Short Term Spodosol Soil Development As Revealed By Scanning Electron Microscopy.

Soil development can be difficult to assess because processes occur slowly through time, and variability can mask changes. We placed C horizon material (mostly sand-sized) of a spruce-fir Spodosol in Maine into upper solum positions of adjacent pedons to assess pedogenic changes over decadal time frames. The sand was contained in nylon mesh bags positioned either below the Oa horizon or within the Bhs horizon and left undisturbed for 17 years. Upon retrieval, the sand was sieved to separate the fine sand fraction which was fixed to sample stubs for scanning electron microscope analysis. Energy dispersive X-Ray analysis was employed to ascertain the surficial chemistry of the examined grains. Differences in surficial grain chemistry and morphology over the course of the experiment were notable and will be discussed in the presentation.