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Evaluating wetland restoration success is complicated. In this study, soil organic carbon (SOC) pools in a Carolina Bay wetland (CBW) were determined for pre‐ and post‐restoration periods and compared to values in reference wetlands to determine if SOC could be used to evaluate restoration success. The CBW was Juniper Bay in Robeson County, NC, USA, that had been restored for 15 years following its use for agriculture. Previously, we determined both pre‐restoration SOCs and post‐restoration hydrology. Saturation occurrence and anaerobic conditions (15 years following restoration) were confirmed with Indicator of Reduction in Soils (IRIS) tubes. Soil morphological features, litter thickness, and SOC to 75 cm were also determined. There were significant (p < 0.05) differences in numbers of hydric soil field indicators in the organic soils and no differences in the mineral soils (p > 0.10) between pre‐ and post‐restoration periods. Litter thickness post‐restoration increased linearly with saturation duration. SOC decreased following restoration by 49% in mineral soils and 24% in organic soils as compared to pre‐restoration values. SOC concentrations in the restored wetland were not significantly different than those in reference wetlands indicating that the Juniper Bay restoration was successfully sequestering C. Litter thickness may be a good indicator of restoration success. SOC levels may decrease compared to reference wetland values if pre‐restoration soils were in agriculture. Core Ideas: Wetland soils had less organic C after 15 years of restoration than the pre‐restoration, agricultural soils.Organic litter accumulated on the post‐restoration surface and its thickness increased with saturation.Organic C levels in restored soils were similar to those found in reference wetlands of the same type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of hydric soils evolved over time with advances in soil science and wetland resource management. Hydric soils are identified in the field by examining morphological characteristics, including organic matter accumulation and redoximorphic features that form in response to prolonged periods of saturation and anaerobic conditions. The Hydric Soil Technical Standard (HSTS) was developed to provide a quantitative procedure for evaluating the hydric status of a soil based upon direct measurements of saturation, anaerobic conditions, and precipitation normality. In practice, the HSTS is used for (a) identifying hydric soils when a field indicator of hydric soils may not be present (e.g., naturally problematic or disturbed soils); (b) evaluating the current functional hydric status of a soil; (c) developing new field indicators of hydric soils; and (d) proposing changes to existing field indicators of hydric soils. The HSTS procedures have progressed over several decades with new approaches to soil analysis, including novel methods to document anaerobic conditions. The following review describes the development of the hydric soils concept and provides guidance for measuring each HSTS component. Practical approaches for collection and submission of HSTS data to the National Technical Committee for Hydric Soils, the group responsible for approving approaches to hydric soil identification in the United States, are also discussed. Expanding the understanding and application of the HSTS promotes technical accuracy, transparency, and efficient decision making in support of hydric soil and wetland resource management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: Results of this study can be used by health authorities to set limits on the thickness of saprolite material needed below on-site septic system drainfields in order to remove E. coli from home sewage. Results will also be of interest to field personnel evaluating sites for on-site wastewater disposal. Saprolite, weathered bedrock, is being used to dispose of domestic sewage through septic system drainfields, but the thickness of saprolite needed to remove biological contaminants is unknown for most saprolites. This study developed and tested a simple method for estimating the thickness of saprolite needed below septic drainlines to filter E. coli from wastewater using estimates of the volume of pores that are smaller than the length of the coliform (≤10 μm). Particle size distribution (texture) and water retention data were obtained for 12 different saprolites from the Piedmont and Mountain regions of North Carolina (N.C.). Saprolite textures ranged from clay loam to coarse sand. The volume of pores with diameters ≤10 μm were determined by water retention measurements for each saprolite. The data were used in an equation to estimate the saprolite thickness needed to filter E. coli. The estimated saprolite thicknesses ranged from 36 cm in the clay loam to 113 cm for the coarse sand. The average thickness across all samples was 58 cm. Saprolite thickness estimates increased as silt percentage decreased and as sand percentage and in situ saturated hydraulic conductivity increased. Silt percentage may be most useful for estimating appropriate saprolite thicknesses in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water table data collected for hydric soil and wetland identification studies require supporting analysis of rainfall normality. Water table measurements made after periods when precipitation is within a normal range are believed to represent long-term trends, whereas data collected following periods of abnormally high precipitation represent rare events, potentially resulting in erroneous hydric soil determinations. The USDA-NRCS currently uses two different methods to assess normal precipitation ranges; both have been used to assess hydric soils. This study compared methodologies that identify normal precipitation periods by using: (i) the range defined by the 30th and 70th percentiles observed within a 30-yr period [i.e., the Climate Analysis for Wetlands Tables (WETS) method] and (ii) long-term monthly mean precipitation ± one SD (i.e., the U.S. Soil Taxonomy method). Comparisons were made for 30 geographically diverse locations and soil moisture regimes. The results demonstrated that the U.S. Soil Taxonomy method yielded normal precipitation ranges approximately twice as large as those from the WETS method. As a result, the U.S. Soil Taxonomy method precluded the occurrence of drier than normal conditions in many instances and displayed increased sensitivity to infrequent high rainfall events. Three case studies evaluated the implications of method selection on hydric soil identification, demonstrating that the U.S. Soil Taxonomy method identified normal conditions more frequently than the WETS method. As a result, the adoption of the WETS method, which accounts for the non-normal distribution of precipitation data, as the sole method to determine normal precipitation periods for hydric soil assessment is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphorus (p) dissolution occurs commonly in wetland soils restored from agricultural land. Associated with p release are high concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and Fe2+. This field study evaluated the effect of a fluctuating water table on the root dynamics of bald cypress (Taxodium distichum L. Rich.) to determine whether root death created soil reduction microsites, potentially contributing to p dissolution. The study site is a restored Carolina bay wetland with organic soils. Root growth and death were monitored on 16 6-yr-old bald cypress using minirhizotrons. Root dynamics, water table levels, and soil porewater chemistry and redox potential in the root zone were monitored for 2 yr. Soil solution samples were analyzed for Fe2+, pH, DOC, and p. High rates of root growth occurred during dry conditions, whereas root death occurred during sustained periods of saturation, particularly within 20 cm of the surface. Cyclic changes in concentrations of Fe2+, DOC, and dissolved total p (DTP) were related to water table position but not to changes in root numbers. After sustained periods of saturated condi-tions, redox potential decreased to 0 mV, Fe2+ increased to 1.75 mg Fe2+ L-1, and DOC increased to 350 mg L-1, resulting in peak DTP concentrations of 750 µg L-1, compared with 100 µg L-1 during dry periods. This study showed that in these high-C soils (~20% organic C) rooting dynamics had minimal impact on changes in p concentrations and that p dissolution was largely controlled by Fe reduction processes occurring within the C-rich soil matrix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphorus release to ground or surface waters has been observed in wetlands restored from farmland. This study examined whether rhizospheres of bald cypress (Taxodium distichum L.) are a source of increased P dissolution compared with the soil matrix. The study was conducted in root-box rhizotrons filled with mineral and organic soil materials (Aeric Alaquods and Terric Haplosaprists, respectively) from a Carolina bay wetland restored from row crop agriculture. Rhizotrons were planted with bald cypress saplings or left unplanted to simulate rhizosphere and matrix conditions, respectively. ponding was imposed for 128 d. Soil pore water was sampled in three layers (0-22, 22-41, and 41-59 cm) in each rhizotron twice monthly for dissolved total and reactive p, dissolved organic C (DOC), Fe2+, and redox potential (eh). manual root counts monitored growth and death monthly. Root death was most prevalent at 41 to 59 cm, while vigorous root growth was observed near the surface. The rhizosphere treatments exhibited increased Fe2+ dissolution and increased concentrations of DOC relative to matrix conditions; however, no corresponding P increase occurred. near the surface, rhizosphere P concentrations declined below matrix concentrations after 60 d of ponding. our results show that the rhizosphere of bald cypress did not cause higher P concentrations than matrix values for mineral and organic soils with 3.5 and 19.5% C, respectively. in addition, root growth near the surface resulted in more oxidizing conditions and/or plant uptake of P, which decreased p concentrations below matrix values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article illustrates the application of bulk-sample and spatially resolved synchrotron X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) for characterizing chemical species of contaminants in soils and for determining the uniqueness of trace element reactivity in different soil microsites in the U.S. It discusses the opportunities provided by spatially resolved X-ray techniques for following chemical changes within soil microsites that serve as highly localized chemical microreactors of unique composition. It highlights the use of information and principles developed from microscale soil chemistry for predicting macroscale and field-scale behavior of soil contaminants as one challenge in research.

Reduction and oxidation measurements create important data for analysis of wet soils. These measurements are actually recordings of voltage (EH) over time between a reference electrode and a sensor electrode inserted into a soil. The sensor electrodes are usually made of platinum wire (Pt electrode). Hydric soils require a period of reduction, and these measures can provide the length of time that the reduction process is occurring. The voltage results from an exchange of electrons between a redox couple such as ferrous and ferric iron during the process of reduction and oxidation. In soils that have fluctuating wet and dry conditions, wide fluctuations in Eh occur. Micro site differences complicate these measurements in that anaerobes may be active and at 1-cm away they are completely inactive. The ferrous-ferric iron couple usually dominates these measurements but other couple often contributes complicating the measurements and interpretations of the data. Reference electrodes are often fine for laboratory work but are not rugged enough for the field. In this chapter, suggestions for improvement are discussed. Field-measuring equipment and the Pt electrode are also sensitive and subject to problems that often lead to spurious results in the field. These problems are discussed at length. Iron-coated tulles and other methods of establishing redox conditions are relatively recent and are discussed, also. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lateral transport of waterborne contaminants is generally assumed to occur below the water table (WT), but recent laboratory studies have suggested that subsurface lateral solute transport could occur above the WT through the capillary fringe (CF). The objective of this study was to evaluate the horizontal transport of solutes in the CF and shallow groundwater (SGW). Two consecutive field experiments were conducted in a Leon sand (Aeric Alaquod) at a site with a shallow WT. In both experiments, a bromide (Br-) solution was applied to the bottom of an auger hole dug to within 10 cm above the projected CF. Movement of Br- in the subsurface was monitored by collecting CF and SGW samples using nests of tension samplers installed at radial distances of 60, 120, 220, and 320 cm from the application spot. Each nest of samplers contained a tension sampler at 45, 60, 75, 90, and 105 cm depth. Bromide transport was monitored for 58 d in the first experiment while the more detailed second experiment was conducted for 84 d. Peak Br- concentration generally occurred in the upper 60 cm of the soil where the CF was located for most of the experiment. The Br- plume that entered the CF moved horizontally in it until Br- was partially moved into the SGW by the fluctuating WT. In the second experiment, approximately 48% of the Br- detected in the CF at a distance of 320 cm from the application spot was still in the CF after 15 cm of rain through 59 d. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydric soils are identified on-site using visible features called 'field indicators.' It is not known how long it takes for these indicators to form nor whether they occur in created wetlands less than 5-years old. This study evaluated chemical and morphological changes in acreated wetland to monitor the development of hydric soil field indicators over time. A deep marsh, created in 1989, was studied from 1992 through 1994 at the Des Plaines River Wetlands Demonstration Project near Chicago, Illinois, USA. Soil and water samples were collected twice a year from two transects having plots in the following landscape positions: in the marsh, along the marsh edge, in a transition zone to the upland, and in the upland. Detailed profile descriptions were also completed twice per year. In 1994, the soils were classified from the marsh to upland as Typic Endoaquoll, Mollic Endoaquept, AquicHapludalf, and Ochreptic Hapludalf. Soil pH values ranged from 7.3 to 7.8 in the upper 15 cm. Carbonates were closest to the surface in the marsh and edge positions. Organic C levels were similar among soils throughout the study at approximately 20 g C/kg soil. Redox potentials and water-table measurements indicated that soil in the marsh andedge positions met the definition of hydric soils throughout the study, while upland positions did not, and soil in the transition positions met the definition in some years. Hydric soil field indicators formed by Fe reduction developed over time in the marsh and edge plots and in some plots of the transition to the upland. The depleted matrix indicator, which formed by the reduction and removal of Fe from thesoil matrix, gave the most consistent results for identifying hydricsoils. Full development of the indicator in all edge plots was complete 5 years after the marsh was constructed. Indicators formed by organic matter accumulation (organic bodies) also developed in the marshwithin this period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]