A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF A SULPHUR RESPONSIVE AND A NON-RESPONSIVE GREY WOODED SOIL

Abstract

A chemical and biological comparison was made of the profiles of a sulphur-responsive (Loon River loam) and a non-responsive (Garrick loam) Grey Wooded soil. Both soils were found to contain relatively large quantities of barium, but the Loon River soil had larger quantities of readily soluble barium than the Garrick soil. Although both soils were found to toe capable of precipitating sulphate in an acid medium, the Loon River precipitated more sulphate than the Garrick. This precipitation was found to occur both within the soil and in an acid extract of the soil. Barite was found in the 6- to 8-inch and 22- to 26-inch horizons of the Loon River soil, but not in any horizon of the Garrick soil. It was found that with either incubation or seedling extraction the Loon River soil did not release nearly as great a quantity of soluble sulphate as the Garrick soil, while on incubation it did release a quantity of nitrate equivalent to that released by the Garrick soil. The Loon River soil was found to contain markedly lower quantities of both total and acid soluble sulphate in the C horizon. It also contained a lower quantity of organic matter and exchangeable bases in the surface soil.