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The pit is located beneath predominantly deciduous woodland. John Sollinger, my housemate, assisted in excavating the pit.
Coordinates of soil pit: W 073' 00.785" N 044' 19.905"
See map three images down.
A view into the southeast corner. The scale is in inches. Note how the roots reach the lower end of horizon B and no further
A view normal to the south wall. The Horizon boundaries are approximated. Assessments of depth of Horizon O are crude and very likely imprecise. This is due to the "fluffiness" engendered by fresh leaves. The top of the horizon has an irregular sky-ward surface, because of rotted logs, fallen twigs, plant-covered rocks and leaves in a broad range of decomposition. A diagram below will show the thickness and texture of each of the horizons. Unfortunately, O horizon was matted by work making the pit. I didn't follow your instructions and paid the price. Measurements were thus made 1 - 2 m away from area of activity..
The approximate site of the soil pit is in the center of the blue smudge. True north is straight up.
The story of this soil pit begins with the final retreat of mile-high ice-sheets that covered all of Vermont during the Pleistocene Epoch. What was left were heavily compacted, finely-ground sediment, silts, pebbles, cobbles, boulders and erratics. As plants took hold, they were able to trap minerals, sediments and organic debris and utilize for growth. Chemical and physical weathering produced soil from the bare landscape early in the soil’s history. This was the genesis of O Horizon and the top of B horizon.
As more litter accumulated and decomposed in a temperate climate setting, organic material, clays and ions leached into B horizon, and plant roots entered as well. With addition of organic material with each season and with sufficient rain and enough warmth, decomposition continued and the “rain” of ions, minerals organic material continued to leach into B horizon. The brown color of B horizon indicates an aerated iron containing soil.
In my soil pit, B horizon is the thickest of the three horizons that are fully visible. This indicates to me that the rate of leaching from A horizon into B is faster than the decomposition rate of organic matter in A horizon. Given the rocky landscape surrounding this soil pit, the forest canopy over the pit, the thin A horizon, and the irregular interface between A and B horizons, I conclude that this area of forest floor has never been tilled.
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