B. HRISTOV, I. ATANASOVA and M. TEOHAROV
N. Poushkarov Institute of Soil Science, BG - 1080 Sofia, Bulgaria
HRISTOV, B., I. ATANASOVA and M. TEOHAROV, 2010. Minerals in Regosols from North Bulgaria. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 16: 476-481
The paper deals with the mineralogical composition of primary and clay minerals of Regosols developed mainly on calcareous loess and other soft materials from the hilly part of Danube plain. Nine soil profiles were studied and their characterization included, as well as texture, cation exchange capacity, primary and clay minerals, relief peculiarities, parent material and vegetation. Mineral contents give us a clue about soil genesis and development of Regosols in the Danube plain. Among the primary minerals micas predominate in most of the soil horizons compared to that of quartz, especially in the profiles located near the Danube River. The clay minerals are represented by smectite, mixed-layer illite-smectite, illite, kaolinite and quartz. The data from the X-ray diffraction analysis in conjunction with granulometric and physical-chemical analyses indicate that soil forming processes have had a negligible effect on the properties of the Regosols studied.