Soil genesis in relation to landscape evolution and ancient sustainable land use in the northeastern Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico
Por:
Sedov S., Solleiro-Rebolledo E., Fedick S.L., Gama-Castro J., Palacios-Mayorga S., Vallejo Gómez E.
Publicada:
1 ene 2007
Resumen:
The ancient Maya developed productive agrosystems in a humid tropical environment often considered to have unfavorable soil conditions. Our objective was to assess the pedogenetic and geomorphological processes which control soil formation and distribution, as well as to understand their relation to landscape development and their influence in ancient agriculture. We studied a typical soil toposequence formed over limestone and affected by karst processes in the northeastern Yucatan Peninsula. The soil cover is dominated by Leptic Phaeozems and Rendzic Leptosols in the uplands, and Leptic Calcisols in the wetlands. The soils of the uplands have a weathered groundmass containing abundant silicate clay and iron oxides; the intensive pedogenesis and vertical transport of soil material towards karst sinkholes is responsible of the thinness and high weathering status. In wetlands, biochemical calcite precipitation occurs, accompanied by surface accumulation of algal residues (periphyton crust). In the transition area, a polygenetic profile (Calcisol over Cambisol) was developed, indicating recent advance of wetlands. The upland soils present limitations for agriculture: low P availability, and soil loss through karst erosion. Periphyton has adequate agrochemical properties to support the hypothesis that it was used as fertilizer for compensation of these constraints. © 2014 - Società Toscana di Scienze Naturali.
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