Introduction. Paleosols are ancient soils, formed on landscapes of the past. Most paleosols have been buried in the sedimentary record, covered by flood debris, landslides, volcanic ash, or lava (Figure 1).

What are paleosols made of?

Paleosols often contain ancient plant materials such as pollen grains and phytoliths, a biomineralized form of silica produced by many plants such as grasses.

Where are paleosols found?

fossil soils (paleosols) are found at the hiatuses, diastems, discon- formities and unconformities of the non-marine rock record. Those found at major unconformities representing millions of years of non- deposition, are the most problematic.