Photogenic Podzol/Spodosol in Montmorency Forest outside Quebec City, Canada (mander.xyz)

submitted 11 months ago by Brudiclad@mander.xyz to c/soilscience@slrpnk.net

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[-] WaterWaiver@aussie.zone 2 points 11 months ago

Gorgeous. Are those grasses on top or something else? They look bit more succulent-y but I can't tell for certain.

I'm not familiar with podzol so I've just been reading up on it. That soil is undergoing chelation therapy xD

It took me an embarrassingly long time to realise that the "photogenic" in the title didn't refer to chromatic photosensitivity of chemicals in the soil. I initially thought that light exposure was involved here.

[-] Brudiclad@mander.xyz 3 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

That’s a fine bed of moss on the surface. It’s boreal forest, so this area near a road cut had plenty of light. Other areas were dark enough from tree canopy cover that it was just some fallen needles that decompose into many organic acids - pH of the E horizon was around pH 3.5-4. That coupled with coarse texture and plenty of leaching with spring thaw helped develop the horizons. Despite the degree of development, this is a young soil relatively. This region was glaciated (continental ice sheet hundreds of meters thick) just 10,000 or so years ago.