PEDOGENESIS IN A SUBARCTIC IRON-RICH ENVIRONMENT: SCHEFFERVILLE, QUEBEC

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Abstract
More than 50 soil profiles have been examined and analyzed in the Schefferville area, and 5 are studied in detail. Leaching, sesquioxide translocation and surficial organic matter accumulation are the main pedogenic processes. The soils are acid, and leaching is generally confined to a depth of 60 cm. Morphological evidence of podzolization occurs in well drained soils, and analytical data reveal the translocation of Fe, Al and organic matter in the profile. Organic soils develop at sites which are permanently waterlogged and morphological and chemical evidence of gleying occurs in soils that are waterlogged for most of the summer. In soils that are waterlogged for only part of the summer, there is morphological and chemical evidence of podzolization and gleying, as shown by translocation of Fe, Al, Mn and organic matter and by mottling. Because of the reddish-brown parent materials, morphological evidence of soil development is weaker than in soils developed from deposits on the Canadian Shield. Clay mineral transformations are pronounced, with the decomposition of chlorite, kaolinite and mica and the formation of smectite in Ae horizons.

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