HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Evans, C. V. Articles by Franzmeier, D. P. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Evans, C. V. Articles by Franzmeier, D. P. Agricola Articles by Evans, C. V. Articles by Franzmeier, D. P.

Saturation, Aeration, and Color Patterns in a Toposequence of Soils in North-central Indiana¹

ABSTRACT

The purposes of this study were to determine how geomorphology and stratigraphy influence soil water and O₂ regimes, how water and O₂ regimes are reflected in soil color patterns, and how soil color patterns can be used to predict soil behavior and suitability for various uses. We measured water table depths, soil-water O₂ levels, and saturated hydraulic conductivity (K_sat), and described soil color patterns in soils formed in silty loess and loam glacial till in two forested toposequences. In both sequences, Aqualfs and Aquolls are on the swells and swales, respectively, of the till plain summit, and Udalfs occupy hillslope shoulder and backslope positions along drainageways cutting back into the till plain. Compact glacial till C horizons had very low K_sat values, which forced subsurface water to flow laterally, through more permeable B horizons, to lower landscape positions. In this manner, stratigraphy and shape of the land surface controlled water movement in the landscape. Udalfs had deeper water tables, shorter saturation periods, higher soil-water O₂ levels, and higher chroma colors than Aqualfs and Aquolls. Udalfs, however, were periodically saturated above a depth of 1 m. Soils with dominant chroma of 2 or less in B horizons had water-oxygen regimes of saturation and reduction consistent with the aquic moisture regime. Soils with no chromas 2 but with some three or four chroma colors had water-oxygen regimes of saturation and oxidation. Such chromas should be recognized as indicators of soils that are occasionally saturated but not reduced. These saturated-oxidized soils are not properly recognized in soil interpretation records and published soil surveys. They can be farmed without artificial drainage but they have definite limitations for many nonagricultural uses such as on-site waste disposal.

¹ Contribution from the Agronomy Dep., Purdue Univ. Agric. Exp. Stn., West Lafayette, IN 47907. Journal Paper no. 10 391.

² Former Graduate Assistant, now Graduate Assistant, Univ. of Wyoming, and Professor, respectively.

Received for publication July 22, 1985.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. P. Morgan and M. H. Stolt Soil Morphology-Water Table Cumulative Duration Relationships in Southern New England Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., March 29, 2006; 70(3): 816 - 824. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. J. Vepraskas, X. He, D. L. Lindbo, and R. W. Skaggs Calibrating Hydric Soil Field Indicators to Long-Term Wetland Hydrology Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., July 1, 2004; 68(4): 1461 - 1469. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. D. Karathanasis, Y. L. Thompson, and C. D. Barton Long-Term Evaluations of Seasonally Saturated "Wetlands" in Western Kentucky Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., March 1, 2003; 67(2): 662 - 673. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. J. Jenkinson, D. P. Franzmeier, and W. C. Lynn Soil Hydrology on an End Moraine and a Dissected Till Plain in West-Central Indiana Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., July 1, 2002; 66(4): 1367 - 1376. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. J. Reuter and J. C. Bell Soils and Hydrology of a Wet-Sandy Catena in East-Central Minnesota Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., September 1, 2001; 65(5): 1559 - 1569. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				W.A. Hayes Jr. and M.J. Vepraskas Morphological Changes in Soils Produced When Hydrology Is Altered by Ditching Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., September 1, 2000; 64(5): 1893 - 1904. [Abstract] [Full Text]