Observations on the biological development of macropores in soils of Romney Marsh

Summary Many of the soils developed on Recent alluvium in Romney Marsh have abundant interconnecting pores, holes, and cavities in their subsurface horizons formed by the activity of roots, ants, and earthworms. Ants are considered to be the dominant agents in forming highly developed underground systems of galleries and chambers. These features are apparently continuous over large areas and are not restricted to any particular soil, but occur on differing soils with a considerable range of pH, salinity, texture, and fluctuations of water-tables. Consequently, many of the soils have drainage and other characteristics that cannot be deduced from a consideration of texture or structure (pedality) alone. The characteristics of these macropores, as revealed by the infiltration into the soil of cast-forming materials such as plaster of Paris, are described, and their origin, distribution, and significance in relation to land use are discussed.