Interaction between aggrading geomorphic surfaces and the formation of a late pleistocene paleosol in the palouse loess of eastern Washington state

Variable rates of loess deposition contributed to dramatic regional variation in a soil-stratigraphic unit, the Washtucna Soil, in the Palouse loess deposits in the Channeled Scabland of eastern Washington state. Throughout most of the Channeled Scabland, the morphology of the Washtucna Soil is that of a single buried soil, but it bifurcates into two well-developed and pedologically distinct buried soils in areas immediately downwind of the major source of loessial sediment. Regional loess stratigraphy confirms that the two well-developed soils formed during the same interval of time during which only one soil formed in areas that are distal to loess source areas. The variable and perhaps rapid rates of soil formation suggested by the stratigraphy resulted from an interaction between variable rates of loess deposition and the formation of superimposed calcic soils. Petrocalcic horizons with weak Stage IV morphology formed as the zone of carbonate accumulation moved up into former A and cambic horizons that had been profusely burrowed by cicadas. The development of cicada burrows in one phase of soil development that were subsequently engulfed by pedogenic carbonate under a rising land surface seems to have greatly accelerated the development of the petrocalcic horizons. Accelerated rates of formation of the petrocalcic horizons occurred when extrinsic (pulses of loess deposition) and intrinsic (engulfment of burrowed horizons) thresholds were exceeded. Stratigraphic evidence suggests that the soil formation that accompanied the rise in the land surface due to additional loess deposition may have occurred during the late Wisconsin glaciation when giant glacial outburst floods in the channeled Scabland triggered a new cycle of loess deposition.     

Correlations between pedological parameters in relation to lithology and soil type in Almería (SE Spain)

South-eastern Spain can be considered as a model of desertification in the Mediterranean environment. The desertification intensity varies according to two different geomorphological areas: glacis and badlands. The modal soil of the glacis area is calcic Luvisol, for which the severity of degradation depends on the degree of aridity and human activities, which give rise to the following degradation series: calcic Luvisol – luvic Calcisol – haplic, petric or aridic Calcisol. The badland area is more desertified than the glacis area. The modal soils in the badland area depend exclusively on the parent material: aridic Arenosols on sand; eutric, calcaric or gypsiric Regosols on silt and calcilutite; aric Gypsisols on gypsum; and aric Solonchaks on parent material rich in halite. Luvisols, Gypsisols and Solonchaks can be considered relict paleosols that developed in a wetter climate than the prevailing arid conditions that make clay illuviation or the formation of gypsic or salic horizons impossible. Soil quality reduction is shown by creating a database for soils’ physical and chemical properties, ranging in classes that facilitate the use of these properties as an effective tool for decision making with regard to desertification.     

RATES OF SOIL FORMATION ON BLACK MESA,NORTHEAST ARIZONA: A CHRONOSEQUENCE IN LATE QUATERNARY ALLUVIUM

A chronosequence of 17 soils in late Quaternary alluvium on Black Mesa, northeast Arizona, permits quantification of rates of pedogenesis in a semi-arid region. Based on 24 tree-ring, radiocarbon, and archaeological dates, soil ages range from about 100 to 20,000 to 30,000+ years. Data indicate that ochric, cambic, argillic, natric, and calcic horizons form within about 100, 500, 1000, 3000, and 15,000 years, respectively, whereas mollic epipedons form within 1000 years. Bk horizons with Stage I, I+, II+, and III carbonate morphologies form within about 1000, 4000, 10,000, and 15,000 years, respectively. Thickness of Bt and Bk horizons, and Harden profile development and clay accumulation index values increase in a linear manner with increasing soil age. High resolution dating suggests rates of pedogenesis on Black Mesa are rapid relative to those documented elsewhere in the southwest United States and in the Rocky Mountains. Rates of soil formation recorded on Black Mesa, however, necessarily incorporate the combined effects of slight variations in elevation, climate, vegetation, topography, and parent materials throughout the region, as well as the influence of additions of atmospheric dust at the soil surface. [Key words: soil, pedogenesis, soil geomorphology, Quaternary, Arizona.]     

粤北岩溶山地土壤垂直渗漏与粒度变化特征

选择广东粤北连南两个典型岩溶山地剖面,调查了剖面裂隙、漏斗等的垂直分布特征,采样分析了土壤粒度垂向变化。结果表明：碳酸盐岩的构造运动、差异风化和溶蚀等形成的裂隙、漏斗和孔穴在降水入渗、土壤自重力和溶蚀作用下成为土壤地下迁移的通道;漏斗、裂隙及孔穴主要分布在0-10 m的范围,根据横断面调查计算,漏斗土壤占整个断面面积的23.1%-28.1%,裂隙土占整个断面面积的5.3%-8.9%,孔穴土占0.16%,土壤面积占整个剖面面积的28.4%-37.16%。在漏斗和裂隙中土壤颗粒物以粗粉沙和砂粒为主,次为粘粒和细粉沙,随深度增加砂粒含量降低,粘粒含量总体呈增加趋势但其变化与漏斗和裂隙底部形态、角度、宽度等有关;土壤粒度分布特征证明岩溶山地土壤存在水平和垂直两个运移过程以及地表侵蚀、土壤细粒物质下渗和土壤细粒物质堆积三个迁移阶段。     

The role of weathering and pedological processes for the development of sorted circles on Kvadehuksletta, Svalbard - a short report

The presence of silt-rich, fine-grained material at the center of the well-developed sorted circles on Kvadehuksletta, Svalbard, is a precondition for their development. Field work, laboratory work, and data from published studies indicate that the fine-grained material is a dissolution product of the dolomitic bedrock. The silt is accumulated in situ and by slope wash in terrain depressions. Chemical weathering and other pedogenetic processes, such as the translocation of silt, are of great importance in Arctic regions and can create the sedimentological prerequisites for cryogenetic processes, such as frost sorting and cryoturbation. Therefore, the bedrock composition and the composition of surficial material are considered to be important control factors for these processes.     

青藏高原东北部残积母质土壤发育过程研究——以青海湖北部宁夏剖面为例

残积母质是青海湖地区重要的成土母质之一,目前对高原残积母质土壤的研究相对匮乏,特别是其形成发育的年代尚不明晰,限制了对高原残积母质土壤演变过程的认识及对区域气候环境演变的理解。为探究青藏高原东北部残积母质土壤的发育过程及其发育模式,以青海湖北部宁夏（NX）剖面作为研究对象,通过光释光（Optically stimulated luminescence,OSL）测年获得残积母质土壤发育年代,采用化学蚀变指数（Chemical index of alteration,CIA）、Rb/Sr和粉黏比等探究土壤发育程度,对比青海湖地区河湖相沉积和黄土的Zr/Nb、K₂O/Al₂O₃和TiO₂/Al₂O₃分析其物源。结果表明：NX土壤剖面在早全新世以来发育,其年代结果集中在10.02~8.67 ka,成土母质发育时间与流域内风沙强烈活动时期基本一致,为干暖气候背景下的产物;通过物源对比分析,NX剖面底部母质为母岩就地风化而成,上部为风尘加积发育,发育模式为混合母质风尘加积型;剖面整体处于弱化学风化阶段,土壤发育程度较弱。     

Soils and landscape evolution of eolian plains: the Southern High Plains of Texas and New Mexico

Sheets of eolian sediment cover many areas of the earth's surface, sand seas, dune fields, and loess sheets being the best known examples of such features. Less well known are deposits of sandy, eolian sediment forming extensive plains. An excellent example of such a region is the semi-arid Southern High Plains (northwest Texas and eastern New Mexico). The level landscape of the area was created by deposition of multiple, extensive (≈ 80,000 km²) sheets of eolian sediment (Blackwater Draw Formation) over the past 1.4+ Ma. This deposit grades from sandy (southwest) to silty and clayey (northeast) and is up to 27 m thick. Surface soils (at least 30,000 and possibly 120,000 years old) are well developed (5YR hues, agrillic horizons, 1–2m thick with prismatic structure, Stage II–III calcic horizons) and are generally Paleustolls and Paleustalfs, with some Paleargids and Haplargids. Morphologic variation is due mainly to textural variation of the eolian parent material, although locally thickness of the parent material and wind erosion and cumulization are important factors, and locally slight variation in effective precipitation may be significant. The Blackwater Draw Formation contains as many as six well-developed buried soils, each formed in individual layers of eolian sediment, similar to or more strongly expressed (2.5YR hues, higher illuvial clay content) than the regional surface soils. The presence of the buried soils indicates that sedimentation was episodic and separated by long periods of relative landscape stability. Eolian processes also appear to have been important during the periods of stability and pedoenesis by providing clayey, calcareous dust that was added to the soil, promoting formation of the argillic and calcic horizons. The sedimentologic and pedologic uniformity of the deposit suggests that the regional environment has not varied significantly during the Quaternary except for periods of increased sedimentation or wind deflation. Underlying the Blackwater Draw Formation is an Upper Tertiary deposit (up to 36 m thick) of eolian sand, silt, and clay (Ogallala Formation). This deposit contains buried soils very similar to those in the Blackwater Draw Formation, suggesting that the geomorphic processes that created the Quaternary landscape of the Southern High Plains began to operate in the late Tertiary, perhaps as much as 11 million years ago.     

干旱区绿洲不同土地利用方式和强度对土壤粒度分布的影响

以干旱区三工河流域下游绿洲作为研究区,应用SPSS数理统计软件,选择12种土地利用系统,采集上层（0～20cm）和下层土壤（20-40cm）样品,分析出不同土地利用系统对土壤粒度分布的影响。研究结果表明：（1）研究区土壤主要由砂和粉砂组成,土地利用系统对砂、粉砂和粘土粒度分布的影响显著,无论上层还是下层,不同土地利用系统土壤砂、粉砂和粘土含量差异明显。（2）绿洲土壤砂含量随着土地种植年限增加有降低的趋势,而粉砂和粘土含量有增加的趋势。在不同的土地利用强度下土壤粒度分布表现出了不同的特征。土地利用强度大的一年生作物和多年生作物土壤粉砂和粘土含量较高。土壤质量得到了逐步改善;而受人类活动干扰较小的土地利用系统土壤砂和粉砂含量高,土壤质地差。说明干旱区绿洲的人类农业活动基本趋于合理。绿洲生态环境正逐步得到改善并持续发展。     

POLLEN AND SPORE STRATIGRAPHY OF A MOLLIC HAPLUDALF (DEGRADED CHERNOZEM) IN NORTHEASTERN KANSAS

Palynological analyses were completed for the A and B horizons of a forested Mollic Hapludalf to determine type, amount, and distribution of pollen and spores within the soil solum. Hypotheses regarding the origin of pollen and the mechanisms of its movement within soil bodies are also advanced. Pollen downwash within the mineral soil seems to be very slow and confined to the uppermost porous and most homogenized part of the solum. The predominance of non-arboreal pollen at depth was believed to be a result of deposition with the loess parent material. High arboreal pollen frequencies in the upper horizons coupled with increases in non-arboreal types at depth indicate gradual ongoing mixing from the present vegetation into the soil.     

The Landscape of Diversity in U.S. Higher Education Geography

Palynological analyses were completed for the A and B horizons of a forested Mollic Hapludalf to determine type, amount, and distribution of pollen and spores within the soil solum. Hypotheses regarding the origin of pollen and the mechanisms of its movement within soil bodies are also advanced. Pollen downwash within the mineral soil seems to be very slow and confined to the uppermost porous and most homogenized part of the solum. The predominance of non-arboreal pollen at depth was believed to be a result of deposition with the loess parent material. High arboreal pollen frequencies in the upper horizons coupled with increases in non-arboreal types at depth indicate gradual ongoing mixing from the present vegetation into the soil.     

区域尺度土壤养分空间变异及其影响因素研究

江苏北部5市土壤表层(0~20cm)全氮含量连云港东北部、淮安南部和盐城西部显著高于其它地区;全磷含量呈现由北到南、自西向东升高的趋势;速效磷含量高值区位于北部的灌云县和南部的金湖县;速效钾含量东部沿海高于其它地区。土壤类型和成土母质对土壤养分产生显著影响:对于土类而言,沼泽土和水稻土养分较高;各成土母质中,湖相沉积物发育的土壤养分含量最高。在研究区1:5万尺度范围内,土壤类型对全氮和全磷的变异起主导作用,而速效磷受成土母质的影响较大,土壤类型和成土母质对速效钾的影响较小,土壤类型和成土母质对全量养分的影响要大于速效养分。     

北亚热带江淮地区白浆化土壤的发生学特性

通过孢子花粉、石英砂颗粒和土壤微形态学分析,研究北亚热带江淮地区白浆化土壤的发生学特性。白浆化土壤下部土体经历了暖温带森林草原景观和亚热带草原景观,为高能化学环境。在母质沉积后,经历了褐土化过程或其他物质堆积,经过一定时期的沉积间断后,堆积新物质,随着气候的变化,成土环境演变为现代气候类型,属亚热带森林草原环境。淀积层也源于黄土状物质,风化程度更强,白浆层则为后期堆积物,不具备高能化学环境。淀积层在高能环境下,存在次生粘化和淀积粘化作用。     

Palaeoclimatic record from a loess–soil profile in northeastern Bulgaria—I. Rock magnetic properties

A detailed record of mineral magnetic properties of a loess–palaeosol profile comprising seven loess horizons, six interbedded palaeosols and recent soil at the top in NE Bulgaria is analysed. A strong contrast between the soil and loess susceptibilities as well as other concentration-dependent hysteresis parameters is present, similar to the well-documented magnetic characteristics of the Chinese loess ( Hus & Han 1992 ; Maher & Thompson 1992 ; Heller & Evans 1995 ; Hunt et al. 1995 ). The magnetic enhancement of the palaeosol units is caused by very fine-grained pedogenic magnetite with superparamagnetic behaviour. Thermomagnetic analyses on bulk material suggest magnetite and maghemite as the main ferrimagnetic carriers in both soil and loess horizons. Their relative proportions are shown to reflect different palaeoclimatic conditions. Chernozem soils, which include recent soil S₀ and first and second palaeosols S₁ and S₂ developed under steppe vegetation, show a high degree of low-temperature oxidation of the pedogenic magnetite to maghemite. This material is characterized by coercive force H _c showing even higher values than those of the parent loess material. The older palaeosols (S₄ to S₆ ) were formed during more humid climatic conditions and therefore probably developed as forest types. Rock magnetic data suggest the existence here of only partly oxidized magnetite grains. The behaviour of the thermomagnetic curves, characterized by a kink at 200 °C, may be due to either a release of internal stress (built up as a result of partial low-temperature oxidation) or interactions between two phases.     

湘东丘陵区4种林地深层土壤溶解性有机碳的数量和光谱特征

选取湘东丘陵4种典型母质发育的林地土壤,挖掘土壤剖面并分层采集土壤样品至母质层/母岩,研究深层土壤有机碳（SOC）和溶解性有机碳（DOC）的数量和分布规律,采用紫外-可见光谱技术分析深层土壤DOC的宏观化学结构特征。结果表明,土壤DOC含量（2.33~185.26 mg·kg^-1）在板岩红壤和酸性紫色土剖面上某些深层土层出现升高现象。DOC/SOC除第四纪红土红壤在浅层表土最高（1.5%）外,其他3种土壤均在60~80 cm深层土层达到最高峰值（1.0%~2.5%）。SOC数量是控制不同母质土壤DOC数量的重要因素。但光谱分析显示,随着土壤剖面的加深,DOC的宏观化学组成、结构趋于复杂,化学稳定性升高。尽管一些深层土层中DOC/SOC升高,但其DOC化学结构更为复杂,评价深层土壤SOC和DOC稳定性还应考虑其化学结构特性。     

Quaternary evolution of ephemeral playa lakes on the Southern High Plains of Texas, USA: cyclic variation in lake level recorded in sediments

Ephemeral playa lakes on the Southern High Plains northeast of Amarillo, Texas, are underlain by more than 10 m of Quaternary lake deposits. Sediments beneath 12 lakes were examined in 76 hollow-stem auger cores and in excavations. Stacked depositional cycles recognized in lake sediments record repeated phases of (1) initial highstand, (2) ephemeral lake, and (3) lake shrinkage and prolonged exposure. Sedimentary and soil structures show that during all phases the lakes were ephemeral, but that the duration and frequency of flooding varied, which caused variation in the relative amounts of accumulation, deflation, and soil formation. The highstand phase is documented by wave-cut benches and lake sediments that extend beyond present lake margins. Mud transported as suspended load was deposited from ponded water. Desiccation resulted in mudcracks and allowed deposition of eolian sand, but exposure episodes were relatively short or infrequent, and vertic soil formation, oxidation of organic material, and deflation of sand were minimal. Decreased frequency and duration of flooding resulting in increased pedogenic modification under conditions similar to those under which modern playa lake sediments accumulate. Eolian silt deposited on dry lake beds and clays deposited in flooded lakes were mixed by vertic soil processes during repeated wetting and drying. Organic material was partly oxidized and partly translocated down roots and cracks, and interbedded upland facies were gleyed. Episodes of lake shrinkage and more frequent exposure are recorded by reddening and formation of calcic horizons within lake muds. Red-brown eolian loam prograded across lake sediments, and calcic soils developed on it. These grassland slope facies record decrease in the size of the playa lakes.     

Experimental study on grain size and soluble salt of saline soil in western Jilin Province, China

Western Jilin Province is a typical seasonal frost region, and is also one of the severest salinization areas of China. In this study, we aim to examine the saline soil in Da'an and Wukesong areas, western Jilin Province, and mainly analyze the granulometric composition and distribution of salt in soil profiles. Four sampling sites, two in Da'an and two in Wukesong respectively, are chosen for study. The granulometric composition, especially silt and clay content change in different sites and soil depths are analyzed. Analysis of total and components of soluble salt shows that the surface soil is weak carbonate saline, in which the main cation is Na⁺ and the main anion is HCO₃^-. The total amount of soluble salt presents a decreasing tendency with increasing depth. The comprehensive analysis of granulometric composition and soluble salt shows that the clay content and soluble salt content present similar variation tendency with an increase of depth.     

Integrating soils and geomorphology in mountains—an example from the Front Range of Colorado

Soil distribution in high mountains reflects the impact of several soil-forming factors. Soil geomorphologists use key pedological properties to estimate ages of Quaternary deposits of various depositional environments, estimate long-term stability and instability of landscapes, and make inferences on past climatic change. Once the influence of the soil-forming factors is known, soils can be used to help interpret some aspects of landscape evolution that otherwise might go undetected.The Front Range of Colorado rises from the plains of the Colorado Piedmont at about 1700 m past a widespread, dissected Tertiary erosion surface between 2300 and 2800 m up to an alpine Continental Divide at 3600 to over 4000 m. Pleistocene valley glaciers reached the western edge of the erosion surface. Parent rocks are broadly uniform (granitic and gneissic). Climate varies from 46 cm mean annual precipitation (MAP) and 11 °C mean annual temperature (MAT) in the plains to 102 cm and −4 °C, respectively, near the range crest. Vegetation follows climate with grassland in the plains, forest in the mountains, and tundra above 3450 m. Soils reflect the bioclimatic transect from plains to divide: A/Bw or Bt/Bk or K (grassland) to A/E/Bw or Bt/C (forest) to A/Bw/C (tundra). Corresponding soil pH values decrease from 8 to less than 5 with increasing elevation. The pedogenic clay minerals dominant in each major vegetation zone are: smectite (grassland), vermiculite (forest), and 1.0–1.8 nm mixed-layer clays (tundra). Within the lower forested zone, the topographic factor (aspect) results in more leached, colder soils, with relatively thin O horizons, well-expressed E horizons and Bt horizons (Alfisols) on N-facing slopes, whereas soils with thicker A horizons, less developed or no E horizons, and Bw or Bt horizons (Mollisols) are more common on S-facing slopes. The topographic factor in the tundra results in soil patterns as a consequence of wind-redistributed snow and the amount of time it lingers on the landscape. An important parent material factor is airborne dust, which results in fine-grained surface horizons and, if infiltrated, contributes to clay accumulation in some Bt horizons. The time factor is evaluated by soil chronosequence studies of Quaternary deposits in tundra, upper forest, and plains grassland. Few soils in the study area are >10,000 years old in the tundra, >100,000 years old in the forest, and >2 million years old in the grassland. Stages of granite weathering vary with distance from the Continental Divide and the best developed is grus near the sedimentary/granitic rock contact just west of the mountain front. Grus takes a minimum of 100,000 years to form.Some of the relations indicated by the soil map patterns are: (1) parts of the erosion surface have been stable for 100,000 years or more; (2) development of grus near the mountain front could be due in part to pre-Pennsylvanian weathering; (3) a few soil properties reflect Quaternary paleoclimate; and (4) a correlation between soil development in the canyons and stream incision rates.     

中国砂质新成土的系统分类

以土壤的诊断层和诊断特性为依据,以土壤发生学作指导,阐述了我国砂质新成土的系统分类。砂质新成土是新成土纲中具有砂质沉积物岩性的土壤,相当于我国过去土壤分类中的"风砂土",是指风成砂性母质上发育的土壤,其形成过程可以划分为:流沙上的成土阶段、半固定沙上的成土阶段和固定沙上的成土阶段;具有细土累积、结皮形成和有机质聚集三个成土特点。砂质新成土的控制层段的深度标准规定为1~2m。砂质新成土亚纲可以划分为:寒冻砂质新成土、潮湿砂质新成土、干旱砂质新成土、干润砂质新成土和湿润砂质新成土等5个土类,在土类之下,又可主要根据是否偏离中心概念、是否具有附加过程的特征和是否具有母质残留的特征,进一步划分为永冻寒冻砂质新成土等22个亚类,并列有检索系统。最后,以砂质新成土的土类为单元,论述了其土壤分布、特征及其改造利用方向。     

西藏山地淋溶土系列与大骨节病分布的关系

通过西藏大骨节病县与非病县棕壤与暗棕壤各土属、土种的分布面积的对比分析对西藏耕型棕壤和暗棕壤分布与西藏大骨节病区分布的关系进行研究.结果表明,西藏大骨节病的分布与棕壤、暗棕壤为主的耕型淋溶土壤的分布有一定的联系,但土壤母质和发育程度不同,对大骨节病的分布影响不同.对于残坡积土壤,病区趋于分布在泥质土壤环境,而麻砂质土壤基本是大骨节病的非病区.同样的母质环境,大骨节病区趋于分布在土壤厚度较小,发育程度较低的地区;就洪积土壤来说,其与大骨节病分布的关系似乎与土壤质地有一定的联系,底部砾石含量高的土壤多集中在大骨节病地区.总体而言,山地棕壤、暗棕壤环境是西藏大骨节病区的主要土壤类型之一,西藏未开发的自然棕壤和暗棕壤环境将是大骨节病潜在危险区,因此系统研究西藏典型大骨节病区的土壤分异对探讨未来西藏大骨节病的分布与流行有重要意义.     

PEDOGENESIS IN LATE PREHISTORIC INDIAN MOUNDS,UPPER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY

Inceptisols are developed on silt loam, loam, and sandy loam Indian mounds at the Keller Mound Group and Bluff Top Mound in northeastern Iowa. The mounds date to the Allamakee Phase of the Late Woodland Period (ca. 1650–1250 B.P.) and are built with fill obtained from the A, E, and upper B horizons of pre-existing soils (Alfisols). Differences in the morphologic and chemical characteristics of soils on different mounds are attributed to textural differences of the mounds' fill. Coarse-textured mound fill is pedogenically altered at a faster rate than fine-textured fill, but total carbon percentage of the A horizon attains a steady state faster in fine-textured mound fill. Total phosphorus content is used to determine from which horizons of pre-existing soils the specific layers of mound fill originated. Rates and pathways of pedogenesis in mound fill may not provide good analogues for the early stages of soil development in materials that have not undergone previous weathering and subsequent modification by humans. Nevertheless, mound soils are useful benchmarks for some pedologic studies since they provide time lines for evaluating minimum rates for development of argillic and albic horizons, as well as attainment of the Alfisol order.