Time-scales and rates of pedogenic processes II. Preface

Abstract

Soils are natural bodies. Their characteristics result from the interaction of meteorologi- cal conditions (climate) on outcropping lithospheric materials over long periods of time. Plant cover produces organic residues which are incorporated into the soil by numerous and diverse soil organisms. Landscape position determines if the new formed mineral and organic (humic) materials stay in place, or if they are transported down slopes and eventually accumulate on foothills, valleys or plains, or end as sediments in rivers, lakes or oceans. On stable landscape positions, soil formation progresses and the soil differentiates into several horizons with distinct properties that reflect the dominant soil forming processes. Soil forming processes include weathering of primary minerals and the neoformation of clay minerals and oxides, humification of organic matter and aggregation of primary soil particles, along with translocation of clay (clay illuviation) or of metal-organic complexes (podsolization), dissolution and precipitation of secondary carbonates, among several other processes... SEE FULL ARTICLE