Soil evolution in recently reclaimed wetland areas of Northeast Italy

Morphological, physical and chemical characteristics of six soil profiles from a recently reclaimed wetland area in Northern Italy were examined to determine soil evolution rates over a short time span. Before reclamationthe whole land was a water saturated marsh, and soil genesis was very limited, the main process being litter accumulation. Following drainage, pedogenic processes in a subaerial environment resulted in organic matter mineralization, oxidation and gleying. Within a time interval of approximately 100 years, the soils have changed from Histosols to Mollisols and Entisols suitable as arable land. The recorded changes allowed calculation of a simple chronofunction.