Gley morphology and soil water regimes in some soils in south-central england

A good correlation was observed between the development of gley morphology and period of saturation at a depth of 38 cm in 44 soil profiles from south-central England. Gley morphology in the surface horizon (13 cm depth) was a less reliable indicator of waterlogging. Drainage class assignment based on morphological evidence produced effective separation of soils based on their water regimes, characterised by the period of saturation at 38 cm. Although the relationships observed are probably restricted to soils developed on similar parent materials, the subjective identification and assessment of gley morphology may be an alternative to the absolute colour criteria currently used in many soil classification schemes.