Premium
Soil Variability on Surface‐Mined and Undisturbed Land in Southern Illinois
Author(s) -
Indorante S. J.,
Jansen I. J.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
soil science society of america journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1435-0661
pISSN - 0361-5995
DOI - 10.2136/sssaj1981.03615995004500030026x
Subject(s) - soil series , environmental science , land reclamation , soil science , overburden , soil water , soil map , land use , hydrology (agriculture) , soil test , soil horizon , soil functions , soil classification , spatial variability , geology , soil biodiversity , soil fertility , mining engineering , geography , geotechnical engineering , ecology , archaeology , biology , statistics , mathematics
Five different soil units were defined on surface‐mined land to group soils that were constructed by similar mining and reclamation methods and from similar materials. Three soil units were defined on undisturbed landscape using the traditional soil series concepts of soil classification and mapping. The goal in defining and mapping soil units on both surface‐mined land and undisturbed land was to minimize variation of soil properties within soil units. A nested sampling design allowed for testing the lateral variation of selected properties within and among the five units on surface‐mined land and within and among the three units on undisturbed land. The analysis of variance conducted separately for the constructed soil units and the undisturbed units indicate that there are more significant differences among the five constructed soil units than among the three undisturbed soil units. Variability, as measured by the coefficient of variation, within the constructed soil units was similar to that within the soil units on undisturbed land. Pre‐mine overburden characteristics and method of soil construction are useful guides for mapping soils on surface‐mined land.