Soil and humus form distribution in the ancient woodland of Haid Ege, Denmark

Abstract

Soils under ancient woodlands are highly variable and little is known about the nature of such soils, which in many cases have supported woodland for hundreds of years. This study addresses past and present factors forming soils and the distribution of soil and humus types in the ancient woodlands of Haid Ege, Denmark. The methods used include soil mapping, detailed soil profile description and physical and chemical analysis of soil samples in connection with vegetation data. The results reveal that present-day soils are spatially variable, with Podzols and Arenosols being the most common. Humus form and thickness variations are apparently correlated with forest type (r² = 0.58 and 0.46, respectively, P < 0.01). Degree of podzolisation, topsoil texture and soil type were by contrast poorly correlated with forest type (r² = 0.21, P < 0.01). Some soil patches with strong podzolisation in areas with Arenosols could be explained neither by present-day vegetation nor by differences in the soil properties investigated. Modern soils were compared to data from Miiller (1884) and no major differences were apparent. We conclude for this ancient woodland that soil distribution, unlike variations in humus form, reflect present-day site factors and most probably also vegetation communities and land-uses phased out more than 120 years ago.

Keywords:

• Ancient woodland
• Podzolisation
• Relict soil patterns
• Soil variability