ABSTRACT:
Eight coal surface mine spoils were studied to determine how soils developed over time. The coal mines, located in western, eastern, and southern Illinois, ranged in age from 5 to 64 years old. One pit was excavated by hand at each site, soil morphology was described in detail, and each horizon was sampled for laboratory analysis. The most apparent change in all of the spoil sites was development of an A horizon that was darkened by organic matter. All of the A horizons had developed genetic soil structure. Seven of the eight sites had weak or incipient structure below the darkened A horizon. There were no depth trends in clay content or exchangeable cations that could be attributed to translocation after mining.
Footnotes
David Thomas is a soil scientist with the Soil Conservation Service, Bolivar, Tennessee 38008, and Ivan Jansen is a professor of pedology, Department of Agronomy, University of Illinois, Urbana, 61801.
- Copyright 1985 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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