Azonal soil types: definition and formation factors, examples
Characteristics of soils are determined by the processes that take place during their formation and development. They determine the type, properties and value of the economic use of land. Consider the features of azonal soil types, their main characteristics, classification, factors and processes of formation, how zonal, intrazonal and azonal soils differ, where they are mainly distributed.
Definition and characteristics
Azonal soils are called intermediate formations from rocks that do not yet have all the features characteristic of a particular type of soil.This is due to the fact that the processes of soil formation are not yet completed (young soils) or they are interrupted for geological reasons, for example, as a result of washout or deposition of alluvium.
Intrazonal soils are soils that are not formed in accordance with the climate of the area. Plots can be large in area, cross zonal soils, while maintaining their characteristics. Such lands can be located in different belts and heights. But, even being on different continents, intrazonal soils can be similar.
Classification of intrazonal soils
These include floodplain (alluvial), mountain and saline. Floodplains are formed in river floodplains under the influence of high humidity, naturally fertile. Alluvial soils are mainly soddy and gray-humus.
The group of saline soils includes solonchaks, solonetzes and solods. These are lands with a high s alt content. Due to the toxic effect of s alts on plant growth, saline lands are almost unsuitable for agriculture.
Mountain soils are subject to vertical zonality. Climatic conditions, plant and animal species change with the height of the area. As a result, the zones also change in the same sequence as horizontally. Subtypes of mountain soils: forest, podzolic, soddy, meadow, meadow-steppe, taiga, tundra.
Marsh peat also belong to intrazonal. Formed in areas with low relief with mandatory waterlogging, subject to insufficient air intake.
Shaping factors
Intrazonal soils go through all stages of soil formation, however, they acquire special features after exposure to certain external factors or with a sharp change in one of them. For example, a flood of a river or a volcanic eruption leads to the formation of this type of soil.
Marsh soils are formed under the influence of the marsh formation process, with strong moisture and under the influence of stagnant groundwater. Peat formation is a component of the formation of bog soils, which is expressed in the accumulation of plant residues, causing oxygen deficiency and the development of anaerobic decomposition, as well as gleying (a process associated with the reduction of iron and manganese). Gleying occurs with the participation of bacteria and fungi.
Difference from zonal and azonal soils
Zonality is mainly influenced by climate, which naturally changes with geographic latitude. Soil formation is influenced by illumination, moisture level, and vegetation. Examples of alternation of zonal types are clearly visible in both hemispheres from the equator to the poles.
Azonal soils differ from zonal ones in age, have different characteristics, as they are at the initial stage of formation. Over time, they will acquire features characteristic of this natural area.
Prevalence
Intrazonal and azonal soils are found in all climatic zones: in the tundra, forest-tundra, forests, swamps, forest-steppe, steppe, semi-deserts. Azonal - these are young stony or loose sandy, formed on fresh alluvium, which have not yet acquired the properties of soils in their area.
Intrazonal occur in swampy areas, formed on carbonate rocks that pass through several soil zones. Swamps are located in the taiga and tundra, less often in the regions to the south. S alt types are found mainly in river floodplains and mountainous areas.
What will be the soil in a particular area, usually depends on climate conditions, humidity and insolation levels, vegetation.Formation processes are subject to the influence of these factors. But in some cases, soils are affected by one specific factor that changes their properties. Young soils do not have zonality due to the fact that they are at the beginning of their formation.
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