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ACID SULFATE SOILS

Soils rich in sulfates occurring mainly in the tropics and associated with the former mangrove swamps in the Far East, and coastal areas of West Africa and South America. Pyrite in peaty soils oxidises to sulfuric acid when soils are drained, making soils extremely acid (pH < 4.0), causing toxic levels of aluminium (Al) ions and restricting crop growth. These acid soils can be reclaimed using liming and fertilisers, combined with leaching out of the sulfate conditions, but in most cases the process is uneconomic.

[See alsoacid mine drainage, oxidation, sulfidic soils]

E. MichaelBridgesSwansea University
http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781446247501.n45
10.4135/9781446247501.n45

DentD (1980) Acid sulphate soils: Morphology and prediction. Journal of Soil Science31: 87–99.
FanningDS and BurchSN (1997) Acid sulphate soils and some associated environmental problems. Advances in GeoEcology30: 145–158.
KittrickJA (ed.) (1982) Acid sulphate weathering. Madison, WI: Soil Science Society of America [Special Publication 10].
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