DETERMINATION OF ANALYTICAL CRITERIA FOR CLASSIFICATION OF SANDY SOILS WITH DEEPREACHING HUMUS CONTENTS IN THE REGION OF WESTMUNSTERLAND

While mapping agricultural areas in the region of Westmunsterland a pr oblem of soil classification became obvious. There are widespread sand y soils of brown to greybrown colour, which have unusually high conten ts of humus down to several decimeters depth. Several chemical and phy sical laboratory investigations were carried out to answer the questio n of natural or anthropogenic origin. Based on the characteristics of diagnostic horizons from certain classifiable soils like Kultosole esp ec. Plaggenesche (Plaggepts/Anthrosols, 7 profiles) and Spodosols/Podz ols (8 profiles) clearly differentiating characteristics should be der ived. Comparing with datas from subsoil horizons of the questionable 1 1 profiles these should be attached to one of the former groups. Univa riate and multivariate statistic methods like discriminant and cluster analysis were used to evaluate the analytical laboratory results. It was possible to attach 5 of 11 systematic questionable soil profiles t o the group of Kultsole/Plaggenesch. As there is not better fitting sy stematical classification (like deepreaching humous Brown Earth o.s.) the remainder must be classified as Brown Earth of Podzol-Brown Earth.