Monday, November 13, 2006 - 1:30 PM
121-3

Environmental Controls on the Physical and Chemical Properties of Subaqueous Soil along a Riverine-Estuarine Gradient.

Thomas J. Saunders1, Mary Collins1, G. W. Hurt1, and Thomas K. Frazer2. (1) Univ of Florida, Soil & Water Science Dept, 2169 McCarty Hall A, PO Box 110290, Gainesville, FL 32611, (2) Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, University of Florida, 7922 NW 71st St., Gainesville, FL 32653

Soil properties reflect the equilibrium condition of a variety of soil forming factors at work over a specific area.  Understanding the role of each soil forming factor in controlling specific soil properties provides an enhanced understanding of the pedogenic processes responsible for specific soil properties.  This study was designed to analyze soil formation across the gradient of soil forming factors found from springhead to estuary along a Florida coastal spring-fed river.  The Chassahowitzka River has strong inter-related gradients of water column attributes, temperature variation, flow regime, and benthic organisms which have led to marked differences in subaqueous soil composition.  The relative influence of each soil forming factor and its relationship to the variability of soil physical and chemical properties is analyzed and presented.