Soils of the Nizzana Sandfield were formed under arid climate conditions during the Upper Quaternary (Chap. 1, this volume). They developed from shifting sands of sandy ridges, sandy surfaces in interdune areas, and playa surfaces.
Land surfaces in deserts derived from sand are often not regarded as soils because of their instability and, therefore, unsuitability as rooting zone for higher plants (Soil Survey Staff 1994). As young desert soils are less characterized by their state of weathering, processes such as the formation of cracks, crusts and aggregates, and the translocation of salts are steps of pedogenesis (Dan 1981).
To understand the pattern of soil distribution, a characteristic part of the Nizzana Sandfield (about 20 km NW of the Nizzana village) was mapped. The observed soil conditions will be discussed with regard to plant growth. In order to study the influence of the rainfall gradient on soil properties, soil observations were carried out at station N3 situated about 13 km north of the main Nizzana Research Site (cf. Fig. 29.1, Chap. 29, this volume). In Chapter 16 (this volume), soil formation and especially the salt dynamics of the soils will be discussed.
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Blume, H.P., Beyer, L., Pfisterer, U., Felix-Henningsen, P. (2008). Soil Characteristicsand Pattern of the Nizzana Research Site. In: Breckle, SW., Yair, A., Veste, M. (eds) Arid Dune Ecosystems. Ecological Studies, vol 200. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-75498-5_5
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