Skip to navigation Skip to content

Durnhill

Distrobution of Durnhill Soil Association DERIVATION:

Quartzites and quartzose grits.

TYPES OF PARENT MATERIALS MAPPED:

  • Glacial till
  • Glacial drift, often shallow
  • Cryogenic

COLOUR:

Light yellowish brown in subsoil.

TEXTURE:

Till deposits range from loamy sand to sandy clay loam but drifts are loamy sand and sandy loam often with abundant, mainly angular stones, moderate to abundant in amount.

DOMINANT LAND USE:

Arable, permanent pasture, rough grazing, some forestry.

LANDFORMS:

Mainly hills, valley sides and mountains often with steep slopes being scree-covered.

SOIL CHEMISTRY:

Inherently low fertility, low pH (around pH5 in the subsoil), extremely low base saturation (<15%) and low levels of trace elements are characteristic.

SOIL PHYSICAL PROPERTIES:

Potential rooting depth is generally around less than 35cm with intense induration, an iron pan or high stone content impeding root penetration. Weak subsoil structure.

SERIES NAME SOIL TYPE DRAINAGE PARENT MATERIAL
Aigan Humus iron podzol Free Drift and till
Aldamph Peaty podzol Imperfect Drift and till
Balloch Peaty gley Poor and very poor Drift and till
Corryhabbie Alpine podzol Free Cryogenic
Dubhain Peaty ranker Poor Drift and organic
Durnhill Peaty podzol Free below iron pan Drift and till
Durnskel Skeletal soil Variable Very shallow drift and residual
Ferneybrae Humus iron podzol Imperfect Drift and till
Kilbady Noncalcareous gley (SW) Poor Drift and till
Monksburn Peaty gley Very Poor Pliocene (quartzite) gravel
Neuchry Peaty gley (SW) Poor Drift and till
Scraulac Subalpine podzol Free Cryogenic
Windyhills Peaty podzol Free below iron pan Pliocene (quartzite) gravels

 

Learning & Resources


Printed from /learning/exploringscotland/soils/series/durnhill on 19/03/24 07:53:27 AM

The James Hutton Research Institute is the result of the merger in April 2011 of MLURI and SCRI. This merger formed a new powerhouse for research into food, land use, and climate change.