Arenosol

Arenosol

Arenosol (AR) (from Latin: arena = sand ) is one of 32 reference soil groups of the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB). These are sandy soils of predominantly tropical and subtropical areas that are not or only slightly differentiated into different soil horizons. The starting material is mostly unconsolidated quartz sand , less often quartz sandstone or quartz-rich igneous or metamorphic rocks (e.g. granite or gneiss ).

By definition, arenosols also include soils with very advanced podsolization , where the spodic horizon begins at a depth of less than 2 m. They can also arise from very old quartz-rich ferralsoles , if the kaolinite has already largely been weathered to aluminum oxide (hydrate) s. However, the arenosols produced in this way have a very low distribution.

Due to their relatively coarse grain they are very water-permeable (permeable) and consequently have a low water storage capacity.

Distribution of arenosols worldwide

Arenosols cover around 900 million hectares or 7% of the land surface worldwide . They are mainly used as pastureland, partly also for arable farming. However, once the natural vegetation cover has been removed, they tend to become exhausted and eroded quickly .

literature

• IUSS Working Group WRB: World Reference Base for Soil Resources 2014, update 2015. International soil classification system for naming soils and creating legends for soil maps. World Soil Resources Reports 106th FAO, Rome 2015, ISBN 978-92-5-108369-7 ( PDF 2.3 MB).
• W. Zech, P. Schad, G. Hintermaier-Erhard: Soils of the world. 2nd Edition. Springer Spectrum, Heidelberg 2014, ISBN 978-3-642-36574-4 .
• W. Amelung, H.-P. Blume, H. Fleige, R. Horn, E. Kandeler, I. Kögel-Knabner, R. Kretschmar, K. Stahr, B.-M. Wilke: Scheffer / Schachtschabel - textbook of soil science. 17th edition. Springer Spectrum, Heidelberg 2018, ISBN 978-3-662-55870-6 .
• Author collective: Arenosols. In: Lexicon of Geosciences , Volume I: A to Edi, Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, Heidelberg, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-8274-0424-X , p. 123
• Arenosols on Soil Science online , HU Berlin (English)

Web links

• Profile photos (with classification) WRB homepage
• Profile photos (with classification) IUSS World of Soils