This paper evaluates the possible contribution of aeolian silt to soils of Mt. Ślęża (southwest Poland). Silt loam textures are common across Lower Silesia and are often confused with silt clay loam, especially at the outer boundaries with thin loess deposits. Eight study sites with different thicknesses of silt loam mantles that are covered and/or mixed with underlying sediments were examined in the field. To test our hypothesis, we analyzed the particle size and geochemistry of representative horizons. Concentrations of major and trace elements as well as their cross ratios confirmed the aeolian origin of silt loam materials and clearly distinguished them from basal sediments. There is a clear relationship between the presence and depth of aeolian mantles and mixing zones with the type of underlying material. Furthermore, the incorporation of aeolian silt to regoliths/soils was a main agent initiating and stimulating clay translocation leading to the formation of an argic horizon below the silt mantles. Mixing aeolian silt with acid granite regoliths and further illuviation resulted in the formation of alisols, while silt contributions to serpentine sediments resulted in development of skeletic luvisols. Soils receiving very weak input of aeolian silts remain as leptosols/cambisols.
The paper focuses on Glossic Planosols (formerly Albeluvisols) with sandy topsoil widely represented in the northeastern part of Lower Silesia (SW Poland), in the range of tills from the Odra and Warta glaciations (Riss glaciation). The aim of the study was to characterize the texture of these soils in the context of the origin of parent materials and present-day pedogenic processes. Both the sedimentological and granulometric indexes, unbalances clay (and silt) fraction, and ventifact pavement at the contact of underlying loam and topsoil sandy layer confirm, that the textural differentiation of the topsoil and subsoil horizons has not resulted from the pedogenic processes, but primarily from the lithological discontinuity of glacial and post-glacial parent materials. Particle-size distribution and granulometric indexes of albeluvic tongues in the glossic horizon also confirm that the tongues has not been formed by eluviation of the fine fractions from the loamy material, but primarily by filling the initial thin crack with the sandy material. The coarser-textured tongues foster a deep infiltration and stagnation of water, and the development of reductic conditions allows further widening and deepening of the albeluvic tongues.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.