Lowland Tropical Podsols in Uganda

Abstract

RICHARDS has stated¹ that there are indications, though no definite evidence, that lowland tropical podsols are found in Africa. Such soils appear to exist in one small area of Uganda, near Lake Nabugabo, which is adjacent to the north western corner of Lake Victoria (lat. 0° 20′ S., long. 30° 50′ E.). These soils, which are just above the level of Lake Victoria (altitude 1,135 m.), are derived from recent lake deposits of sand. The deposits are poor in bases, like the sands of tropical Asia and tropical America from which podsols have been formed: the poverty in bases is reflected in the composition of the water in Lake Nabugabo, where the alkaline reserve varies between 0.00027 and 0.00029 normal, as compared with the average figure 0.0012 for Lake Victoria².