Spodic Horizon Characteristics 



of 



Some Forest Soils in tlie White Mountains, New Hampshire 



by 

 S. A. L. Pilgrim and R. D. Harter* 



Whereas over the past forty years or so soil scientists' detailed studies of New 

 Hampshire soils have primarily emphasized cropland and other non-forest uses, 

 recently more attention has been directed toward the study of forest soils. This 

 has created certain taxonomic problems in that classification criteria used in 

 cultivated areas is not always adaptable to virgin soils of forested areas. This 

 became particularly apparent during the detailed study of several soils in the 

 Bartlett Experimental Forest of central White Mountains, New Hampshire. 



Hoyle (1973) described soils of the study area as typically Podzol except 

 where gleization has occurred in poorly drained sites. The soil survey of Carrol 

 County (1977) described the poorly drained soils as inclusions in a matrix of 

 Spodosols. The soils of the area conform to Lyford's (1946) concept of a 

 Podzol, and it is presumed that classical processes described by Stobbe and 

 Wright (1959) have operated. 



The purpose of this paper is to present data on chemical and physical 

 properties and morphological characteristics for several forest soils, primarily 

 Orthods, to more fully characterize spodic horizons in the White Mountains of 

 New Hampshire. The classification of these soils using definitions in Soil 

 Taxonomy (Soil Survey Staff, 1975) is also discussed. 



METHODS AND MATERIALS 



Description of the Soils 



The study area is located on the Bartlett Experimental Forest within the 

 White Mountain National Forest and in the northwestern part of Carroll County, 

 New Hampshire (Fig. 1). Elevations range from 290 to 515 meters above sea 

 level at the pedon sites. The climate is cool temperate and humid. Mean annual 

 precipitation is about 130 cm, with approximately half falling as snow. Soils in 

 the area are classified as Aquic or Typic subgroup of Haplorthods and 

 Fragiorthods with a frigid soil temperature regime (Soil Survey of Carrol 

 County, New Hampshire 1977). The vegetation is dominated by northern 

 hardwood forests. 



A selected pedon is described in detail for both Haplorthods and Fragior- 

 thods. Some important properties of other sampled pedons are included in 

 Tables 1 and 3. Descriptions for other pedons are in the appendix. 



*State Soil Scientist, USDA, Soil Conservation Service, Durham, New Hampshire, and 

 Associate Professor, Institute of Natural and Environmental Resources, University of New 

 Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, respectively. 



