Organic Carbon and Cation Exchange Capacity of Charcoal-Enriched Soils at Catoctin Mountain Park, MD.

The effect of carbon enrichment in soil properties from historic charcoal production was observed in soil samples collected from Catoctin Mountain Park, Maryland. Catoctin Mountain Park contains over 100 charcoal hearths, which are locations where charcoal was produced for a nearby iron furnace that operated from 1776 to 1883. Soil pits were excavated and sampled by horizon in five charcoal hearths and corresponding control locations. For each soil horizon, soil organic carbon was determined by loss on ignition and CEC was measured by summation of cations. The organic carbon results indicate that historically affected hearth soils contain more carbon compared to control soil samples. At a hearth located on the mountain base, a carbon stock of 54.5 kg/m² was calculated and compared to the control with a value of 30.8 kg/m². On the mountain flank, a hearth was found to have a carbon stock of 36.3 kg/m², which the control was 27.0 kg/m². These results suggest that the greatest carbon-enrichment from charcoal was found on the mountain base, which was subject to less erosion in the years following charcoal production. Organic carbon enrichment was also correlated with increased CEC in the charcoal hearths. The results indicate that charcoal hearths do show long-term effects from historic charcoal enrichment and that the degree of alteration varies with landscape position. However, further sampling is needed to confirm the organic carbon patterns observed in this study.