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Soils on Historic Charcoal Hearths: Terminology and Chemical Properties
Author(s) -
Hirsch Florian,
Raab Thomas,
Ouimet William,
Dethier David,
Schneider Anna,
Raab Alexandra
Publication year - 2017
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/sssaj2017.02.0067
Subject(s) - hearth , charcoal , soil water , usda soil taxonomy , environmental science , earth science , geology , archaeology , soil science , soil classification , chemistry , geography , organic chemistry
Core Ideas Charcoal hearth remains are a widespread legacy of historic iron production. Soils on charcoal hearth remains are a carbon sink. Soils on charcoal hearths are classified as Anthropic Udorthents. Historic charcoal hearth remains provide a unique archive of the long‐term interaction between biochar, soil development, and plant growth. Charcoal as raw material was crucial for production of iron in iron works, and hence numerous charcoal hearths can be found in the forests near historic iron works in Europe and in the eastern United States. Charcoal hearths are round to elliptical forms often around 10 m in diameter and consist of several‐decimeter‐thick layers that contain charcoal fragments, ash, and burnt soil. We studied the soil chemistry of 24 charcoal hearths and compared them with the surrounding “natural” soils in the northern Appalachians of northwestern Connecticut. The thickness of the topsoils on the charcoal hearths and their carbon content are remarkably higher than in the surrounding topsoils. The presence of residual products from charcoal production classifies the soils as Anthropic Udorthents (US Soil Taxonomy) or Spolic Technosols (Humic) according to the World Reference Base for Soil Resources. The widespread occurrence of charcoal hearth remains, and their high spatial density in different ecosystems underlines their importance for further pedological research.