Soils with Spodic Characteristics on the Eastern Shore of Maryland
Soils with Spodic Characteristics on the Eastern Shore of Maryland
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Date
1990
Authors
Condron, Margaret Anne
Advisor
Rabenhorst, Martin C.
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Abstract
A seasonally fluctuating water table may be an important
factor in the formation of spodic horizons in sandy,
quartzose sediments on the Lower Eastern Shore of
Maryland. This study was conducted to examine spodic
horizon formation and expression along two topohydrosequences.
After a reconnaissance study, two
research sites were chosen in the Pocomoke State Forest in
Worcester County, Maryland.
The soils were classified according to Soil Taxonomy as
siliceous, mesic, Typic Quartzipsamments, Aquic
Haplorthods, and Aerie and Typic Haplaquods. The spodic
horizons were thickest (26-204cm) in the wettest
positions. Total organic carbon, pyrophosphateextractable
carbon, and extractable aluminum were greatest
in the spodic horizons, and there was little extractable
iron in the Haplaquods. There was less structural
aluminum and potassium in the surface horizons than in the
lower horizons. This suggests that feldspar weathering in
the surface horizons provides a source of aluminum for the
spodic horizon formation. Quantitative estimates of
pedogenesis showed net gains of extractable aluminum,
total (organic) carbon, and pyrophosphate carbon in the
lower landscape positions. The seasonally fluctuating
water table appears to influence the movement of soluble
organic aluminum complexes through the soil downslope, as
well as within the pedon from the surface to subjacent
horizons.