PROPERTIES OF ACID BROWN SOILS DEVELOPED FROM SANDSTONES OF THE ŒWIÊTOKRZYSKI REGION

Analysed were forest soils developed from Silurian, Devonian, Triassic and Jurassic sandstones. The analysis of the results reveals a significant effect of the type of sandstone on the depth of studied soils and their properties. Tested soils were characterized by a strongly acid reaction and a low degree of saturation with basic cations (between 10 and 35%). In the top horizons were found increased concentrations of zinc, copper and lead in relation to the parent rock concentrations. The diversity of soils on the Earth is a result of the interaction of many circumstances, which are described as soil forming factors. The parent rock as the source is among the basic factors. The influence of the parent rock on developing soils is significant and often predominant. The objective of our work was to present the properties of acid brown soils developed from the sandstones of the Œwietokrzyskie Region. The territory of Poland is an area deficient in soils developed from sandstones, therefore the number of papers addressing this issue is limited (11). Considering the particular problem indicated in the title, the list of scientific papers and authors narrows further. Therefore particular attention should be paid to the papers by Adamczyk (1), Maciejewska (2-4), Strzemski (6,7), Szafranek (8-10), Sk³odowski et al. (5) and Zarzycka (11). MATERIAL AND METHODS The field studies focused on the geological area covering the Palaeozoic core and Mesozoic edge of the Œwietokrzyskie Mountains. The distribution of soil profiles is shown in Fig. 1. Analyses were conducted on forest soils developed from Silurian, Devonian, Triassic and Jurassic sandstones.