Soil Sequences Atlas II, 248 s.

Abstract

This is the second book in the series of Soil Sequence Atlases. The first volume was published in 2014. Main pedogeographic features are presented in the form of sequences to give a comprehensive picture of soils – their genesis and correlations with the environment in typical landscapes of Central Europe from Estonia furthest north, through Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary to the southernmost Slovenia. Soils of natural landscapes – loess and sand (continental dunes) – are presented, as well as those of plains of various origin, karst lands, low mountains, and anthropically modified soils. Each chapter presents soil profiles supplemented by landscape information and basic analytical data., Then genetic interpretations of soil properties related to soil forming agents as schematic catenas are given.. When one factor changes while the others are more or less stable, the soil sequence can be recognised. Depending on dominant soil-forming factor affecting the repeated soil patterns, different types can be distinguished. Chapters are arranged roughly in accordance with the main soil-forming process in sequences, and referring to the WRB key (peat formation, vertilisation, gleyic process, podzolisation, humus accumulation, clay illuviation), with one small exception – the Technosols have been placed at the end of book. The main objective of this book is to present the diversity of relations between soil and landscape, climate, hydrology and human relations, and to present interpretations reflecting the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (2015) classification with comments on the choice of qualifiers. Sixteen Reference Soil Groups represented by 67 profiles are featured. The secondary objective is pedological education. One of the aims of soil science education is to explain to students the relations between landscape and soil cover. The patterns of soil units within landscapes are to some extent predictable. The collected data is intended as a useful educational tool in teaching soil science, supporting understanding of the reasons for the variability of soil cover, and also as a WRB classification guideline. The Atlas was developed as part of the EU Erasmus+ FACES project (Freely Accessible Central European Soil).