Anthrosol

For example, in northwestern Europe anthrosols commonly have plaggic or terric (strongly affected by manure) horizons, and together they cover some 500,000 hectares.

A high phosphate concentration is a common indicator of decaying organic matter, such as bones, tissue, or excrement.

A dark color can also be the result of a high amount of organic matter, or of calcium carbonate, iron, and manganese.

A high pH or carbonate concentration, in anthropogenic terms, is likely the result of the addition of wood ash to the soil.

Anthrosols that can indicate such activity can be described as, for instance, plaggic (from the long-term use of manure to enrich soil), irragric (from the use of flood or surface irrigation), hortic (from deep cultivation, manure use and presence of other anthropogenic organic matter such as kitchen waste), anthraquic (from anthropos – man and aqua – water – meaning produced by man-made soil moisture management including irrigation or terracing).