SOIL MICROMORPHOLOGY OF LOCAL-AUTHORITY CRICKET TABLES

Bulk and undisturbed block samples of soil were collected from beneath five cricket tables and outfields managed by a local authority and used by local league cricketers. Thin sections made from the undisturbed blocks revealed considerable differences in soil structure and composition between the cricket tables. Topdressings of varying textures have been added to all the tables over the years. Texturally-layered profiles have built up beneath three of the tables because the topdressings have not been mixed. Horizontal organic mats often occur within and between the associated platy aggregates. Rooting is shallow under these tables, and the lower compacted layers often contain evidence for restricted drainage at certain times during the year. At one site, and to a lesser extent at another, greater mixing of the topdressings has been achieved by earthworms, but these seem to have been eradicated at the other sites. Although they create a better plant-growing medium, the earthworms seem to have had a detrimental effect on the playing quality of the cricket table.