Podzolic Soils - Major Soil Groups of the World - page 348

Fig. 11.11 Alpine Nanopodzol on quartzite and under Ericaceae. France. Arc 2000 (2000
m). Photo: Brice Mourier.

Figure 11.12 shows the climatosequence of soils seen between 1030 m
and 2450 m on the northwestern flank of Mont Blanc. The rocks, all acid,
are varied in the details: hard Mont Blanc granite (protogine), glacial
tills, more or less arenized gneiss.

Toposequence on the Mont Blanc massif

On rocks :
Umbric Leptosol

Pilgrims
Glacier

Cable-car station of l'Aiguille
du Midi

Intergrade soil
under sward
on till

2200 m

Rhodora

Leptic Podzol

Larch with
rhododendrons Legend

O

Spruce with
undergrowth
of grasses and
blueberry

Haplic Podzol

A

1700 m

E
Bh
Bs
C (arène)
C (till)
R (granite)
R (gneiss, schists)

Entic Podzol

Chamonix
town

Humic and Dystric
Cambisol

1000 m

Fig. 11.12 Climatosequence. Soil tiers between Chamonix and l'Aiguille du Midi, below
Mont Blanc (Legros and Cabidoche 1977).