Abstract
Forms of Mn and Fe were studied in different physiologically located soils in an arid region of India (Rajasthan). The soil content of various forms of Mn and Fe soluble in HCl and DTPA were higher in the soils of the alluvial plain of mid-west India followed by the Gaggar Plain, a plain of interior drainage and a sandy arid plain. In soil profiles of the Gaggar Plain and the alluvial plain of the mid-west, there was a slight increase in total, HCl0soluble and reducible forms of Mn with depth, whereas in other soil profiles all the forms of Mn and Fe showed either uniform of irregular patterns of distribution. All the soil parameters together accounted for ? 74-97% and 47-98% of the variation in different forms of Mn and Fe, respectively. Clay, silt and organic C appeared to be the most effective soil parameters influencing that distribution of different forms of Mn and Fe.
