Rendzinas diversity of the Ojców National Park as an effect of lithological factors

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate rendzinas diversity on the area of the Ojców National Park (ONP), southern Poland. Moreover, the paper aims to identify the relation between relief and soil cover slope position and its influence on classification as well as the occurrence of lithological discontinuity. The studied soils were classified as brown and chernozemic rendzinas. Rendzinas in the area of the ONP are located mainly in the middle slope position where Upper Jurassic limestones regolith is mixed with loess sediments. This situation leads to vertical heterogeneity of soil texture (and formation of rendzinas with lithological discontinuity) within the soil profile. Surface horizons were mainly characterized by silty texture while in deeper horizons there was a more clay-like texture, which was the result of weathering Jurassic limestones located in deeper parts of soil profile. In turn, uniform shallow rendzinas occurred only on exposed rocks composed of limestones, where loess cover was absent. The character of ONP’s soils is also the result of parent material heterogeneity conditioned by long-term changes e.g. denudation processes and/or weathering. In order to assess soil heterogeneity, ‘lithological discontinuity indices’ as well as ‘uniformity values’ have been applied.

Keywords

• rendzina
• calcareous soils
• the Ojców National Park
• lithological discontinuity