Properties and formation of Black Soils on the Island of Poel (NE Germany)

Recent soil mapping on the Island of Poel, situated in the southern Baltic Sea, shows an abundance of Black Soils developed in stratified parent material, whereby the upper layers are of periglacial origin covering calcareous till. The Black Soils have been formed in the upper layer overlying Luvisols, developed in decalcified till, with different degrees of stagnic influence. The Luvisols are not the result of a degradation of the Black Soil, as no humic clay coatings were detected in their Bt horizons. With a simplified Ap, Ah, (Eb/Ah), (2)E, 2Bt(g)b, C horizon sequence, these soils differ from the better known degraded Phaeozems on Fehmarn and the Uckermark region. The properties of three pedons are presented and their pedogenesis is discussed. AMS 14C ages from soil organic carbon of the Ah horizons from the Black Soils suggest that the development of the Luvisols stopped within the first half of the Subatlantic period.