Chemical characteristics of soils in Scots pine forests of Cladina and Vaccinium vitis-idaea site types on coastal dunes of Baltic Sea

The coastal dunes of Southwest Estonia have been undergoing a process of stabilisation and are today covered predominantly with Scots pine forests. For the investigation of soils on dunes sampling sites were selected according to topographical positions and forest site types: two sites in Cladina and two sites in Vaccinium vitis-idaea site types on dunes of different heights. The prevailing soils on dunes are Gleyic Podzols, which are generally poor in humus, water and mineral nutrients. Great differences in soil chemical components were found on the foots, slopes and tops of the dunes depending on the height of the dune. The study showed that the concentration of macronutrients (N, K, Ca, Mg) in soil decreased from the foot towards the top. On the other hand, a serious decrease in the nutrient concentration from the O horizon to the BC horizon was typical of the dunes. The soils were generally acidic, with the pH of 3.4-5.5 in the studied sampling sites. The soils were more acidic on the foots of the dune and in the O and A horizons.