The Genesis and Morphology of New England Podzol

New England is situated, in a region where the true podzol soils of the North, having the gray layer with the brown orterder belonging to the Canadian Family, merge with the brown forest soils of the East-Central States. The contact zone between the podzol and brown soils is not very well defined. The true podzol soils are confined to the region above elevations ranging from 1200 to 1500 feet in southern New England along the Massachusetts, Connecticut boundary and 750 to 1000 feet along the Vermont, Canadian boundary. The occurrence and intensity of podzolization depending upon topography, drainage, parent material, texture, structure and forest cover. Over the remainder of New England with exceptions noted below, the gray layer is weakly developed or entirely missing, but the brown orterder is usually present. Much of the soils of southern New England may be properly classed with the soils of Zone 2 according to Dr. Marbut's, "Classification of the Soils of the United States." There are exceptions to this rule; well developed podzols are found on the sandy soils of Cape Cod and Nantucket under shrub flora and weakly developed podzols are found on the clays near Lake Champlain under sod. This places the podzol region of New England, that is in the western part of New England, mainly upon the Berkshire Plateau of Massachusetts and Green Mountains of Vermont. The climatic condition of the podzol region of New England is humid, the rainfall ranging from 40 to 50 inches. For long periods of the winter the ground is frozen or covered with snow and during Spring and Fall fogs are of common occurrence. The Summers are short and mild with rainfall slightly heavier than during the other seasons. All of these factors tend to the accumulation of organic matter on the forest floor, one of the factors necessary to the formation of the podzol horizon. The action of acids and downward movement of material is confined to a comparatively short period of the year. Most of the soils of New England are of glacial origin and weathering has taken place to relatively shallow depth, on the average 2 % to 3 feet below the surface, with some streaks going deeper. They are considerably younger than the normal soils south of the glacial belt. The podzols are more pronounced upon the well drained smoothly sloping upland, but occur on the steeper slopes where the soil has not been disturbed by erosion or by slides. The gray layer is usually 1 to 11⁄2. inches thick, but varies widely even under apparently similar conditions. One difficulty in mapping is the recurring absence of the gray layer under forested conditions. The gray layer is easily removed by erosion once the surface duff covering is destroyed. Where fires have burned off this covering; where forests have been grazed; in sugar maple groves, where abundant sunlight penetrates; and of course under cultivation; the gray layer is destroyed. The amount and character of the forest duff depends much upon the type and age of the forest. And while the conifers usually form the best conditions for development, the podzols are found in mixed forest and in pure stands of hardwood, provided the other conditions are favorable. They are aided by such plants as the rhododendron and Amelia plum (a low shrub common to Cape Cod). Where these plants are dominant podzol developments are often found at much lower elevations.