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A Dictionary of Earth Sciences

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition

hardpan

hardpan condition of the soil or subsoil in which the soil grains become cemented together by such bonding agents as iron oxide and calcium carbonate, forming a hard, impervious mass. It is disadvantageous to farming, interfering with the circulation of moisture in the soil and with the growth of roots through the soil. When the condition is caused by the filling of the air spaces in the soil with fine particles of clay, the subsoil is called a clay pan. This usually occurs in acid soil.

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hardpan

A Dictionary of Earth Sciences | 1999 | | Â© A Dictionary of Earth Sciences 1999, originally published by Oxford University Press 1999. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

hardpan Hardened soil horizon, usually found in the middle or lower parts of the profile, that may be indurated or cemented by a variety of possible cementing materials. See also CALICHE; DURICRUST; and PAN.

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AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "hardpan." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Jul. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "hardpan." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (July 9, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-hardpan.html

AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "hardpan." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Retrieved July 09, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-hardpan.html

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