Les sols du massif forestier des Landes de Gascogne : formation, histoire, propriétés et variabilité spatiale

The ‘Landes’ forest gives an impression of great homogeneity as it is mainly composed of even-aged, single species pine stands. This apparent uniformity is also visible from the geological point of view as the parent material is a flat, sandy and fairly homogeneous eolian deposit. In actual fact, upon closer scrutiny of the distribution of soils on various scales, their organisation turns out to be more complex under the combined effects of the water table, soil microrelief and the plant associations that are specific to them. This soil variability holds true across a range of scales and should be taken into account when studying or managing these soils.