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Influence of Forest Cover on the State of the Ground Water Table¹

ABSTRACT

The state of ground water level was determined in forested and cutover soils of central and northern Wisconsin by observations of open wells during the frost-free periods. In nonpodzolic, coarse, sandy soils, ground water possesses considerable mobility, and forest cover effected only a slight lowering of the water level, not exceeding 9 inches. The influence of forest cover was most pronounced in the middle of the growing season; from October to May the water table occupied nearly a horizontal position. In strongly podzolized, morainic soils, however, clear cutting of aspen stands produced an average rise of 14 inches, and converted a reasonably well-drained soil into a semiswamp. In the rainy spring and summer of 1952, this alteration of the ground water table was accompanied by increased run-off, erosion, and damages to roads.

¹ This research was conducted with the support of the Wisconsin Conservation Department and the Nekoosa-Edwards Pulp and Paper Company of Wisconsin. Publication was approved by the Director of the Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station. Presented before Division V-A, Soil Science Society of America, Cincinnati, Ohio, November 20, 1952.

² The writers express their gratitude to Messrs. F. G. Kilp and E. C. Henricksen of the Nekoosa-Edwards Company, H. V. Tennant of the Wisconsin Water Regulatory Board, and Miss M. J. Haller of the University of Wisconsin for their help in different phases of this study.

Received for publication December 6, 1952.