Geopedological processes in Doñana National Park (Spain)

Abstract

On the dunes of Doñana National Park (Spain) and in areas coinciding with a Juniperus turbinata evolved savin forest, the presence of Arenosoles with dark colours, presence of clays and levels enriched in iron and manganese at about 60 cm depth are detected. Its physicochemical and mineralogical characterization has been carried out following the usual methodology of our laboratory. These soils (profile SOJ-2) show a higher level of magnetic susceptibility, vermiculite biogenic clays and mild luvic and chromic properties in an B incipient horizon formation. All this denotes a greater pedogenesis that usually affects to the aeolian littoral sheet that characterizes to this important natural reserve. The phytostability that Juniperus turbinata offers would be the responsible for this pedogenesis, and the evolution experienced by the physicochemical parameters with the depth show an intense lateral washing of sand (sand washing). The different patterns of distribution of the medium sands along the profile could be used for the differentiation between different environmental conditions.