A recent national opinion poll indicated that over 50 percent of those surveyed felt soil erosion was a major problem in this country. Indiana is certainly not immune from soil loss problems. Most sloping Indiana soils have between 10 to 40 inches of loose soil material over tight material. With time, several changes are likely to occur through soil formation. The tight material is formed into natural aggregates or peds , usually measuring from less than one inch to a few inches across.
Water runs through cracks between the peds.
Roots can grow along these cracks but do not easily penetrate into the peds. Subsoil layers in both loose and tight materials become more acid and produce enough aluminum compounds to retard root growth. The first change produces a better rooting medium, while the other two produce poorer soil material. In many of our Indiana soils, there is a good rooting medium over a poorer one. Meanwhile, the subsoil materials may be changing from poor to good, or vice versa.