SOILS IN THE FLOODPLAIN OF LOWER MORAVA

Soils in the floodplain of the lower Morava river were studied in deta il during the field investigations undertaken in the years 1992-1993. It was found that soil properties were closely dependent on the soil-f orming rock, relief, ground water, and human activities. Most frequent there are fluvisols predominating in within-dike areas and phaeozems occurring in more remote and elevated parts of the floodplain. Clays a nd water-logged soils are in depressions, while the more sandy and dri er soils are bound on the tops of aggradated ramparts. A complex struc ture of the soil cover was found in the alluvium of the Morava river. Anthropization of the soils is more advanced in the out-of-dike area. Man influenced soils above all by the exploitation of the loam, gravel , and agriculture. Further, soils are polluted and intoxicated by indu strial, agricultural, and house wastes, A special case is represented by the devastated soils in holes arisen after detonations of explosive s during World War II. By the renaturalization of the Morava river all uvium it is desirable to cover the less fertile areas with grasses and to plant correspondent xerophilous trees and shrubs in exploited plac es.