Podsol

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of acidic soil in cool, humid regions whose upper layer has been stripped of minerals and nutrients by leaching
2. Infertile ash-colored soil formed under coniferous or heath vegetation, in which iron and clay have washed out of the topsoil
3. A leached, acidic earth found in temperate forests, characterized by a bleached upper horizon depleted of nutrients by rainwater

Etymology: Soil scientists borrowed this word from Russian, where "podzol" describes a particular kind of ground. It combines "pod," meaning "under," with "zola," meaning "ash." The name refers to the pale, ash-coloured layer just beneath the surface of these soils, where rain has leached minerals and organic matter downward, leaving behind a grey, bleached horizon. The English spelling "podsol" is an alternative form of "podzol." Both spellings point to the same literal picture: a soil whose surface looks as though ashes have been spread over it, with the darker enrichment layers lying beneath.

Synonyms: podzol