Histic and Folistic Epipedons - Soil Geography of the USA: A Diagnostic-Horizon Approach - page 62

Fig. 8.1 A landform on Blackhawk Island, Wisconsin ( left ), and its associated unsaturated
organic soil with a folistic epipedon (Photos by A.E. Hartemink)
Fig. 8.2 A Typic Sapristels showing sapric materials down to the groundwater table (Photo by
J. Bockheim)
thicknesses in excess of 31 and 23 cm, SOC values of 44.5 and 30.9 %, total
n -values of 1.6 and 1.8 %, C/N ratios of 29 and 17, mean pH values of 4.1 and 5.4,
CEC values of 102 and 96 cmol(+)/kg soil, and mean bulk densities of 0.24 and
0.30 g/cm 3 , respectively. In addition, the histic epipedons have 57 % by volume for
unrubbed fiber content and 40 % by volume for rubbed fiber content. As the organic
materials decompose and pass from fibric to hemic and to sapric, the bulk density
increases, and the SOC, rubbed fiber, and unrubbed fiber contents decrease.