Home: Rocky Mountains: Subalpine

The Subalpine Soils

Soils vary widely reflecting the great diversity in parent materials and ecological conditions. Brunisolics and Luvisolics are most common and occur under a wide variety of conditions. Regosolics commonly occur on colluvial slopes and on active fluvial landforms. Podzolics are largely confined to upper elevation, moist sites under spruce-fir forests. Cryosolics occur in Upper Subalpine sites in the Front Ranges from central Banff National Park to at least as far north as Willmore Wilderness Park. Solifluction is a common process on these sites. Gleysolics and Organics occur on wet sites on a variety of materials.

Information provided by and printed with the permission of Alberta Community Development, Provincial Parks and Protected Areas.

[Geology and Landforms][Climate][Soils]
[Vegetation][Wildlife]