The effect of the presence of buried soils and paleosols on the quality of Hungarian soils

Buried soils are grouped into three categories, namely Holocene soils, Pleistocene ones and those of earlier geologic periods. Buried soils mainly occur on floodplains and in sandy areas in Hungary. Gradual subsidence of the lowland areas and irrationally high rate of deforestation in the catchment regions have resulted in the burial of soils with younger deposits in the floodplain areas; most of the soils buried here are black hydromorphic ones. The major cause of burial in the sandy areas, however, is repeated deposition of the shifting sand. Climatic changes and the beginning cultivation of the originally grassland and forest areas have resulted in the movement and redeposition of the sandy deposits. Most of the Pleistocene-age paleosols have come to light in loess profiles. They can be regarded as remnants of forest soils with varying humus profiles and serve as excellent stratigraphic markers in studies of loess deposits.