Soils
The soils present within the territory of Belovezhskaya Pushcha are well varied and do have a complicated history of origin. 270 different soils are distinguished, which have all been united in one of eight categories of soil according to the regional classification: brown, forest, sod-podzolic, straw-yellow sod-podzolic, sod, low-level peat bog, high peat bog, and alluvial soil. Under Pine forests sod- podzolic sandy soils dominate, while loam soils with sands usually offer place of growth for mixed Pine-Spruce and pure Spruce forests as the final stage in succession of the vegetation. Mixed forests of Pine, Spruce and Oak have developed especially on podzolic brown forest soils with sandy loam, loam soil and sand layers. The original moraine bedding is found in these brown forest soils at a depth of 0.5 to 1.5 meter. On the edge of a watershed the ground water is present at a depth of 7 to 12 meters and on slopes of the watershed less deep, at 7 to 4 meters under the surface. In depressions the water comes as close as 3 to 2 meter and in areas adjoining mires it comes as close as 1.5 to 0.9 meter. Hydromorphic soils are mainly represented by peat gley, peat gley and shallow low-lying peat soils and less frequently by intermediate soils on which Black alder, White birch and Grass-Sedge associations develop well. High bogs occur in closed or feebly running-water holes and are typically present on remarkably rugged relief. The thickness of high peat bogs is usually 2.0 to 3.5 meter with a maximum of 5 meter.
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