Translations:Benutzer:Arian/Klett-Mini-Test/791/en

In soil science, on the basis of empirical studies of profile structure, one speaks of a soil development that has been taking place since the end of the last Ice Age, some ten to fifteen thousand years ago. According to the outward appearance of various soil profiles and their manifold differentiation as a consequence of this long-term development, a series of characteristic soil types are distinguished. Depending on weathering intensity, vertical substance-displacement and horizon formation, one deals on the one hand with soil types that still show juvenile stages of development — such as the AC soils of the *Rendzina* on lime-rich sites in sloping or dry positions. Polar to these, also with AC profile, the *Ranker* forms on siliceous-acid rock in erosion positions. Starting from these juvenile stages, one can on the other hand trace soil types of increasing age — for instance, on lime-rich sites the aging sequence Rendzina → Para-brown earth → Pseudogley, or on acid quartz-silica the sequence Ranker → Brown earths → Podsols.