Albeluvisol

Albeluvisol, one of the 30 soil groups in the classification system of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Albeluvisols are characterized by a subsurface layer of brownish clay into which "tongues" of bleached material project from an overlying layer extensively leached of clay and iron oxides. They form in cold climates on relatively flat terrain that supports boreal landscapes, taiga, or coniferous or mixed forest. High acidity, low plant-nutrient content, and fragile aggregate structure are common to these soils. Such adverse climatic and chemical conditions, combined with the impeding clay layer, prevent agricultural use, except in areas where the growing season is sufficient to allow grazing, cold-hardy grains, or acid-tolerant root crops.

Occupying 2.5 percent of the total land area on Earth, Albeluvisols are concentrated in a belt from Poland to Siberia in Eurasia and from Baffin Bay westward in Canada. As their subsurface layer structure implies, they tend to be associated with the FAO soil groups of Podzols to the north and Luvisols to the south.