Relation of Water Table Depth and Soil Morphology in Two Clay-Rich Soils of Nortwestern Ohio

Abstract

Water table levels within the upper 165 cm of the soil and precipitation were measured over a three—yr period for two forested soils representative of clay-rich soils common throughout much of northwestern Ohio. The soils included very poorly drained Hoytville taxadjunct (fine, illitic, mesic Typic Haplaquept) and moderately well drained Glynwood (fine, illitic, mesic Aquic Hapludalf). A water table was observed from February to June in the Hoytville taxadjunct and from March to June in the Glynwood. The soils were also sampled and described in order to relate soil properties to observed water table depths. The Hoytville taxadjunct was dominantly gray throughout the subsoil, and the Glynwood had gray coatings only on ped surfaces. The gray soil matrix of the Hoytville taxadjunct formed in horizons where water tables were observed for as little as 1.5 months, and the gray coatings of the Glynwood formed in horizons where water tables were present for an average of only two weeks each year.