%0 Journal Article
%A Alba Alonso, Saturnino De
%A Ibáñez Martí, Juan José
%A Lobo Aleu, Agustín
%A Zucarello, V.
%T Pedodiversity and global soil patterns at coarsescales (with Discussion)
%D 1998
%@ 0016-7061
%U https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/59073
%X Several algorithms for analyzing the diversity of the world pedosphere are reviewed andemployed. Special emphasis has been laid on indices based on the Theory of Information. Westudy the diversity and distribution of major soil groups by continents and climatic zones on thebasis of data compiled by the FAO at the scale I : 5,000,OOO. Major soil group-distribution modelrelationships on a world level seem to follow more equitable patterns than those established forbiocenoses and soil patterns at fine scales. At a continental level, the pedosphere’s diversity ischaracterized by similarities rather than differences. Differences in diversity by climatic zones aremore marked. Evenness (Pielou’s index) and diversity (Shannon’s index) tend to be greater in theclimatic zones of intermediate latitudes than in circumequatorial and circumboreal latitudes. Theclimatic zones closest to the Poles could be the planet’s most uniform soil patterns at small scales.Mountain areas, in general, achieve the highest pedorichness and lowest values of diversity.Global soil pattern distribution was also analyzed using multivariate techniques. At a continentallevel, it is possible for the structure of the global pedosphere to be determined by the continent’sgeological, tectonic and climatic histories. Soil patterns of different climatic zones are linked in avery well-defined latitudinal gradient.
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