Leptosols

Leptosols

A Leptosol in the FAO World Reference Base for Soil Resources is a very shallow soil over hard rock or highly calcareous material or a deeper soil that is extremely gravelly and/or stony. These soils are particularly common in mountain regions. In the FAO soil classification for the UNESCO Soil Map of the World (1974) the Leptosols on calcareous rock were called Rendzinas, those on acid rock were Rankers. The very shallow, less than 10 cm deep, "Lithic Leptosols" in mountain regions are the most extensive Leptosols on eart.

Leptosols are unattractive soils for agriculture. They could have some potential for tree crops or extensive grazing. Leptosols are best kept under forest.

Leptosols cover approximately 1655 million hectares of the earth surface. They are found from the tropics to the cold polar regions and from sea level to the highest mountains. Leptosols are particularly widespread in mountain areas, notably in Asia and South America, in the Saharan and Arabian deserts, northern Canada and Alaska. Elsewhere, Leptosols can be found on hard rocks or where erosion has kept pace with soil formation or removed the top of the soil.

See also

*Pedogenesis
*Pedology (soil study)
*Soil classification


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Iris orjenii — Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae (unranked) …   Wikipedia

  • Leptosol — ▪ FAO soil group  one of the 30 soil groups in the classification system of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (soil). Leptosols are soils with a very shallow profile depth (indicating little influence of soil forming processes), and… …   Universalium

  • Oxisol — profile Used in: USDA soil taxonomy Profile: OABC …   Wikipedia

  • Chernozem — Chernozemic soil Chernozem field in Black Dirt Region of Orange County, New York, USA Used in …   Wikipedia

  • Mollisols — Mollisol a Mollisol profile Used in: USDA soil taxonomy Parent material: loess M …   Wikipedia

  • Gelisols — Gelisol a Gelisol profile Used in: USDA soil taxonomy Profile: OAC …   Wikipedia

  • Durisols — Distribution of Durisols A Durisol in the FAO World Reference Base for Soil Resources is a very shallow to moderately deep, free draining soil of arid and semi arid environments, that contain cemented secondary silica (SiO2) in the upper metre of …   Wikipedia

  • Regosols — A Regosol in the FAO World Reference Base for Soil Resources is very weakly developed mineral soil in unconsolidated materials. Regosols are extensive in eroding lands, in particular in arid and semi arid areas and in mountain regions.… …   Wikipedia

  • Schuttboden — Die Syroseme (russ.: rohe Erde, FAO: Lithic Leptosols) oder Schuttböden sind ein Bodentyp, der zu den terrestrischen Rohböden zählt. Sie bilden in den Bodenentwicklungsreihen den Ausgangsbodentyp. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Entwicklung 2 Eigenschaften… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Syrosem — Die Syroseme (russ.: rohe Erde, FAO: Lithic Leptosols) oder Schuttböden sind ein Bodentyp, der zu den terrestrischen Rohböden zählt. Sie bilden in den Bodenentwicklungsreihen den Ausgangsbodentyp. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Entwicklung 2 Eigenschaften… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”