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Soil-Water Regimes in Brookston and Crosby Soils¹

ABSTRACT

Hydraulic conductivity and seasonal patterns of water content were measured and related to soil formation in associated very poorly drained Brookston soils (Typic Argiaquolls) and somewhat poorly drained Crosby soils (Aeric Ochraqualfs) in central Indiana. In the Brookston soil the water table was near the surface for only a short time during periods of heavy rainfall in the winter and spring. The water table then stabilized near 125 cm deep, where it was controlled by tile drains. In Crosby, also tile-drained, the water table stayed near the surface longer in the spring, then became deeper than in Brookston. The hydraulic conductivity is relatively high in the Brookston B and C and Crosby B horizons but very low in the Crosby C horizon, compact glacial till. Since downward movement is restricted in the Crosby C horizon, water tends to move laterally through the B horizon into the Brookston soil where the tile are in more permeable horizons than they are in Crosby.

Available water capacities of soils can be estimated by measuring the field water contents in a profile at the beginning of the growing season and during dry periods for several years using a soil under perennial vegetation. In these two soils, however, it appears that water movement from Crosby to Brookston and the profile storage capacity are both important in determining the water-supplying capacity of the soils.

¹ Contribution from the Agron. Dep. Purdue Univ., Agr. Exp. Sta., West Lafayette, Ind. 47907. Journal Paper no. 5309.

² Graduate Assistant and Associate Professor, respectively.

Received for publication November 11, 1973. Accepted for publication March 7, 1974.