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Principal Component Analysis of Prairie Pothole Soils in North Dakota¹

ABSTRACT

Selected soil properties in several semipermanent wetlands were compared using a vegetation-zone model. Principal component analysis was employed for variable analysis. Relative distribution of soil properties does not appear to be strongly related to water levels and would not change if large but infrequent variations in water level occurred. Salinity (electrical conductivity) was the most important soil variable among the wetlands studied, and salinity differences among wetlands are probably due to discharge from higher wetlands and water sources. Differences in organic carbon distribution as determined by principal component analysis were also significant. In general the soil surface is continually enriched with organic matter but the organic matter decreases with depth and presumably with time. Also, the organic matter influences CaCO₃ precipitation and dissolution. Sedimentation processes are important in producing texture differences among these soils; the pond interiors are fine textured and the edges are coarse textured. The edges also become coarser textured near the surface as the ponds fill with sediment.

¹ Contribution from the Dep. of Soil Science, North Dakota State Univ., Fargo, ND 58105 and the Soil Conservation Service, USDA. Published with the approval of the Director of the North Dakota Agric. Exp. Stn. as Journal Paper no. 1336 and Soil Survey Div., Soil Conservation Service, USDA.

² Associate Professor of Soil Science, North Dakota State Univ., and Party Leader Stutsman County Soil Survey, Soil Conservation Service, Jamestown, ND, formerly Graduate Research Assistant, Dep of Soil Science, North Dakota State Univ., respectively.

Received for publication May 31, 1983. Accepted for publication June 13, 1984.

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