Soil water characteristics in glacial till at two forest sites in Sweden

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Abstract
Soil water characteristics were determined in 6 soil profiles along a Norway spruce forested sandy‐loamy till hillslope in Southern and Northern Sweden, respectively. The soil moisture class was mesic at both sites, i.e. having well drained soil water conditions. Two different Podzols; Leptic and Orthic, were developed at each site respectively. The vertical distribution of soil water retention capacity (SWRC) was similar in the different profiles at each site respectively. The SWRC of the mineral soil was significantly higher in the spodic B horizon compared to the other horizons. In concordance with the vertical distribution of SWRC, the largest amount of organic matter in the mineral soil, measured as ignition loss, was also found in the spodic B horizon. The significantly higher SWRC in the spodic B horizon, i.e. the ¡lluvial horizon, was suggested to depend on the accumulated organic‐sesquioxide material in this horizon. As SWRC reached maximum values in the spodic B horizon at all tensions applied, it was further suggested that soil formation in the studied profiles enhanced the formation of both micro‐ and macropores in the spodic B horizon. The variation of SWRC, at a certain level in the soil, was often larger within a profile than between the profiles at each site respectively.