A well-developed podzol hydrosequence that has been partially covered with drift sand, and partially subjected to improved drainage, provides new insights into the causes of variation in soil organic matter chemistry in such soils. While E horizons invariably move towards a dominance of aliphatic components reflecting residual accumulation, the chemistry of organic matter in well-drained B horizons is determined mainly by decaying roots, which are transformed by microorganisms to humus aggregates. In poorly drained, stratified B horizons, humus coatings dominate and the chemistry is very close to that of dissolved organic carbon. When a sand cover inhibits the supply of fresh litter, microbial decomposition in the A horizon causes a shift in chemistry towards that of the E horizon. Similarly, upon improved drainage and removal of complexed metals from the top of the B horizon, microbial decomposition of all palatable organic matter in the top of the B horizon causes a shift towards E-horizon chemistry. This is probably the mechanism by which most E horizons in podzols are formed, and not by re-solution. Marked chemical changes upon improved drainage may take only decades. During microbial decay, small polysaccharide-derived pyrolysis products (mainly furans, furaldehydes and acetic acid) remain abundant due to the contribution of microbial sugars. Both micromorphology and factor analysis on quantified results of pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry contribute significantly to the interpretation of the humus chemistry of these profiles and thus to our understanding of soil genesis. Organic chemistry of the investigated podzols can be understood only in the context of their genesis.

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Abstract--Chloritic veins in serpentinite and their weathering products were analyzed by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF). Chlorite formed during the Hercynianage orogenesis had apparently been partly transformed to high-charge vermiculite during subsequent metamorphism of the rocks. The idealized structural formulae for these minerals are (mlL9Fea+0.zFe2+o.4Mg9.2Cr0.z)(Sis.sA12.2)O20(OH)l 6 and Xl.3(Fe3+o.7Fe2+o.~Mg5.zNio.l)(Sis.sA12.E)OEo(OH)4, respectively. This transformation appears to have taken place by the removal of the hydroxy-interlayer from the chlorite without major effect on the rest of the structure. It is not clear whether other hydroxyinterlayered vermiculites containing less tetrahedral aluminum were intermediate weathering products or inherited minerals. The ultimate weathering product of chlorite and vermiculites was a Fe 3+-rich smectite, which probably formed by precipitation from solution.