Importance of ants to brown podzolic soil genesis in New England

Return of subsoil material to the forest floor in small litter-concealed mounds by ants is an important process in the development of the brown podzolic soils of New England and probably in other kinds of soils elsewhere. Material brought back to the surface may built [sic] up to a thickness of an inch within 250 years. In fact, the entire A horizon of some, if not most, virgin brown podzolic soils in New England consists of material returned by ants to the surface from the B horizon over a period of many years. conceivably a thickness of as much as 10 to 18 inches of soil material could be returned to the surface in a period of 3-4000 years.