Redoximorphic features as indicators of soil water regime

Soil water regime, as one of the key components soil fertility, refers to quantity, retention, and movement water. Rather than through expensive and/or time-consuming measurements, it can be assessed from field-observable morphological properties in profile. Excessively wetted soils have a specific morphology, are therefore often referred hydromorphic. Their morphology is caused by various redoximorphic features (RMFs), resulting reduction, translocation, oxidation iron manganese oxides. Hydromorphic largely comprise Gleysols Stagnosols (along with Gleyic Fluvisols) that excessively groundwater, precipitation flooded described/analyzed different terms/criteria line their global distribution. This complicates comparison classification such thus use or reclamation. review paper describes compares common RMFs explains formation. It then proposes revised Croatian terms for these features, which used international systems WRB Taxonomy. Furthermore, criteria/rules diagnosing when classifying hydromorphic critically reviewed. Finally, shown methodologically sound description provide quick insight into crucial regime parameters, location duration saturation, origin excess water, recentness excessive wetting, etc. However, depending on research objectives actual conditions, field cannot always fully replace continuous monitoring laboratory micromorphological analyses.