Coniferous+Evergreen+Soils

The soil in coniferous evergreen forests is often very acidic and lighter in color. Conifer needles themselves have a pH of about 3.2 to 3.8, making them considerably acidic. Due to their acidic nature, when conifer needles break down they make the soil slightly more acidic. This happens both when conifers grow close to the ground and the conifer needles fall to the ground. The presence of trees in the coniferous evergreen forest protects the soil from erosion by holding it in place with their roots, and the trees also create windbreaks which protects the topsoil from being blown away. Decomposed and decomposing conifer needles are shown below.

The topsoil of coniferous evergreen forests is often soggy as the moisture tends to stay close to the surface. Due to the overall colder temperatures of the coniferous evergreen forest, plants and animals decompose slower, meaning that soil forms more slowly. There are also not as many soil-mixing creatures in this biome.

The soil in this biome is called "podzols", and it has a compacted humus layer known as "mor". This layer contains many fungi and is very low in mineral content, organic material, and number of different invertebrates. Podzols typically form under forested landscapes on coarse parent material that is high in quartz. they have a characteristic subsurface layer knwon as the spodic horizon, which is made up on accumulated humus and metal oxides. Above t he spodic horizon there is often a bleached-out layer from which clay and iron oxides have been leached. Below is a podzol soil profile from Ireland.
 * Podzols:**

G1. G2. G3. G4. G5.

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