Morphological, physical, chemical and mineralogical characteristics studies were carried out in a Yellow Latosol - Grey Podzol toposequence developed from the Barreiras Formation, in the so-called "Tabuleiro Region" in Maceió, Alagoas State, Brazil. The aim of this study was to help understanding the pedological differences among the soils in the toposequence. The observations suggested that the soil formation processes were controled by drainage conditions due to the position of the profiles in the landscape, with very good drainage and kaolinite/gibbsite mineralogy on one side, and in the other, were the Podzol occurs, prevail poor drainage and kaolinite/vermiculite-mica mineralogy. The Yellow Podzolic Latosol, Yellow Podzolic and Gray Podzolic soils occur interposed in the landscape and the soil formation process is drainage dependent. The an fragipan, duripan and the iron concentration are also drainage related.
pedogenesis; toposequence; drainage; tabuleiro; duripan; fragipan