Depth to water table in soils influences soil properties such as color and horizon thickness and, in some cases, determines soil classification under Soil Taxonomy. The objective of this study was to determine the depth to water table in three Indiana soil series and to evaluate the effect of soil series and landscape on water table levels. The three soils studied were moderately well drained Glynwood, somewhat poorly drained Blount, and poorly drained Pewamo soil series. The effect of soil horizon on water table levels was also examined.Data were collected from 3/21/94 to 6/6/94 at the Hults Environmental Learning Center in Albany, Indiana. The effect of soil type on water table levels was observed as measurable differences in drainage characteristics in the three soil series. Soil horizon had limited effect on water table fluctuations. Water percolated easily through all A horizons. Water temorarily perched upon the B horizon in the Glynwood soils. Landscape position appeared to play a limited role in water table fluctuations. / Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management

The objective of this study was to determine the correlation between potentiometric surface and the depth to selected soil morphological indicators of wetness for the Glynwood (Aquic Hapludalf), Blount (Aeric Epiaqulaf), and Pewamo (Typic Argiaguoll) soils in Delaware County, Indiana. Four years of potentiometric surface measurements were averaged and compared to detailed soil descriptions performed by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Significant correlations exist between the morphological indicators and the potentiometric surface for the Glynwood (moderately well drained) 2-m depth piezometers and 2-m depth slotted pipes, the Blount (somewhat poorly drained) top of the C horizon and 2-m depth piezometers, and the Pewamo (poorly drained) top of the B horizon piezometers. The relationships among the horizons in which potentiometric surface correlated to indicator depth may be a function of the increased persistence and shallowness of the potentiometric surface in mid-April. / Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management

Groundwater affects the development of soil in many ways. Due to the natural relationship between soil and groundwater this study was aimed at determining whether soils affect the water table depth, episaturation occurs, and hydric soils exist at the study site. The three soils studied include Pewamo (poorly drained), Blount (somewhat poorly drained) and Glynwood (moderately well drained).Water table data were collected in 1994 and 1995 at the Hults Environmental Learning Center in Albany, Indiana. Soil, by itself, was not found to be significant in affecting water table depth whereas position (horizon), soil by position and Julian date were all found to be highly significant. Soils were affected by existing drainage tile found in Pewamo that acted to lower the water table. Blount and Glynwood were found to have a period of episaturation whereas Pewamo was found to be endosaturated. The soils were not found to be hydric based on the depth to the water table only. / Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management

The upland soils of Randolph County, Indiana were studied for the following purposes: to provide an additional characterization of these soils, to identify a set of soil parameters that could delineate the extent of Late Wisconsinan glaciation in that county and to determine if there were any geographic trends in silt cap thickness. The study was prompted from observations by the recent Randolph County Soil Survey team that high clay content soils commonly associated with the county's Late Wisconsinan till (Lagro Formation) were found south of its previously mapped boundary.The only soil parameters that were effective in mapping the extent of Late Wisconsinan glaciation were: particle size analyses and some combinations of particle size analysis data with other soil parameters. The data support the previously mapped boundary of the Late Wisconsinan sediments in Randolph County, Indiana.Silt cap thickness was identified to be greatest in three areas of the county. However, the source(s) of these silts could not be determined. / Department of Geology

There is a need to obtain and make available preliminary subsurface investigation data applicable for light commercial and residential structures. Foremost among problems that this would alleviate are flooding, foundation failures due to adverse soil conditions, and improper location of absorption field disposal systems. This study investigates the feasibility of obtaining such preliminary soils data from available reports and maps and rates the suitability of soils in Fayette and Union counties, Indiana, for residential housing on the basis of published soil survey reports and maps and field laboratory study. The greater portion of' Fayette and Union counties is covered with glacial deposits, thinly capped with loess, mostly modified by weathering. Bedrock of the Ordovician system underlies soil mantle throughout the two counties, except in a small area west of Fayette County. Most of the soils fall into the great soil group “Gray Brown Podzolio soils". With a few exceptions, all the soils are fine-grained and contain a high percentage of silt. None of the soils are of a high-swelling type. The soils are grouped by terrain reconnaissance procedures and topography, and these groups or units are discussed in detail with reference to the problems of residential housing. Thie study reveals, neglecting frost action, that nearly 70 percent of Faye.tte and Union counties is suitable for residential housing. The ratings given may best be used primarily in planning more detailed investigations of soil nature and characteristics at the proposed housing project area. / Master of Science

This thesis utilizes a combination of landform and soil data and a GIS model to analyze previous subsurface reconnaissance data within the Tipton Till Plain region of Indiana. Survey areas are analyzed according to their location within drainages as well as on their individual surface and subsurface soil characteristics. Additionally, measurements of the valley width at the investigation area and upstream are collected and considered. Soils are also analyzed as a ratio of their individual impermeability in relation to the impermeability of upstream soils. Soil taxonomy and drainage characteristics are analyzed along with the effects stream order and proximity to water have on the potential for an area to contain buried deposits. The conclusion drawn is that comparisons of the permeability of individual drainage basins in relation to the larger drainage basin is not a reliable method of predicting the potential for site burial. The relationship between the valley width at the point of investigation in relation to valley width upstream was analyzed with a weak correlation between valley width stability and the potential for buried deposits. Soil drainage and taxonomic classification analysis appear to show where buried deposits are not likely to be encountered. The analyses of stream order and proximity to water did not reveal any significant differences in the potential for encountering buried deposits. It is recommended that the current guidelines for recommending subsurface investigation should be followed more strictly. / Department of Anthropology

This study is an effort to provide new information on the effects of isolated tree canopies on understory vegetation composition and soil characteristics of northern Indiana black oak savannas. Temperate savannas in the United States have been greatly altered by human activities. Management of these areas is an important consideration for Midwest natural resource agencies. It is hypothesized that isolated trees within a savanna may alter the soil and plants around them, much in the same way that gaps in a forest canopy alter the plant composition and soil characteristics on the forest floor. In this study, isolated trees were selected in three northern Indiana black oak (Quercus velutina) savannas. Plots were located under the tree canopies and in adjacent open areas, in four directions from the tree stem. Populations of herbaceous plants were inventoried and the soil characteristics analyzed for both inside-canopy and outside-canopy plots. The environmental variables measured accounted for only about 20 percent of the variation in plant community between plots according to a Canonical Correspondence Analysis. Most of the variation in plant composition between plots was explained by pH, the amount of rain throughfall, and the thickness of the A horizon. It is clear that these black oak trees do alter the soil and plant composition around them. This information has implications for the long-term management of northern Indiana savannas. / Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management

This study has created a GIS model and comprehensive analysis of environmentally sensitive areas in Delaware County, Indiana. Values were assigned to environmentally sensitive areas for four categories, including woodlands, wetlands, floodplains, and threatened and endangered species. There was an inverse relationship between the size of an area and the environmental sensitivity of the area. These areas occupy twenty-three percent of the total county area. The distribution of these areas is almost equal throughout the county; however, a large portion is located along the banks of the White River and other water bodies. Forty two soil types were identified within environmentally sensitive areas. Poorly drained soils are slightly more represented in the environmentally sensitive areas, and somewhat poorly drained soils are under-represented compared with soils in other drainage classes. / Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management

Numerous urban soils surrounding industrial and metallurgical facilities in the U.S. are contaminated with metals including lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), chromium (Cr), and nickel (Ni). Simplified geochemical mapping requires soil sampling and analysis for the presence of heavy metals from a grid pattern within a geographic area. In this study, a contour map of metal concentrations at two depths was subsequently superimposed over a standard political map to indicate areas of elevated metal concentrations in the soil. Natural levels of Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn, Cr, and Ni in Delaware County soils were determined to be 114.2 mg/kg, 0.14 mg/kg, 29.3 mg/kg, 88.4 mg/kg, 9.0 mg/kg, and 39.8 mg/kg, respectively. The average concentrations of metals found throughout Muncie, 203.9 mg/kg Pb, 39.2 mg/kg Cu, 275.4 mg/kg Zn, 9.7 mg/kg Cr, and 25.0 mg/kg Ni, were compared with natural levels to determine the extent of heavy metal pollution from atmospheric deposition. From the geographic mapping of metal concentrations, the effect of past industrial processes on possible contamination of soils by metals in Muncie, Indiana, was determined. Metals were also be fractionated in order to assess the percentage which is potentially bioavailable. / Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management