Gleysols on sandy deposits of the Litorina Sea underlain by Histosol formations of Ancylus Lake age in western Estonia

Two bisequal Gleysol profiles were studied in western Estonia to characterize pedogenetic features on aqueous sediments of the Litorina Sea and Ancylus Lake in similar topographical and geological situations. The development of Gleysols during the Late Holocene has been uniform and depends on the composition and sediment structure of both sandy and silty parent materials. Saturated R2O3-humic-fulvic organic matter of hydromorphic origin has increased the specific surface area and exchange properties during all stages of the Holocene while the textural-chemical properties of deposits in groundwater regimes have been preserved from Ancylus Lake time up to the present.