Quantifying the role of chemical weathering rates on soil developed along an altitudinal transect in the mountainous environments, Turkey

Climate and elevations play an important role in controlling rate of weathering and soil formation. The role of chemical weathering rate on soil developed along an altitudinal transect in the mountainous environments in Turkey was investigated to determine the effects of climate on the geochemical characteristics of the soil. The main purposes of this study were: i) To characterize the geochemical characteristics of soils as a function of climate ii) To evaluate the soil formation and decomposition rates in Climosequence depending on the elevation by using geochemical data. For this purpose, four representative profiles were dug at different elevations. The transect of four soils formed in limestone elevations from 1139 to 1809 m. Our results showed that the rate of chemical weathering of CIA, CIW, PIA and MIA indicators decreased with the increase in elevation. In contrast, WIP value increased at higher altitudes and exhibited different weathering directions by deviating from the main trend in the A–CN–K diagram that composition of weathered soils was easily influenced by the quantity of precipitation, degree of gradient and height differences. Therefore, it was concluded that the main factors determining soil development was climate and elevations, and both determine the leaching regime and weathering rates.