THE ROLE OF FOREST SOILS IN A NOTHERN NEW ENGLAND

utilized both a forest spray irrigation system and a snowfluen? system for the treatment of their wastewater effluent. This study was designed to evaluate potential changes in soil properties after approximately 20 years of treatment in the forested spray irrigation site and three years of treatment in the field snowfluentW site. In addition, grass yield and composition were evaluated on the field study sites. After treatment with effluent or snowfluentW, soils showed an increase in soil exchangeable Ca, Mg, Na, and K, base saturation, and pH. While most constituents were higher in treated soils, available P was lower in treated soils compared to the controls. This difference was attributed to higher rates of P mineralization from soil organic matter due to an irrigation effect of the treatment, depleting available P pools despite the P addition with the treatment. Most of the differences due to treatment were greatest at the surface and diminished with depth. Depth patterns in soil properties mostly reflected the decreasing influence of organic matter and its decomposition products with depth as evidenced by significantly higher total C in the surface compared to lower horizons. There were decreasing concentrations of total N, and exchangeable or extractable Ca, Mg, Na, K, Mn, Zn, and