The characteristics of cultivated soils developed from coastal paleosand (Korcula Island, Croatia) Romic M. a, ⁎, Bragato G. b , Zovko M. a , Romic D. a , Mosetti D. b , Galovic L. c , Bakic H. a a University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture, Dept. of Amelioration, Svetosimunska 25, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia b C.R.A. — Centro di Ricerca per lo Studio delle Relazioni tra Pianta e Suolo, Via Trieste 23, 34170 Gorizia, Italy c HGI-CGS — Croatian Geological Survay, Sachsova 2, P.O. Box 268, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia abstract article info Article history: Received 17 May 2012 Received in revised form 23 July 2013 Accepted 12 August 2013 Keywords: Soil geochemistry Geostatistics Modal analysis Soil fertility Adriatic coast Soil formation The problem of maintaining soil quality and fertility of soil developed from Pleistocene eolian sand deposits arises from improper management and conservation of the highly fragile sandy soil environment. The research was undertaken to determine how various aspects of cultivated soil fertility can be related to specific pedological and geological factors, and which one of these relationships plays an essential role in Lumbarda “polje”, Korcula Island, Croatia. Soil survey was done by examining and sampling one hundred locations to the depth of 100 cm within 40 ha of the winegrowing site. Geostatistical analysis was applied to characterize the spatial variability and produce the soil map of the area. Soil profiles were sampled for laboratory analysis, including physico- chemical characteristics and mineralogy. Modal analysis and petrographic microscopy of soil concretions were conducted as well. Two soil units (SU) were identified, both containing more than 80% sand: SU1 Hypoluvic Arenosols, and SU2 Haplic Arenosols (FAO 2006). In SU1, reddish brown color originated from Fe oxide coatings on sand grains, whereas SU2 is characterized by the rise of pH with depth and the presence of calcite as a cementing material. Cation exchange capacity was significantly higher in SU2. The documented variability of element content and distribution in the soil profiles indicates different weathering stages of the sandy layers. Di- agrams of Cr/V and Co/V ratios indicate different origin of sand deposits. Light mineral fraction is dominant in both SU. Most of the sand grains are intensively weathered and well rounded, indicating long transportation from the source area. The results of mineralogical and geochemical characterization of Lumbarda “polje” grape- vine growing site are applicable and useful to future studies that involve “fingerprinting” regional wines. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Spatial variability of soils is a natural consequence of soil forming processes, but in the examination of agricultural land, considerable ad- ditional variability appears as a result of long-time specific cultivation practices. Sandy soils are particularly sensitive to those variability fac- tors. However, the presence of paleosands on several locations along the Eastern Adriatic coast has not been previously subjected to detailed sedimentological and pedogenic studies. The most recent studies that focused on the interpretation of depositional mechanisms of sand in the archipelago of mid-Adriatic islands showed the presence of eolian deposits intercalated with alluvial deposits (Pavelic et al., 2011). Despite the fact that Pleistocene eolian sand deposits cover rather small areas, they are extremely important for viticulture and the cultural landscape formed by agricultural evolution (Agostini et al., 2006). Coastal eolian dunes occur throughout the world and are character- ized by a great ecological diversity in terms of geomorphological dimen- sions, environmental heterogeneity and species variability (Martinez and Psuty, 2004). However, the problems arising from their improper management and conservation are greatly similar worldwide, including wind erosion, salt exposure, drought, and nutrient deficiency (Gilbert et al., 2008; Hesp and Martinez, 2007). The role of organic carbon as a key factor of soil fertility and vegetation production has been well doc- umented previously (Dawson and Smith, 2007; Feng et al., 2002), and soil organic carbon (SOC) is also considered to be a key index in the evaluation of soil degradation and soil C sequestration. Degradation of sandy soils is primarily caused by a decreasing amount of SOC and is also reflected in the deterioration of major soil functions related to physical stability and water and nutrient storage and fluxes. Novara et al. (2011) studied soil organic carbon dynamics in a Mediterranean semiarid environment and pointed out that land-use conversion, vege- tation type, and management practices, including viticulture, which control the biogeochemical and physical properties of soil could help to sequester SOC. Lumbarda “polje” is an atypical karst depression (“polje” or field) near the city of Lumbarda on the Island of Korcula along the southern Adriatic coast. The term “polje” refers to a unique landform feature, a large closed karstic depression in the Dinaric region along the east- ern Adriatic region and farther inland. Many of these karst fields Catena 113 (2014) 281–291 ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +385 12394014; fax: +385 12394099. E-mail address: mromic@agr.hr (R. M.). 0341-8162/$ – see front matter © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2013.08.009 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Catena journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/catena