Brown Rendzina Research Articles

Comparison of brown rendzina and colluvial sinkhole soil in the area of the National park "Una" with special emphasis on the distribution of cadmium, nickel and arsenic

Comparison of brown rendzina and colluvial sinkhole soil in the area of the National park "Una" with special emphasis on the distribution of cadmium, nickel and arsenic

Rendzina (rędzina) – Soil of the Year 2018 in Poland. Introduction to origin, classification and land use of rendzinas

Abstract Following the other pedological societies, the Soil Science Society of Poland has launched a programme „Soil of the Year”, and Rędzina (Rendzina) was selected as the soil inaugurating the programme in 2018. Polish term „rędzina” was internationally popularized by Stanisław Miklaszewski in the second/third decade of 20th century and is present in the most soil classification systems as „Rendzina”, „Rendoll”, or „Rendzic” until now. In the Polish tradition, the rendzinas are soils developed from massive rocks rich in calcite, dolomite or gypsum, quite often with admixtures of glacial/periglacial materials, at all development stages. Contemporary classifications of soils in Poland distinguish four main groups (as the types or sub-types): raw rendzina – Calcaric Lithic / Hyperskeletic Leptosols (a minimal thickness of regolith and an initial development of genetic horizons), proper rendzina – Calcaric Leptosols (medium thick profile, but diagnostic horizons are absent), brown rendzina – Calcaric Skeletic Cambisols (have a diagnostic cambic horizon), and chernozemic/humic rendzina – Rendzic Skeletic Phaeozems (have a diagnostic mollic horizon). Rendzina soils are featured by high content of calcium/magnesium, neutral and alkaline reaction, and high base saturation throughout the soil profile, but the individual soil subtypes differ significantly in their usability for agriculture and forestry, depending on the thickness of the soil profile (i.e. a depth to the hard rock or extremely skeletal subsoil), stoniness, texture, and humus content.

Rędziny rezerwatu „Węże” w Załęczańskim Parku Krajobrazowym

W artykule przedstawiono charakterystykę i genezę form litologicznych Działoszyńskiego Łuku Warty oraz wyniki badań gleboznawczych na górze Zelce. Celem niniejszej pracy było zbadanie różnorodności rędzin na terenie rezerwatu geologicznego „Węże” w Załęczańskim Parku Krajobrazowym. W profilach określono fizyczne i chemiczne właściwości gleb. W rezerwacie „Węże” na badanej powierzchni 0,2 km2 występuje zróżnicowanie składu granulometrycznego rędzin – od piaskowej do gliniastej. W większości badane gleby zostały sklasyfikowane jako rędziny brunatne. Powierzchniowe poziomy to głównie piaski eoliczne, natomiast w głębszych warstwach zalega glina piaszczysto-ilasta o bardzo grubym szkielecie. Niewątpliwie jest ona wynikiem wietrzenia wapieni jurajskich położonych w głębszych częściach profilu glebowego, ale ma też pochodzenie glacjalne. Zbadano również jednolite płytkie rędziny, które występują tylko na odsłoniętych skałach wapieni bez domieszek młodszych osadów peryglacjalnych.

Weeds of cereal stubble-fields on various soils in the Kielce region. P. III. Black, alluvial and rendzina soils

The weed flora growing stubble-fields area is determined by soil features. Weeds found in cereal stubble-fields on black soils formed from sands and loams, medium and haevy alluvial soils as well as brown and chernozem rendzina soils are presented in the paper. The 273 phytosociological records were worked out. They were collected from 87 stands situated in 76 localities of Kielce region. The results showed that species number and species composition were dependent on the soils (black. alluvial, rendzina). The existance of 118 (medium alluvial soil) to 140 (brown rendzina soil) weed species, including 73 common for all of the soils considered, was found there. Relatively high per cent (29-35) of them belonged to perennial weeds. From 22 (brown rendzina soil) to 35 (heavy alluvial soil) of species reached high constancy degrees (V-III). <i>Stellaria media, Myosotis arvensis, Polygonum aviculare, Agropyron repens</i> and <i>Cirsium arvense</i> predominated on the all of the soil examined. Among the weed flora registered, 25 species, recorded only on rendzina soils, were distinguishable for that soils.

Assessing the fate of radioactive nickel in cultivated soil cores

Parameters regarding fate of 63Ni in the soil–plant system (soil: solution distribution coefficient, K d and soil plant concentration ratio, CR) are mostly determined in controlled pot experiments or from simple models involving a limited set of soil parameters. However, as migration of pollutants in soil is strongly linked to the water migration, variation of soil structure in the field and seasonal variation of evapotranspiration will affect these two parameters. The aim of this work was to explore to what extent the downward transfer of 63Ni and its uptake by plants from surface-contaminated undisturbed soil cores under cultivation can be explained by isotopic dilution of this radionuclide in the pool of stable Ni of soils. Undisturbed soil cores (50 cm × 50 cm) were sampled from a brown rendzina (Rendzic Leptosol), a colluvial brown soil (Fluvic Cambisol) and an acidic brown soil (Dystric Cambisol) using PVC lysimeter tubes (three lysimeters sampled per soil type). Each core was equipped with a leachate collector. Cores were placed in a greenhouse and maize (DEA, Pioneer ®) was sown. After 44 days, an irrigation was simulated at the core surfaces to supply 10 000 Bq 63NiCl 2. Maize was harvested 135 days after 63Ni input and radioactivity determined in both vegetal and water samples. Effective uptake of 63Ni by maize was calculated for leaves and kernels. Water drainage and leaching of 63Ni were monitored over the course of the experiment. Values of K d in surface soil samples were calculated from measured parameters of isotopic exchange kinetics. Results confirmed that 63Ni was strongly retained at the soil surface. Prediction of the 63Ni downward transfer could not be reliably assessed using the K d values, since the soil structure, which controls local water fluxes, also affected both water and Ni transport. In terms of 63Ni plant uptake, the effective uptake in undisturbed soil cores is controlled by isotope dilution as previously shown at the pot experiment scale.

Study of soil leachates in doline above the Béke Cave, Hungary

Fulvic acid, Ca and Mg concentrations as well as dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), pH and electric conductivity values of soil solutions, which resulted from injecting bidistilled water onto glass columns filled with different soils (black rendzina, brown rendzina, red clayey rendzina, red clay) characteristic of the Aggtelek karst system (NE Hungary), were determined. Identification and determination of fulvic acid were achieved by size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and adsorption chromatography, respectively, with fluorescent spectrometric detection. The Ca and Mg concentration of the samples was determined by applying an inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometric (ICP-AES) method. DIC—expressed in CO 2 concentration values—was determined by using a CO 2 selective electrode. According to the SEC analysis, the apparent molecular weight of the fulvic acids of the samples were between 500 and 1600 Da. The fulvic acid concentration values of the percolated water samples decreased in function of the soils investigated as follows: black rendzina>brown rendzina>red clayey rendzina>red clay, which is in concordance with the organic matter content of these types of soils. The results obtained for fulvic acid, Ca and Mg concentrations as well as for DIC, pH and electric conductivity of the water samples collected from the column filled with red clay were in good agreement with those of a seepage water sample collected from an observation station built in red clay above the Béke Cave (Aggtelek). Since the artificially prepared red clay column was exposed to the same temperature and humidity conditions like red clay of the sampling site, this method seems to be suitable for modelling infiltration of fulvic acid and metals from red clay into seepage water under laboratory conditions.

Stratigraphy and timing of eolianite deposition on Rottnest Island, Western Australia

Over 100 whole-rock amino acid racemization (AAR) ratios from outcrops around Rottnest Island (32.0° S Latitude near Perth) indicate distinct pulses of eolian deposition during the late Quaternary. Whole-rock d-alloisoleucine/ l-isoleucine (A/I) ratios from bioclastic carbonate deposits fall into three distinct modal classes or “aminozones.” The oldest, Aminozone E, averages 0.33 ± 0.04 ( n = 21). Red palaeosol and thick calcrete generally cap the Aminozone E deposits. A younger Aminozone C averages 0.22 ± 0.03 ( n = 63); comprising two submodes at 0.26 ± 0.01 ( n = 14) and 0.21 ± 0.02 ( n = 49). Multiple dune sets of this interval are interrupted by relatively weak, brown to tan “protosols.” A dense, dark brown rendzina palaeosol caps the Aminozone C succession. Ratios from Holocene dune and marine deposits (“Aminozone A”) center on 0.11 ± 0.02 ( n = 15), comprising submodes of 0.13 ± 0.01 (9) and 0.09 ± 0.01 (6). Calibration of A/ I averages from Aminozones E and A are provided by U/Th and 14C radiometric ages of 125,000 yr (marine oxygen isotope stage (MIS) 5e and 2000–6000 14C yr B.P. (MIS 1), respectively. The whole-rock A/I results support periodic deposition initiated during MIS 5e, continuing through MIS 5c, and then peaking at the end of MIS 5a, about 70,000–80,000 yr ago. Oceanographic evidence indicates the area was subjected to much colder conditions during MIS 2–4 (10,000 to 70,000 yr ago), greatly slowing the epimerization rate. Eolianite deposition resumed in the mid Holocene (∼6000 yr ago) up to the present. The A/I epimerization pathway constructed from Rottnest Island shows remarkable similarity to that of Bermuda in the North Atlantic (32° N Latitude). These findings suggest that, like Bermuda, the eolian activity on Rottnest occurred primarily during or shortly after interglacial highstands when the shoreline was near the present datum, rather than during glacial lowstands when the coastline was positioned 10–20 km to the west.

Briza media L.

A loosely tufted perennial with short rhizomes from which arise vegetative shoots. Culms 15-60 (-100) cm high, slender, erect, 2-3-noded, solitary, smooth. Leaves with dull glaucous to mid-green adaxial and abaxial surfaces, hairless; blades usually 4-20 (-28) cm long, 2-4 (-7) mm wide, with minute acroscopic teeth on the margins, with a slender boat-shaped tip; ribs numerous, closely packed, less obvious on the abaxial surface; sheaths smooth, entire, soon splitting, dark reddish-brown at base; ligules up to 1.5 mm long, membranous, blunt with irregular margins. Culm leaves 3 or 4, uppermost with long sheaths. Panicles 410 (-18) cm long, lax, roughly pyramidal, with up to 20 branches, and up to 60 spikelets, sparsely divided, spreading, with scabrous hair-like pedicels 5-20 (-50) mm long and slightly thickened below the spikelets. Spikelets 4-7 mm long and wide, loosely scattered and drooping, broadly elliptic to broadly ovate, laterally compressed, generally purplish-brown, usually breaking up at maturity beneath the lemmas but many spikelets remaining undispersed on the branches and shed from the panicle intact, 4-9 (-12)-flowered. Glumes slightly unequal, deeply concave, hooded at the apex, boat-shaped, 2.5-3.5 mm long, with 3-5 veins, firmly membranous, dull-purple with white and shiny margins. Lemmas 3.7-4.1 mm, strongly cordate at the base, bluntly keeled in the lower half, closely overlapping, rounded on the back, with 7-9 veins, variegated purple and green, with hyaline margin. Paleas flat, thin, almost as long as the lemma, with two keels, narrowly winged. Lodicules 2, linear-lanceolate, acute. Grain enclosed within the papery lemma and palea, c. 2 mm long, rounded on the back, flattened on the front; mean oven-dry weight 0.53 mg. The root system is a dense mat of whitish fibrous roots. The primary roots are up to 1 mm in diameter and are largely unbranched, but there is a dense network of branching secondary roots. The root mass is fairly vertical with an average root length of c. 40 cm. The species produces pale brown rhizomes up to 13 cm long and 1.5 mm in diameter. Native. Subspecies media occurs throughout the range; subspecies elatior (Sibth. & Sm.) Rohlena occurs in south-east Europe.

Phosphate fertilization primes production of rangeland on brown rendzina soils in the Galilee, Israel

Primary production on terra rossa and brown rendzina soils on the hills of the Galilee in Israel is severely restricted by nutrient, mainly phosphorus, deficiency. The purpose of this study was to investigate the residual effects of a single application of P fertilizer and the long-term role of P in the production and botanical composition of herbaceous vegetation. A fertilizer trial on brown rendzina soil (Lithic Haploxeroll) with P and N treatments was established and monitored for 6 years. Phosphate fertilization consisted of a single surface application of 45 or 90 kg P ha −1 as enriched superphosphate (25% P 2O 5). In the first year, yield of herbaceous vegetation in P fertilized plots increased fourfold compared with the control, and about two-fold during the following 5 years. In the sixth year, production in the fertilized plots diminished, but was still significantly higher than in the control plots. In addition, there was a large increase in the legume cover that improved the nutritional quality of the range vegetation. Concentration of P and N in the plants as well as total P and N uptake, increased significantly. Available P concentration in the soil increased two- to five-fold in the year after fertilizer application and a strong residual effect persisted for up to 5 years. A single application of P (45–90 kg ha −1) on brown rendzina soil in the Galilee raised the total 5-year primary production from 780 g m −2 dry matter in the control plots to 1840–2100 g m −2 dry matter in the fertilized plots. Forage quality was also improved for an extended period of over 5 years. Phosphate nutrition was shown to be the key to raising productivity of these soils. The long duration of the effect increases the chance that infrequent P fertilization on these rangelands will be economically feasible in certain conditions.

Adaptive variation of pelage color within and between species of the subterranean mole rat (Spalax ehrenbergi) in Israel

Color notations of dorsal pelage were analyzed in 451 adult subterranean mole rats, comprising 19 populations and 4 chromosomal species (2n=52, 54, 58 and 60) of the Spalax ehrenbergi superspecies in Israel. In addition, the color notations of soil samples from the collection sites were measured. In an attempt to evaluate the degree of correlation between pelage color of mole rats and the local soil color, each color was compared both macro- and microgeographically. The macrogeographic comparisons were among populations of the 4 chromosomal species, and the microgeographic comparisons were among pairs of geographically neighboring subpopulations which occur under similar climatic conditions but differ in soil type and color. The results indicate that 1. no differences in pelage color notation exist between the sexes; 2. pelage of mole rats is generally characterized by an over-all grayish color, but its shades vary regionally and locally in accordance with varying soil color; 3. a positive correlation was found between pelage and local soil colors in the macrogeographic analysis and this correlation was verified in a microgeographic comparison; 4. specimens from populations of the northern chromosomal species (2n=52, 54) mainly inhabit terra rossa and basalt soils, respectively, with reddish brown tones, and they tend to have a more reddish shade, whereas animals from the central species (2n=58), which inhabits mainly dark soils including alluvial clays, terra rossa and brown rendzina and the souther species 2n=60, which occurs mainly in light soil types such as pale rendzina, sandy loams and loess, tend to have a more yellowish shade. The general appearance of specimens from 2n=58 was dark gray while that of 2n=60 specimens was light gray; 5. mole rats living in xeric environments (particularly 2n=60, but also 2n=54) are lighter than those which live in mesic environments (2n=52, 58). The results support the conclusion that pelage color of strictly subterranean mole rats is subject to selection pressures of overground predation of disharmonious types with their background soil color. The possibility that the pelage color variation and patterns also contributes to better thermoregulation while mole rats are above ground is discussed.

Soils and Their Related Plant Communities on the Dalradian Limestone of Some Sites in Central Perthshire, Scotland

(1) The characteristic soils and plant communities developed on Dalradian limestone at particular locations in central Perthshire were studied. Representative sites were selected from field data collected in the course of a soil and vegetation survey. (2) For the free-draining soils there is a succession of development corresponding to a progressive increase in leaching. Soil formation is determined by the degree to which the local influence of parent material has countered the regional influence of climate. (3) Soils developed on limestone rock in situ are assigned to the brown rendzina sub-group. Their characteristic properties include an A/C or AR profile sequence, coarse texture and a well-developed crumb structure. Although surface horizons are slightly leached, the soils have high base saturation. Shallow brown calcareous soils, which have an incipient B horizon, comprise another subgroup. Both rendzinas and brown calcareous soils are very rare in central Perthshire. (4) Deeper soils developed on the mixed schist-limestone glacial drift are brown forest soils with free drainage. They display a wide range of base status; high (>50%) and low (<50%) categories are recognized. (5) The rendzinas and shallow brown calcareous soils support mainly the PolygonoHelictotrichetum pratensis association whereas the leached brown forest soils are colonized by either the Galium verum-Koeleria cristata community or the AchilleoFestucetum tennifoliae association. (6) Gley soils close to limestone outcrops are flushed by lime-rich water and have high surface pH and base saturation. They support different mire communities.

THE SOILS OF ISRAEL AND THEIR DISTRIBUTION1

SummaryThe main soil groups present in Israel are listed, their geographic distribution is described and related to pedogenic factors. Three physiographic‐lithologic regions are recognized: the coastal region, the mountain and hill region, and the valleys, plains, and plateaux. Climate ranges from Mediterranean in the north to extremely arid in the south. Depending upon climatic conditions in each of the physiographic‐lithologic regions, climatogenic soils range from those characteristic of the Mediterranean region (noncalcic brown soils, terra rossa, brown rendzina, grumusols) in the north to desert soils (serozem, hammada) in the south.