Soil formation of new lahar materials derived from Mt. Pinatubo

Abstract

The early stage of weathering / soil formation processes from new volcanic mudflow (new lahar materials) brought from Mt. Pinatubo was examined. For this purpose, comparative studies on the physical / chemical characteristics of the new lahar materials and soils formed by the deposition of old lahar materials were conducted. Original soils contained less coarse sand, more silt, and clay than the new lahar materials. Increase in the clay content of the original soils reflected the progression of weathering. The occurrence of a higher leaching process of Fe, Ca, and Mg and of a moderate accumulation of organic matter in the original soils was suggested, based on the differences in the soil elemental composition and chemical properties. Values of base saturation and phosphate absorption coefficient (PAC) of the new lahar materials were 388% and 44, while those of all the original soils ranged 15–160% and 55–894, respectively. With the progression of weathering, the PAC value tended to increase gradually while the base saturation value decreased abruptly under the environmental conditions prevailing in the Philippines.