Physical and Chemical Characteristics of a Podzolic Soil Formed in Neoglacial Till, Okstindan, Northern Norway

Abstract

Examination of a soil formed on an outermost Neoglacial end moraine in the Okstindan Mountains demonstrated that a podzolic profile, recognizable in terms of both morphological and chemical characteristics, developed within the last 1600 yr, and possibly within the last 1000 yr. These figures indicate that the maximum amount of time required for information of podzolic soils is considerably less than that suggested by previous investigations at Okstindan. The time period is compared with those reported from studies of podzolic profile development on moraines at other recently deglacierized localities in Scandinavia and North America. Comparisons suggest that rates of development vary due to differences in the degree of eluvial horizon bleaching considered necessary to constitute a podzolic profile. Also responsible are differences in environmental factors, particularly parent materials, climate and vegetation. If a figure of around 1000 yr for podzolic profile formation is representative of the initial stages of pedogenesis following deglaciation of Okstindan, then podzolic soils may have been developed in this environment by Early Atlantic times about 8000 yr B.P.