Plaggen soil or plaggic
anthrosol is a type of
soil
Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt
Dirt is an unclean matter, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty.
Common types of dirt include:
* Debri ...
created in parts of northwest Europe in the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, as a result of so-called "plaggen" agriculture on marginal
podzol
In soil science, podzols are the typical soils of coniferous or boreal forests and also the typical soils of eucalypt forests and heathlands in southern Australia. In Western Europe, podzols develop on heathland, which is often a construct of ...
soils.
In order to fertilize the
fields
Fields may refer to:
Music
* Fields (band), an indie rock band formed in 2006
* Fields (progressive rock band), a progressive rock band formed in 1971
* ''Fields'' (album), an LP by Swedish-based indie rock band Junip (2010)
* "Fields", a song b ...
, pieces of heath or grass including roots and
humus ("plaggen") were cut and used as bedding for cattle or sheep. In springtime, this bedding, enriched with
slurry was then spread over the fields near the village as
manure
Manure is organic matter that is used as organic fertilizer in agriculture. Most manure consists of animal feces; other sources include compost and green manure. Manures contribute to the Soil fertility, fertility of soil by adding organic ma ...
. The long term practice of this form of agriculture created a rich agricultural soil to a depth of between 40
cm and over 1.50 m, unlike modern arable soils, which tend to be just 30 centimetres deep. The raised fields give rise to a typical landscape with sharp breaks in elevation and are called Plaggenesche in Germany or ''Es'' in Dutch. This form of agriculture stopped around 1900 with the introduction of
fertilizer
A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...
s.
In
Orkney these soils were created already in the 12th to 13th centuries, and on some islands in
Shetland these methods continued to be used until the 1960s.
The Maori of New Zealand's agriculture included plaggen soil forming practices that increased drainage for
kumara crops.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plaggen Soil
Soil science
Types of soil