Forest Windthrows and Their Influence on Soil Morphology

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Abstract
The variability in thickness of the O and A2 horizons was studied on a sandy loam forest soil in the Great Lakes‐St. Lawrence Region of southern Ontario. Horizon thicknesses were recorded in 1.3 cm (0.5 inch) classes for each 10.2 cm (4 inches) of horizontal distance on the faces of each soilpit. Soilpits were located both subjectively on windthrows and randomly in the study area. Thickness frequency distributions for O horizons were normal and for the A2 horizons Poisson‐like. Both were independent of recent fire history and sampling method. It may be inferred that the disturbance by windthrow is infrequent in relation to O horizon formation, but frequent relative to A2 horizon development. Microtopographic position had a slight effect; thicknesses in top positions being somewhat less than for bottom positions. Horizon distortions related to windthrow disturbance were recorded for only 19% of the soil profiles sampled.

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