The influence of Pleistocene landforms on soil-forming processes and soil distribution in a loess landscape of Baden–Württemberg (south-west Germany)

Geomorphodynamic and pedogenetic processes were studied in a dry valley (the Borten Valley) within a typical loess region near Heilbronn. Land use in this area is very intensive and causes serious soil erosion problems. Soil mapping showed the degree of erosion of Luvisols and the resulting mosaic of different erosion and accumulation patterns. Soil profiles on slopes have been eroded and soils with relict properties in valley bottoms and on lower slope positions (Gleyic Chernozems and intergrades to Luvisols) have been covered by colluvial sediments. These paleosols provide evidence for Holocene soil evolution. The transformation of Gleyic Chernozems to Luvisols depended mainly on geomorphology and hydrological conditions. The preservation of paleosols also allows the landscape before anthropogenic deforestation to be reconstructed.