From geology, term for a soil that forms in an area of more than 25 inches average rainfall. Pedalfers vary from the rocky soils of the northeast United States to the extremely poor laterites of the rain forests.
Because of the high level of moisture, many soluble minerals are continually carried out of the soil. Pedalfers often need much fertilizer to allow profitable farming; however, because they occur in areas of high rainfall, it is often cheaper to fertilize pedalfer soils than irrigate pedocals. Without fertilizers, these soils often cannot sustain continual farming. Natural vegetation in pedalfer areas is usually forest.
The term pedalfer comes from the Latin, ped, ground + al, aluminum+ fer, iron, referring to the relatively high proportions of insoluble metals in these soils.