Soil test results showing acidic soil and massive aluminum levels

[Sweets777]

I just received soil test results back from my area's university soil testing lab (pic attached) showing very low ph very high aluminum levels, which if I understand correctly are related - acidic soil leads to a higher availability of aluminum?

I'm hoping to correct the aluminum to levels that are tolerable to most plants while also bringing the ph up substantially.

Any thoughts/comments are welcome, but my main question is, what environmental factors are at play that have led to this acidic soil/high aluminum, and if I do venture down the road of correcting this by applying amendments, would it just revert back to the current state unless I constantly amend the soil? Really curious about the environmental mechanism here.

Note that the plot I've tested has been completely overgrown with weeds for years, at least 7 years, before I moved in. About 6 months ago I leveled everything above ground with a bobcat, then heavily tilled, surely leaving behing dead roots to decompose - any relationship?

 

[DirtMechanic]

It sounds like you have a clay soil in a humid environment. The acids dissolve metals of course, and as aluminum toxicity goes good ol' Alabama clay is a good example of how bare dirt won'2t grow and you cannot figure out why. The rainwater simply leaches the liming agents away, and so you can add them back. Not too much at once of course. If you do have clay, you may find it takes up to 1.8 times more lime than a lighter, less dense soil. Another interesting aspect of the pH to everything relation is available P. At certain lower ranges like 4.5 pH plants like blueberries take advantage of extra available P. There is another big window of availability little below neutral. You get to control a lot with lime and other neutralizing amendments. Just don't forget the sugar. You can try to till all you want, but a feeding program may be the easiest way to develop soil organic matter.

I am not real good at reading charts, but the electrical CEC seems notable. I believe that has to do with salts? Was it fertilized prior? Just clay or is it sandy soil?