CHARACTERISTICS AND CLASSIFICATION OF NON-CEMENTED SANDY SOILS IN NEW BRUNSWICK

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Abstract
Forty-nine sandy soils developed in till, outwash, alluvium and marine sands were studied to determine the effect of mode of deposition on soil development and to classify the soils according to the Canadian and U.S. classification systems. Forty-three of the soils met the morphological and chemical criteria of Humo-Ferric Podzols but none of these was a Spodosol because the ratio of pyrophosphate-extractable Fe + Al to clay in the B horizon was below 0.2. Mode of deposition had only a minor effect on soil evolution. However, B horizon development was strongest in the till soils, perhaps because of their somewhat finer texture and greater age. A pronounced maximum of clay occurred in the B horizons of the Podzolic soils; commonly, clay in the B exceeded that in the A and C by a factor of 2–5. A higher pyrophosphate Al/Fe ratio was found associated with soils low in total pyrophosphate Al + Fe and vice versa. It was also found that pyrophosphate Al + Fe was positively correlated with total organic C (r = 0.891).