Albic Horizon - Soil Geography of the USA: A Diagnostic-Horizon Approach - page 78

Fig. 10.1 A soil with an albic horizon in Michigan's Upper Peninsula (Photo by J. Bockheim)
have the same color and apparent morphology. These deposits are parent materials
that are not characterized by the removal of clay and/or free iron and do not overlie
an illuvial horizon or other soil horizon, except for a buried soil.
There is an extensive body of literature on albic horizons particularly in
Spodosols and Andisols of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska (Shoji and Yamada
1991 ; Ugolini and Dahlgren 1991 ; Kemp et al. 1998 ; Briggs et al. 2006 ; Weindorf
et al. 2012 ) and in Spodosols of MI (Weisenborn and Schaetzl 2005a , b ) and NY
(Laverdiere et al. 1977 ). Vepraskas and Wilding ( 1983 ) studied albic neoskeletans
in argillic horizons of Udalf-Aqualf intergrades as indices of seasonal saturation
and Fe reduction.
10.2 Properties of the Albic Horizon
The albic horizon in Fig. 10.1 is 20 cm thick and occurs in a Typic Haplorthods
from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The greatest thicknesses of albic horizons
have been recorded in Alorthods and Alaquods in FL which averaged 32 cm. A
comparison between properties of the albic horizon and the underlying illuvial
horizons (argillic or spodic) of six pedons (Table 10.1 ) shows greater amounts of
clay, extractable Fe and Al, CEC, and base saturation and a lesser amount of SOC
and lower pH and Al saturation in the illuvial than in the albic horizon.