landscapes of Sicily (Italy)
2016
Abstract Many soils older than the Holocene have experienced several changes, and possess properties that may be due to the complex effect of several stages of soil development; these soils are called polygenetic. It is still rather unclear, however, if, as time elapses, pedogenic processes tend to diverge generating different soils, or converge towards increasingly similar soils. We studied five pedons (37°60′N, 13°90′E) exposed to present weathering simultaneously since the Holocene but located on Upper Miocene or Holocene parent material. Their XRD and FTIR clay mineralogy reveal an overall homogeneity; smectites, calcite and gypsum reach the thermodynamic equilibrium, a slight undersatu…
Effects of vegetation at different succession stages on soil properties and water flow in sandy soil
2015
The effects of vegetation at different succession stages on soil properties and water flow were assessed in sandy soil at 3 experimental sites near Sekule village (southwest Slovakia). Site S1 was a pioneer site dominated by mosses, site S2 was an early successional stage with a thin stand of grasses, and site S3 was an early successional stage (more advanced compared to the previous), richer in species, with a denser stand of grasses. It was found that vegetation at different succession stages affected soil properties and water flow in sandy soil, but the order of changes in some soil properties and water penetration depths were different from the order of succession stages.
Millennial-scale terrestrial ecosystem responses to Upper Pleistocene climatic changes: 4D-reconstruction of the Schwalbenberg Loess-Palaeosol-Sequen…
2021
Abstract Loess-Palaeosol-Sequences (LPS) in the Central European region provide outstanding terrestrial polygenetic and multiphase archives responding to past climate and environments over various spatial and temporal scales. As yet, however, the geomorphological and pedogenic processes involved in LPS formation, and their interplay with changes in ecological conditions, impede robust correlation with other palaeoenvironmental archives. The Schwalbenberg LPS, which drape a hillslope in the Middle Rhine Valley in western Central Europe, provide unique high-resolution records highly suitable for investigating the processes involved in their formation and the relationship to climatic influence…
Influence of afforestation on soil genesis, morphology and properties in glacial till deposits
2013
A study of soil morphological, physical and chemical properties was performed in woodland of different ages, in which spruce (Picea abies), aspen (Populus tremula) and birch (Betula pendula) growing stocks have colonized former agricultural land. The aim of the study was to clarify changes in soil genesis, morphology and properties due to the afforestation of abandoned agricultural land in glacial till deposits. The research showed that soil in these deposits (loamy sand, loam, clay) retains the morphological properties of agricultural land for up to 100 years. Secondary podzolization features in the soil profiles were observed within 100 years of the start of afforestation, whereas the dia…
Microbial origin for pedogenic micrite associated with a carbonate paleosol (Champagne, France)
1999
Abstract Micro-rods have been observed in indurated carbonate horizons (30 cm thick) that overlie a periglacial chalk formation, in contact with the present-day soil (Champagne, France). They are numerous in the upper part of the hardened layers. Variations in micro-rod morphologies are related to progressive biomineralization of organic matter, transforming purely organic rods into calcite. Mineralized rods undergo diagenesis and their arrangement evolves from a random mesh fabric to recrystallized micritic platelets to microsparite. Two types of organic micro-rods have been observed: bacilliform and thread-like bacteria. Mineralogically, micro-rods are low-magnesian calcite. Crystallograp…
Humic substances along the profile of two Typic Haploxerert
2002
Abstract In Vertisols, organic matter contributes to soil colour by formation of organo-mineral complexes and affects morphological, physico-chemical, biological and biochemical properties. Turbation may affect the chemical and structural composition of the most stabilised fractions of soil organic matter (SOM), i.e., humic substances (HS). The objectives of this study were to: (1) characterise SOM in two Vertisols (V1 and V2) developed under Mediterranean climate in Italy, using some HS characteristics as indicators of SOM turnover in Vertisols, and (2) explore possible differences related to the pedomorphologic conditions of the area under which two soils have formed. SOM evolution along …
Influence of inheritance and pedogenesis on heavy metal distribution in soils of Sicily, Italy
2000
Abstract The recognition of the potential health hazards associated with heavy metals has focused attention on the levels and behaviours of these elements both in natural and contaminated environments. Various soil types developed from different parent materials in Sicily, Italy, have been analysed in order to compare heavy metal distribution under different geopedological conditions. Total metal concentrations, metal partitioning and distribution profiles are discussed in relation to the inheritance factor and pedogenic processes. Parent material composition largely influences the contents of heavy metals in most of the analysed soils, mainly differentiating pedons for their metal concentr…
Pedogenesis in disturbed alpine soils (NW Italy)
2002
In alpine environments, natural or man-induced disturbances are fairly common and acknowledged as determining factors in pedogenesis and soil distribution. We have selected a representative alpine valley in the Italian Northwestern Alps to evaluate the effects of perturbations of different intensity and frequency on soil development and weathering during the last few centuries. In order of decreasing disturbances, we selected: (i) an active avalanche shoot; (ii) a man-built terrace; (iii) a park-like forest; and (iv) a coniferous forest. In the two most disturbed sites, independently of the intensity and frequency of the disturbances, the active pedogenic processes are restricted to the top…
Tracing the source of gypsum in New Caledonian soils by REE contents and SSr isotopic compositions
1998
Gypsum minerals forming in pedogenic environments in New Caledonia were examined for their S and Sr isotope compositions and REE distributions. Three possible sources were identified: volcanic, soil-derived and marine. However, differentiation based only on the REE contents and normalized patterns was not possible, but, the best preserved volcanic sample yields a negative EuEu∗ anomaly and the lowest GdNYbN ratio due to the high content of organic matter. Mixing calculations of the δ34S values and 87Sr86Sr ratios confirmed that the marine gypsum has a δ34S value close to + 21‰ and an 87Sr86Sr ratio close to 0.70912, and that the volcanic gypsum has a δ34S value of 0‰ and an 87Sr86Sr ratio o…
Approche d'un territoire de montagne : occupations humaines et contexte pédo-sédimentaire des versants du col du Petit-Saint-Bernard, de la Préhistoi…
2014
As part of a multi-year programme, survey campaigns have been carried out on both slopes of the Petit-Saint-Bernard pass (2188 m, western Alps), at an altitude of between 750 and 3000 m. The method employed abandons ground-based surveying in favour of multiple manual surveys carried out on selected topographic contexts down to the base of the Holocene fill. The results obtained document the longterm development of the pedo-sedimentary dynamic and the occupation of the different altitude stages. The significance of the archaeological data collected is discussed in relation to the state of knowledge in a comparison area including the neighbouring valleys of the western Alps, to existing settl…