Regional Monitoring of Natural Environment 2004, No 5, 185-197
GEOGRAPHICAL DIFFERENTIATION OF PODZOLIC SOILS OF NEEDLE FORESTS IN MIDLLE AND NORTHERN EUROPE
Marek Degórski
Summary
The aim of the paper is determine spatial differences of selected properties in podzolic soils of the central and northern Europe and subsequently to point to their regional differences. The work took in the area of the zonal occurrence of podzolic soils and carried out within Germany, Poland, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland, between longitudes 12o25’ and 32o37’ E and longitudes 50o10’ and 69o44’ N. The internal similarity of the soil units established on the basis of the statistical analysis of dissimilarity of their characteristics and of the grouping of soil profiles, allowed for the performance of geographical division of the podzolic soils into two zones, within which the regional sub-zones were thereafter determined. It was obtained that spatial variability of podzolic soils is connected with initial time of pedogenesis, textural properties of soil substratum, recently higrothermal conditions and vegetation structure. Also, it was point out that spatial division of research area into the pedo-geographical units was made correctly and every region is characterised by the typical soil properties for each one.
