Diagnostics, Genesis, and Localization of Pedosediments within a Small Catchment (Central Russian Upland)

Abstract

Results of a detailed analysis of pedosediments—sediments composed of transported material of soil humus horizons—are discussed. Five main morphological features of pedosediments attesting to the origin of the transported soil material are identified; their allocation to certain types of pedosediments is shown. A map of pedosediments for a small catchment in Tula oblast has been developed on the basis of their morphological analysis. Three types of pedosediments are specified by their morphological features and location: (1) leveling, filling depressions; (2) covering, extending on the slopes of the ravine; and (3) protruding above the surface of the slope represented by “napash”—agrogenic earthwork at the edges of fields. The covering pedosediments formed on the slopes are shown to be predominant both by area (60%) and by the volume of accumulated material (45%). The leveling pedosediments at the bottom of the ravine occupy 25% of the area and retain about 35% of all sediments of the small catchment. Only 2% of the total material of pedosediments in the catchment belongs to protruding pedosediments. The formation and localization of these pedosediments are controlled by the formation of napashes. In general, the material of pedosediments redistributed within the small catchment constituted about 12% of the total mass of humus horizons of the soils-donors. Pedosediments play a significant role in the soil cover and occupy about 10% of the total catchment area.