PALEOCATENAS IN THE SOIL COVER OF FOOTHILLS IN EASTERN GEORGIA

The soil cover of foothills in eastern Georgia preserves the remains o f bisequal paleocatenas composed of red-earth smectitic clayey soil in the upper part and black Vertisol (vertic chernozem, smolnitsa) in th e lower part. Microbiomorph analysis of the Vertisol proved that the s oil mass originated from the organic matter accumulated in ancient swa mps and mixed with clayey smectite-containing colluvium in conditions of swampy forest humid paleoenvironment. The position of this soil in paleocatena is indicative of the presence and elevation of the zone wi th red-earth soils and weathering crusts and of the intensity of denud ation within the local catchment basin.