Properties

• Short shrubs/lichens with short roots. Little soil mixing.
• Mor hummus. Black, acidic, peaty.
• Waterlogged A horizon.
• Clearly defined layers due to lack of biota mixing.
• Blue/grey due to lack of oxygen.
• Large fragments as weathering is very slow.
• Iron compounds are reduced from red/brown to blue/grey.
• In summer, burrowing animals create pockets of oxygen which turns patches of soil red. This is called red mottling.
• Permafrost. Prevents drainage. This creates gleying as permafrost is impermeable.