Spodosols

As Spodosole or Podzole one strong designated according to the USDA soil classification acidic, deeply layered soils of the temperate latitudes, which have formed from sandy starting material. Spodosole are mainly found in the northern hemisphere in regions with cold damp climate, especially in eastern Canada and in Scandinavia.

The soil structure is usually coarse-grained, so that water can drain easily. It leaches it from the upper soil layers and carries the humus contained in deeper layers. This gives the characteristic bright A- horizon of the soil, which is highly acidic and mineralienarm by the loss of water-soluble basic ingredients. Below that is a darker, humus- containing layer, which is often dyed red from the ingress of iron and aluminum oxides. The latter are often spent by organic acids further into the depths and then form there another, now light orange colored horizon that is typical of Spodosole.

The natural vegetation on Spodosolen is coniferous forest - from the fallen and then slowly decaying needles of conifers growing there comes a large part of the organic acids, which are responsible for the low pH of the soil. It can be used for agricultural purposes only by use of fertilizers and liming to neutralize. Due to the relatively large gaps between individual grains of soil, Spodosole are particularly rich in nematodes.

Worldwide, there are about 3.4 million square kilometers of land, covered by Spodosolen, representing 2.6 percent of the ice-free land surface.

Classification

We divide Spodosole in four suborders:

• Aquod
• Cryod
• Humod
• Orthodontist