ORIGINAL PAPER
Origin, properties, and classification of organic soils in the Vistula Delta, northern Poland
1
University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Department of Soil Science and Microbiology, Plac Łódzki 3, 10–722 Olsztyn, Poland
Submission date: 2025-11-07
Final revision date: 2026-02-19
Acceptance date: 2026-05-11
Online publication date: 2026-05-11
Publication date: 2026-05-11
Corresponding author
Barbara Kalisz
Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, Department of Soil Science and Microbiology, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Plac Łódzki 3, 10-727, Olsztyn, Polska
Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, Department of Soil Science and Microbiology, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Plac Łódzki 3, 10-727, Olsztyn, Polska
Soil Sci. Ann., 2026, 77(2)221682
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to present the origin and properties of organic soils occurring on the Holocene delta plain of the youngest geographical region in Poland – the Vistula Delta (Żuławy Wiślane, northern Poland). According to the Polish soil classification, the organic soils were represented by: (1) Murshic peat soils, hemic, (slightly silted), (OTmu), (2) Murshic peat soils, fibric, (strongly silted), (OTmu), (3) Sapric murshic soils (strongly silted), (OMsa), (4) Earth-covered peat soils, fibric, (OTnt), (5) Muddy soils, (OJmł), (6) Murshic gyttja soils, (OJgymu). The origin of these soils is closely related to the high variability of water conditions in the Vistula Delta, which favored the sedimentation of organic materials: peat, mud, and gyttja, as well as the variable intensity of river floods. As a result of these floods, mineral fluvial sediments either enriched organic deposits during the accumulation and decay phases or were deposited on their surface. The silting of the surface horizons of peat or mursh soils caused their compaction, a decrease in total porosity (including macropore volume), a reduction in water retention (pF 2.0), and a decline in plant-available water compared to the deeper peat horizons in the soil profiles. Increasing silting (as indicated by loss-on-ignition) in the studied soils was significantly positively correlated with the degree of soil saturation with calcium and potassium cations, as well as with the base saturation (BS), and negatively correlated with the hydrogen cation content in the sorption complex and with total exchangeable bases (TEB). The highest agricultural value is represented by the earth-covered peat soils, which are classified as class III grassland soils. Peat murshic soils, muddy soils, and gyttja soils represent grasslands of class IV, while murshic soils under arable use are classified as class IVa arable land.
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