A serpentine soil is derived from ultramafic rocks, in particular serpentinite, a rock formed by the hydration and metamorphic transformation of ultramafic rock from the Earth's mantle.
The soils derived from ultramafic bedrock give rise to unusual and sparse associations of edaphic (and often endemic) plants that are tolerant of extreme soil conditions, including:
- low calcium-to-magnesium ratio
- lack of essential nutrients such as nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus
The atmosphere is the source of nitrogen, mainly by microbial fixation, in practically all soils. Soils derived from any parent material, including serpentinite, differ greatly in the amounts of plant available nitrogen in them. Nitrogen spans practically the same range of concentrations in serpentine soils as in most other kinds of soils. The low Ca:Mg ratios is the main plant limiting factor in serpentine soils
- high concentrations of the heavy metals (more common in ultramafic rocks).
These plants are commonly called serpentine endemics, if they grow only on these soils. Serpentinite is composed of the mineral serpentine, but the two terms are often both used to mean the rock, not its mineral composition.
Read more about Serpentine Soil: As Ecologic Indicator, Botany, Parent Rock, Distribution, Serpentine Endemism and Bioremediation, Serpentine Barrens, See Also
Famous quotes containing the words serpentine and/or soil:
“I lay awake awhile, watching the ascent of the sparks through the firs, and sometimes their descent in half-extinguished cinders on my blanket. They were as interesting as fireworks, going up in endless, successive crowds, each after an explosion, in an eager, serpentine course, some to five or six rods above the tree-tops before they went out.”
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