Cambisols developed from cover-beds in the Pieniny Mts. (southern Poland) and their mineral composition

The occurrence of Eutric Cambisols in the study area has been usually attributed to specific characteristics of bedrock. Their basic properties include significant contrasts of pH and the content of carbonates within their profiles. Analysis of soil texture and the content and lithology of rock fragments indicate discontinuities in the parent material of the upper and lower sections of the investigated profiles. The observations have been confirmed by the analysis of XRD diffractograms of unseparated < 2 mm samples and of the > 2 μm fraction. The properties of the lowermost horizons are naturally related to the characteristics of bedrock, while cover-beds with a dominance of quartz and a lack of calcite should be recognized as parent material of the upper sections of the profiles. The XRD diffractograms of the clay fractions show a continuous, uniform process of soil development imposed on the originally heterogeneous profile.