Base Exchange Differences in Old‐Growth Forest and Adjacent Cultivated Soils

According to most recent estimates there are in the States of Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Ohio 9,300,395 acres of abandoned land. (>Altogether there is a vast area of marginal land in the Central States where replanting to forest species may be necessary—a total for the above named states and Iowa of 17,000,000 acres. (2) This great area, much of it exhausted by cultivation and erosion losses, presents many problems from the standpoint of reforestation. The accumulation of organic matter is gone from the surface horizon, in fact on much of the land the A horizon itself has been extensively eroded away. The porosity of the surface horizon, developed under forest cover, has been destroyed. The silty upper horizon, gone or rendered much heavier by admixture with clay from below, cracks and bakes in hot weather and conditions are not favorable for germination and survival of hardwood species. So profound has been the change in the soil following deforestation that difficulty has been experienced in establishing growth of the hardwood species which originally grew oh the land.