Podzosol

The podzosol or podzol is a type of ground to very acid pH, it is unfertile for the Agriculture.

They are grounds where the horizon B is composed of an accumulation of organic matters (fulvic Acides, mainly), impoverished out of iron and aluminum, rather siliceous. The word is of origin Russian and means “ashy”, color of the Ahe horizon.

Distribution

It is a ground of the areas cold and wet, one finds it in particular under the Taïga S, it also accompanies - but more rarely - some moderate Forêt S by Conifère S.

This ground occupies nearly 4% of the emerged grounds (and noncold).

Vegetation

On the podzosols Conifère S push, but also of the Fougère S and Bruyère S.

Formation

The podzolisation is the destruction of the Argile S by Organic acid.

The podzosol is formed on a Roche - coarse mother not Calcaire like Sable S, sandstone or Quartzite S.

The Humus which characterizes the podzosol is of type Mor.

Profile

Generally one distinguishes the following horizons in the case of the podzosols: LFH - Ah - Ahe - E - Bh - Bs - Bv or BC - C

Horizons organic: L (the litère), F (horizon fibric), H (humic horizon)
the horizon has , located under the organic horizons

Ah (less than organic carbon 30%)
Ahe (less than 17%, dyed of gray, lamellate structure)
AE / E (eluvial horizon, color tray, primarily mineral)

the horizon B , horizon mineral

Bh (more than organic carbon 1%, less than iron 0,3%)
Bs (contains detectable soluble salts)
Bv (mineral matter horizon, brown) or BC (horizon cemented with the bed rock, is found in the sub-groups with orstein, placic, duric)

C (mineral horizon little touched by the pedogenesis of the upper floors, except in the cases of gleyification)

Various types

3 great groups of podzosol are noticed:

the humic podzosol
the ferro-humic podzosol
the humo-ferric podzosol.

Humic Podzosol

It meets in coastal regions and as in high interior regions which have both of the climatic conditions wet and fresh, but also in boggy depressions.

Their horizon Bh measurement at least 10cm and is of a very dark color (almost black), contrary to the 2 other groups of podzosols which have more than 0,6% of Fer in their horizon B , the humic podzosol contains less than 3% of this last.

It includes/understands 5 sub-groups: humic podzosols orthic, with orstein, placic, duric and fragic.

Ferro-humic Podzosol

In the case of the ferro-humic podzosol, one distinguishes a humic layer from type Mor as well as a horizon Ae raised and clear, one finds more than organic carbon 5% in the first 10 centimetres of the horizon Bhf .

The sub-groups of the ferro-humic podzosol are 10: orthic, with orstein, placic, duric, fragic, luvisolic, sombric, gleyifié, with orstein gleyifié, sombric gleyifié.

Humo-ferric Podzosol

The main feature of this group is its percentage of organic carbon in the horizon Bf , less than 5%. One can note that the major part of the typical podzosols are of the podzosols of the humo-ferric type.

One also counts 10 sub-groups with the humo-ferric podzosol: orthic, with orstein, placic, duric, fragic, luvisolic, sombric, gleyifié, with orstein gleyifié, sombric gleyifié.

Internal bonds

Profile of the ground, a description of the various horizons (has, B, C, R) there is given.
Pedology

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