Pedological Data from The Ciceu–Năsăud Hills Area, Northern Romania

Abstract

The Ciceu–Năsăud Hills represent the northeastern branch of a larger physiographic unit called the Someş Tableland located in the northern part of Romania. The soil cover of this area consists mainly of Luvisols and Alisols (Udalfs) and Cambisols (Udepts) developed on eluvial–colluvial parent materials derived from Oligocene sandstones and conglomerates. The principal environmental features of these soils are their advanced acidity and low base status, partly inherited from the parent material but also accentuated by the dominant pedogenetic processes (lessivage and/or base depletion). The pedo-environment provided by the present day soil cover is well preserved in the Năsăud Hills, where land cover consists of forests and grasslands, while in the Ciceu Hills it is damaged by soil erosion and landslides as a consequence of the dominant arable land use and advanced deforestation.