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Abstract
Eighteen glacier forelands, with lichenometrically dated terminal moraine sequences, provide chronosequences for an investigation of soil development. The investigation focuses on properties of the soils' organic phases (pH, organic matter content, cation exchange capacity, and profile depth), which generally change rapidly in alpine soils. The results indicate decreasing pH and increasing organic matter content and cation exchange capacity as the soils increase in depth over the 231-yr sequences. The rates of change of the soil properties show wide variations within the area of the Jotunheim Mountains and the environs of the Jostedalsbreen ice cap; in some cases the variations are more than an order of magnitude. The rates of change of cation exchange capacity and depth are strongly related to the prevailing climate, whereas rates of pH and organic matter content changes appear to be unrelated to the climatic parameters considered.