Genesis of a So‐called Ferrolysed Soil of Bangladesh

Abstract

AbstractIt was postulated by Brinkman (1970) that low clay contents in the surface horizon of paddy soils (Planosols) are caused by clay destruction through ferrolysis. In an effort to test this, a rice profile from the site of Brinkman's Eutric Planosol (Salna, Bangladesh) and a neighbouring forest soil (Dystric Cambisol) of the same parent material and particle‐size distribution (Bhawal National Park) were investigated. The micro‐structure, particle‐size distribution, mineral contents, pedogenic oxides, contents of Zr, Ti and K of the fine earth and individual fractions and also the exchangeable ions were studied.The clay fraction of both soils were chloritised by interlaying of hydroxy‐Al in the smectite interlayers in the surface horizons and got stabilized. As a result CEC showed some decrease. The forest profile has a loose and uniform brown‐yellow surface horizon and is relatively rich in coarse sand at 62–75 cm depth which might be caused by a strong termite activity as observed during sampling. On the contrary, the frequent and alternate reducing and oxidizing conditions have resulted in gleying the top soil and forming iron‐oxide films on the surface of aggregates during dry periods in the paddy soil.An evaluation of all results shows that a little clay destruction and an enrichment of silt in the top soil through vertisol formation and also through primary parent material stratification were the reasons for low clay content in epipedons. In forest soil there was a little clay migration, while the epipedon of the paddy soil had low clay in addition, because of selective erosion during heavy rains following the destruction of structure by puddling.The ferrolysis as a dominant factor for a clay‐low epipedon is improbable, because the clay loss of the neighbouring forest soil can not be explained by ferrolysis.