BGD Biogeosciences Discussions BGD 1810-6285 Copernicus GmbH Göttingen, Germany 10.5194/bgd-6-3851-2009 Soils of amazonia with particular reference to the rainfor sites Quesada C. A. 1 2 Lloyd J. 1 Anderson L. O. 3 Fyllas N. M. 1 Schwarz M. 4 5 Czimczik C. I. 4 6 School of Geography, University of Leeds, LS2 9JT, Leeds, UK Institito Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Avenida André Araújo, 2936, Aleixo, CEP 69060-001, Manaus, AM, Brazil School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QY, England, UK Max-Planck-Institut fuer Biogeochemie, Postfach 100164, 07701, Jena, Germany now at: Fieldwork Assistance, Postfach 101022, 07710 Jena, Germany now at: Department of Earth System Science, University of California, 2103 Croul Hall, Irvine, CA, 92697-3100, USA 08 04 2009 6 2 3851 3921 This is an open-access article ditributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. This article is available from http://www.biogeosciences-discuss.net/6/3851/2009/bgd-6-3851-2009.html The full text article is available as a PDF file from http://www.biogeosciences-discuss.net/6/3851/2009/bgd-6-3851-2009.pdf

The tropical forests of Amazonia occur on a wide variety of different soil types reflecting a rich diversity of geologic and geomorphologic conditions. We here review the existing literature about the main soil groups of Amazonia, describing their genesis, geographical patterns and principal chemical, physical and morphologic characteristics. Original data is also presented with profiles of exchangeable cations, carbon and particle size fraction illustrated for the principal soil types, also emphasizing the high diversity existing within the main soil groups when possible. Maps of geographic distribution of soils occurring under forest vegetation are also introduced, and to contextualize soils into an evolutionary framework, a scheme of soil development is proposed having as its basis a chemical weathering index. We identify a continuum of soil evolution in Amazonia with soil properties varying predictably along this pedogenetic gradient.

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