Hamish Reid (Forester Skye) at soil profile
The photograph is courtesy of the family of George Dey. George took many forestry photographs in his forestry career and many are now shown on this web site. Check under ‘Groups’ and George Dey Collection.
Hamish Reid is pointing out an iron pan layer which has formed by the gathering of minerals such as iron which have leached down from above by millennia of rainfall soaking through the ground. The mineral have formed a hard impenetrable layer at the point of Hamish’s finger which sometimes formed a barrier through which tree roots could not penetrate. The image in the attached PDF shows a closer view at another point.
This iron pan here seems a little unusual as they are normally found below a grey coloured leached area but perhaps someone can explain the process in this case?