Soil-Landform Relationships on a Loess-Mantled Upland Landscape in Missouri

摘要

Soil survey users are requesting statistically valid distributions of soil attributes that are important for management and land use. The hypothesis that many soil attributes vary predictably with landscape positions was tested with 257 pedons from point transects in a 40-ha upland Missouri setting. The effect of landscape position on the central tendencies of selected soil properties was examined. Most soil properties were similar between ridge and shoulder positions. Differences were minimal within the backslope. Backslopes differed from ridges and shoulders, with more argillic horizon clay, thinner epipedons, and less organic C, lower pH and base saturation, and less silt on a clay-free basis. Color patterns suggest that backslopes are wetter than ridges and shoulders, with more redoximorphic activity and organic matter accumulation on ped faces. Differences among the ridge–shoulder pedons and backslope pedons may be caused by differing hydrologic patterns as a result of interactions between topography and the underlying glacial till.