Soils of Latvia

There are a wide variety of soils on earth, each distinguishable from the next not only by its physical appearance but also by what it’s made up of and its parent material, parent material being the material the soil comes from. Soil can be viewed in profiles, made up of different horizons, or sections, of types of earth material. In the case of Latvia, it has diverse parent material and in turn diverse types of soils. There are twelve types in total with spodosol (or podzolic) soils being the most present, covering about 45% of the land.

Soil is formed by the parent material (C) weathering,

or breaking, down through both
physical and chemical means. 

Organic matter, such as leaves or
 decaying animals, is added in to the mix.
Fine particles leach downward,
further into other horizons.

Spodosol soils are typical of coniferous

and mixed forests where there are large 
amounts of water. It is often characterized 
by the ashy gray color of the upper layer

of soil as well as it being acidic.

The soil is made acidic from breaking

down organic material such as

surface litter, roots, and organisms.

Most of the land available in Latvia is taken up by forests and because of the prevalent spodsol soil areas are infertile and not able to support crops or other vegetation for agriculture. 38.2% of the land is available and used for agriculture (the remaining land split between roads, water, wetlands, etc.). Some soil types that are present in the land in general are brown soils, anthrosols, gleyed, and alluvial.

Brown soils come from diverse and 
chemically rich parent material and are very fertile.

Anthrosols occur in areas that have been intensely cultivated by man, enough to affect the soil process.

Gleyed soil happens when the parent material is rich in
carbon or the water contains a lot of
calcium and magnesium and is very fertile.

Alluvial soils often occur where water is or once was, including flooding areas.

Each soil type, no matter how insignificant in amount, plays in Latvia’s ability to produce crops as well as selecting locations for animal grazing or even housing. While the variety can prove to be a problem in how to use it, soils are able to be cultivated so they may become fertile and useable. The infertile soil that makes up the majority of the land in Latvia can become fertile and used as agriculturally viable land.

Sources:
Picture 1 - Horizons
Picture 2 - Spodosol Soil Profile
Picture 3 - Brown Soil Profile
Picture 4 - Anthrosol Soil Profile
Picture 5 - Gleyed Soil Profile
Picture 6 - Alluvial Soil Profile