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Mottling in Soil Profiles Containing a Coarse-textured Horizon¹

ABSTRACT

Mottling often characteristically occurs in fine-textured soil just above an underlying coarse-textured layer. Interpretation of such mottling as representing a normal drainage impedance is misleading as a perched or ground water table may never occur in the profile. In this paper a simple soil water drainage model is discussed that aids interpretation of the pattern of mottling in a soil horizon above a coarse-textured layer. Also the influence of various soil physical parameters on mottling phenomena is analyzed, suggesting that the more coarse-textured the underlay the greater the propensity to mottle. The tendency to mottle is shown to be greatest in the soil immediately above the coarse-textured layer. The model is applied to the naturally-layered Manawatu fine sandy loam, a Dystric Fluventic Eutrochrept.

¹ Contribution from Plant Physiology Div., DSIR, and Soil Science Dept., Massey Univ., Palmerston North, New Zealand.

² Scientist, Plant Physiology Division, DSIR, and Senior Lecturers, Soil Science Dept., Massey University, respectively.

Received for publication February 23, 1978. Accepted for publication May 5, 1978.