podzol
POD-zol
A soil type characteristic of cool, humid, forested regions — particularly coniferous forests — in which organic acids from decomposing needles and leaf litter leach iron, aluminum, and organic matter downward out of the upper layers, leaving behind a distinctive bleached, ash-gray horizon of pure quartz sand. Below the bleached layer, the leached materials accumulate in a dark, iron-rich band. A podzol in cross-section is a portrait of downward movement — the rain carrying the soil's color and chemistry from the surface into the depths.
Etymology
Russian, from pod (under) + zola (ash). Under-ash — the bleached layer looks like a stratum of wood ash buried beneath the surface. The word was coined by Russian soil scientists in the 19th century, when Russia led the world in pedology.
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