Distribution pattem,genesis and classification of soils of an arid dune area in Northern Negev |
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| Authors: | Ulrich Pfisterer Hans-Peter Blume Lothar Beyer |
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| Abstract: | A dune area of 2 km2 in the Negev (Israel) with an annual precipitation of 90 mm was mapped. The soils developed from eolic and fluviatile sediments were Arenosols, Calcisols. Solonchaks, Regosols and Fluvisols. The Arenosols of the dunes are more homogeneous in texture and salt content than the soils of the interdunal corridors: Besides the Fluvisols, also the Calcisols, Solonchaks and Regosols are stratified due to episodic flooding by a wadi, and are rich in salts and lime. The soils are of minor development. Aggregation and enrichment of lime, enrichment and movement of salts, and the enrichment of organic substances are indications of soil formation. The distribution of salts within the profiles was calculated by their solubility. High and low soluble salts appear together in thin layers of Calcisols, Solonchaks and Fluvisols, while the most-soluble salts appear in deeper layers. The salts, therefore, must have accumulated by lateral movement, precipitation and temporal flooding. Influence of groundwater can therefore be excluded. The Arenosols also show the same sequence of salt types, indicating the accumulation due to precipitation and eolic mass movement. Abandoned arable land sites did not show any different soil characteristics from the unused soils. On the basis of the distribution of salts in the profiles and soil types genesis and classification of the soils is discussed. |
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