Abstract
Continuous records of water table elevations and flow rates from drained forested lands were analysed to determine field effective hydraulic conductivity (K) of a mineral (Deloss s.l.) and an organic (Belhaven muck) soil. K of the top 90 cm of Deloss under mature pine was 60 m/day, which is 20 to 30 times that published for this series. Harvest had a minor effect on K, but site preparation for regeneration, including bedding, reduced the effective K to values typically assumed for this series, 3.6 m/d for the top 45 cm and 1.6 m/d for deeper layers. After regeneration, K values had nearly returned to original values within 8 years after planting. Similar observations on organic soils indicated that field effective K in drained pine plantations is substantially higher than the same soil under agricultural production.
Keywords
drainage,
organic soils,
hydraulic conductivity,
water table,
wetland forest
Citation
Skaggs, R.W.; Chescheir, Amatya, D.M.; Diggs, J.D. 2008. Effects of drainage and forest management practices on hydraulic conductivity of wetland soils. Proceedings of the 13th International Peat Congress. After Wise Use – The Future of Peatlands Volume 1 Oral Presentations. Tullamore, Ireland. 8 – 13 June 2008. 452-456.