Profile distribution of organic carbon, iron, aluminium and manganese in soils under bracken and heather

Abstract

The vertical distribution of extractable iron, aluminium, and manganese in soil profiles on a heather-bracken transect indicates a less advanced stage of leaching under the bracken than under the heather. Evidence that the bracken is advancing into the heather is presented, and implies that the leaching process, like the accumulation of a mor humus layer, is reversed by the presence of the bracken.