SOIL SURVEY OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST SITES IN THE AREA OF RAVENNA (ITALY)

Sixteen profiles have been characterized from a pedologic point of view: nine in a coastal pinewood, five in agricultural sites and two in a city park. The profiles have been described, sampled and analysed to the purpose of giving a first outline of the pedological complexity of area. Inside the pinewood, soils are affected by the topographical position and the closeness of the surface aquifer. Ustipsamments/ Arenosols occur where the groundwater depth is more than one meter, while at lower groundwater depth Psammaquents/Gleysols are present. Agricultural soils are directly affected by geological characteristics and human land reclamation, and fall within the Haplustepts/Cambisols great groups, with a few distinctions due to the different utilisation of the soil and to the depositional origin. Also the two soils of the city park fall in the Haplustepts/Cambisols great group; however, in this case, the anthropic interference, suggested by the plenty brick fragments detected in the profiles, is quite evident. .