Magnetic iron oxides occurring in chernozem soil from Ukraine and Poland as indicators of pedogenic processes

The paper concerns the complex study of pedogenic and magnetic characteristics of unpolluted soil profiles from Ukraine (3 profiles, of which two represent chernozem and one kastanozem) and Poland (1 profile of chernozem), all with loess parent material. Two of the profiles were situated further south than the other two. The “southern” zone is characterized by lower precipitation rate and higher annual temperatures than the “northern” zone. Depth variations of magnetic properties obtained with various methods were compared with pedogenic characteristics. The common characteristic of all profiles is enhancement of susceptibility in their upper parts related to the presence of superparamagnetic/ single-domain grains of maghemite/oxidized magnetite of pedogenic origin. However, variations of magnetic characteristics measured down depth profiles differ between profiles probably due to differences in climatic conditions and, perhaps, parent loess.