Estimates of Soil Erosion from Perched Cemeteries, Sampson County, North Carolina

The Coastal Plain of the United States has not been recognized traditionally as a region experiencing significant soil erosion because of its low relief and permeable soils. Measurements of soil profile truncation in cemeteries were used to estimate rates of surface lowering and soil erosion in Sampson County, on the Coastal Plain of North Carolina. Measurements of the depth to the top of the argillic horizon (DTA) in relatively undisturbed profiles in small, perched cemeteries (ranging in age from 99—180 yr) were compared with adjacent cultivated fields. The mean truncation of soils from ten study sites was 25.8 cm, with the mean surface lowering of 2.0 cm. Correcting for compaction, this translates to a mean soil loss estimate of 24.4&8211;27.4 Mg/ha/yr.