Characterization of the conditions that exist in the feedlot surface and soil profile is important to evaluation of the potentials for soil and water pollution. Cattle action and management activities create a dynamic condition in the feedlot. The organic matter surface causes physical and biochemical changes in the soil that are unlike natural or cultivated soils. The feedlot profile can be described as three layers: the organic matter, the interface, and the underlying soil. Measurable characteristics include bulk density, infiltration, and content of organic matter, water, and nitrate‐N. Generally, the surface 15.2‐cm depth of feedlot soils is compacted and has a high bulk density. Infiltration into the feedlot surface layers is essentially zero. There is no transpiration, and the soilwater content is more uniform through the profile than on cropped land.

Eleven mulch treatments were evaluated during the fall of 1966 on a 2:1 northeast‐facing fill slope seeded to smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss.). Mulch materials included wood cellulose fiber, excelsior, jute netting, emulsifiable asphalt used separately and as an anchorage for corncobs, woodchips, prairie hay, and fiberglass. Plots protected with an excelsior mat yielded the best seedling grass. Eight mulch treatments were evaluated on a 2:1 east‐facing fill slope during the fall of 1967. Mulch materials included an emulsifiable polymer, compost, wood cellulose, jute netting, excelsior, and asphalt‐anchored mulches of excelsior, woodshavings, and bark dust. Plots protected with an excelsior mat or jute netting yielded the best seedling grass.

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