Podzolised soils (weathered, poorly drained, acidic clays) are leached of most of the nutrients required for plant growth. However, kauri flourish on such soils and leave their mark in the form of ‘egg-cup podzols’ – nutrient-poor areas in the soil where individual trees once grew. The white streak in this soil from kauri forest in Northland is quartz sand, virtually devoid of nutrients, which have been leached to greater depths.
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Landcare Research – Manaaki Whenua
Reference:
Les Molloy, Soils in the New Zealand landscape: the living mantle. Wellington: Mallinson Rendel, 1988, plate 5.18
Photograph by Quentin Christie
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