Several kinds of podzolic soils develop under the forest of Japanese cypress on quartz porphyry belt lying above 1, 400 meters high in Kiso mountain region, Nagano prefecture. Clay mineral composition of the fraction less than 2 micron of two soils, was examined by chemical analyses, differential thermal analysis and X-ray diffraction method.
The outline of results are as follows:
(1) In both soils, dioctahedral 2:1-type minerals are dominant. Interlayer aluminium is detected only B horizons presumably showing that interlayer aluminium is removed from A2 horizons. The principal species of clay mineral in A2 horizon, is random mixedlayer mineral of vermiculite-montmorillonite-mica clay mineral. All samples contain a few amount of mica minerals free from the mixed-layer mineral.
(2) Kaolin minerals are found in both soils in considerable amount especialy in the soil of dry water regime, while gibbsite and vermiculite free from the mixed-layer's and has no interlayer aluminium are found only in soil of wet water regime.
(3) Appreciable amounts of quartz is detected, of which the rule of distribution is not clear.
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