Catena (soil)

A catena is a sequence of soils down a slope, created by the balance of processes such as precipitation, infiltration and runoff.

A catena in soil science (pedology) is a series of distinct but co-evolving soils arrayed down a slope.[1] Each soil type or "facet" differs somewhat from its neighbours, but all occur in the same climate and on the same underlying parent material. A mature catena is in equilibrium as the processes of deposition and erosion are in balance.

  1. ^ Lesogo Khomo, Carleton R. Bern, Anthony S. Hartshorn, Kevin H. Rogers, Oliver A. Chadwick, 2013. "Chemical transfers along slowly eroding catenas developed on granitic cratons in southern Africa". Geoderma 202–203, pp. 192–202. doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2013.03.023.