Abstracts of Symposium 55 and some papers from other related Symposia.

Soil Belts in the Valleys of the Southern Slope of the Khangai Mountain, Mongolia

Alojzy KOWALKOWSKY, Dept. Soil Geogr. and Nat.Prot., Ped. Univ. Kielce, PL-25-406 Kielce, Pol.

The intermontane valleys of the southern slope of Khangai Mts are characterized by sharp climatic inversions (Brzezniak, Niedwzwiedz 1980). They are manifested by elevation asymmetry of permafrost, slope processes, plant formations and soils as well as inversions of soil and plant belts (Kowalkowsky, Lomborinchen, 1975). According to Ogorodnikov (1981) one of the manifestations of the strongest active factors of the soil formation process of the Northern Mongolia is permafrost, divided into the type of the lower forms of relief and the type of elevated forms. In the type of lower forms of relief of valleys the occurrence of permafrost is connected with the wetness of slopes and adjacent valley bottoms, particularly on the opposite southern and northern expositions, together with related catenas of plant associations and soil formations. The investigated valleys include the tectonic Sant Valley with periodical flows of the surface waters and the tectonic kettle hole Bayan Nuurin-Knotnor with the rivers Tsagan Turutuin Gol and Olgoin Gol. In the bottom of the Sant Valley and directly adjacent lower parts of slopes the following soil catena was formed in section from slope N to S: forest steppe dark chestnut permafrost non-carbonate soil => relic forest brown permafrost non-carbonate soil => peaty-gley salty permafrost soil => steppe-meadow deep chernozem permafrost non-carbonate salty soil => dry steppe deluvial chernozem non-carbonate soil => dry steppe deluvial-proluvial chestnut soil. In the Bayan Nuurin-Khotor basin, sedimented with lake and alluvial deposits, being under a direct influence of arid climate of the Great Lakes Valley, is manifested by a division into three belts of pedomorphic activity. The southern belt with recent mosaics of permafrost pingo soils and salty patterned soils; the mid belt of deep permafrost alluvial soils of initial development stage, and the northern belt with strip mosaics of deep- and medium deep permafrost relic grey desert soils and recent aeolic arenosols.

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