During the construction of the Cogetinci-Vučja Vas highway section, tens of meters of exposed profiles of presumably Plio-Quaternary alluvial layers were recorded in detail. By analyzing the granulometric and mineralogical composition and considering the stratigraphy, we defined the sedimentation environment, furthermore, by morphological and elemental analysis, we identified and described hydromorphic features and discussed their origin.
We conclude that the studied case defines a part of the alluvial system, which is characterized by relatively stable riverbeds with occasional spills over the embankments or by breaking through them. With distance from the main channel, deposition is slow but stable, and alluvium systematically thins and decreases in grain size, which favours the formation of relatively anaerobic environments. As a result, composite soils with poorly defined profiles are formed proximal to main channel, while cumulative profiles are formed in the distal part. Despite the poor development of paleosols, as evidenced by the near absence of soil horizons and by preserved sedimentological stratification, they contain redoximorphic features that are used to identify wetland soils. They are formed by the reduction of iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) oxides and hydroxides, which are then transported and reoxidized in areas where oxygen is present. We distinguish three categories of redoximorphic features, which are taken from foreign literature and given Slovenian terminology, namely: a) redox concentration, b) redox depletion and c) reduced matrix. In the case of surface water gley, which characterizes the studied paleosoils, these were not saturated with water for most of the year. Water occasionally stagnated in the poorly permeable layers of the upper part of the paleosoil profile, as a result of which they were reduced, and Fe/Mn moved towards the aerated root channels where they oxidized. Through the more permeable layers in the lower parts of the profile, water found its way in the larger macropores or root channels and reduced area around them, but the water flow did not affect the soil matrix, which remained oxidized and accumulated even more Fe, Mn and clay as they penetrated through.
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