PROBLEMS OF SOIL HISTORY. PODZOL DEVELOPMENT AT GOODLAND AND TORR TOWNLANDS, CO. ANTRIM, NORTHERN IRELAND

Summary The formation of podzols with well-marked iron pans on boulder clay soils overlying chalk is described. A sub-peat soil at Goodland is to be regarded as a fossil soil with two podzol profiles superimposed. The upper podzol formed in a relatively short time prior to the growth of the overlying blanket bog following tillage which helped to accelerate the rate at which podzolization occurred. A well-marked iron pan in a podzol at Torr has developed during the past hundred years. The formation of an impermeable humuslayer within the top few inches of such soils leads to waterlogged conditions suitable for the development of blanket bog over them. This humus layer effectively seals the underlying podzol from waterlogged or gleying conditions. Accepting the hypothesis that the podzol at Goodland is a fossil soil, a chronology for soil development is proposed using archaeological material as dating evidence.