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Dynamic Soil Properties Ash-Capped Forest Soils Under Diverse Management

Scoping Meeting, July 25-27, 2006, Moscow, Idaho


Next Teleconference

September 7, 2006 at 2:00 PST – Hoover will set up teleconference details

Objectives
  • Develop protocols for studying dynamic soil properties and the relationship between soils and vegetation on forested lands
  • Relate the management history on these sites to current soil condition
  • Integrate ash-capped soil and forested vegetation studies
  • Add value to soil survey updates with new kinds of soil survey products
  • Develop a product that is useful to the public, not just good data
  • Assist in Ecological Site Description development
  • Use state and transition models or a similar stratification of forest stands to select sample locations
  • Enhance/expand partnership with NCSS partners (i.e. NRCS, Forest Service, University, Private sector, State)
  • Assist in the development and interpretation of soil quality indeicators
Soil Criteria
  • Similar elevation and precipitation over a wide spatial area. Dominantly in Shoshone, Clearwater, Latah and Idaho Counties.
  • Soils will have at least a foot of Mazama ash surface and be moderately deep to a fragipan. These soils will include the Kauder, Threebear and Helmer series.
  • Need to look at the productivity study by Mark Kimsey on the Helmer series.
  • Give preference to soils with long-term study data. This is helpful for interpreting collected data.
Forest Stand Stratification
Purpose of stand stratification: The classes of stands will be used in procedures to:
  • Detect past degradation
  • Identify historic capacity to function
  • Develop standard for assessment (options might include stands that are either highly functioning, highly productive, or in historic condition.
  • Detect current problems early enough to intervene or to correct soil degradation problems (optimum time for management intervention)
Specific stand information to be recorded:
  • Logging history
  • Equipment use and history
  • Fire
  • Current community composition and structure (age distribution)
  • Stand age
Meeting and Participant Needs
  • Minimum sample size calculator
  • List of Indicators to assess or monitor resource condition
  • Is soil compaction a problem? Is it a productivity, seedling mortality, hydrologic, or disease problem, or all of the above?
  • What are root-limiting bulk densities of ash soils?
  • Data to support soil quality assessment procedures
  • Relate visual indicators to measured values.
  • State and transition model and ecological site descriptions
  • Determine correct time for data collection
  • Document climo-edaphic reference condition
  • Need to see some big change in soil properties or function among stands
  • Look at stands that have management that is relevant
  • Practicality issues
    • This is inventory not monitoring
    • Welcome associated research projects
Management Goals
  • Productivity & sustainability
  • Environmental  quality
Functions to Analyze Management Goals
  • Carbon sequestration
  • Hydrologic function
  • Nutrient cycling
  • Physical Stability (Erosion)
  • Bio-diversity
    • Overstory
    • Understory
    • Invasive species
Soil Property Studies to Quantify Functions
  • Bulk Density
  • Resistance to penetration
  • Organic Matter
  • Active carbon, particulate organic matter carbon (POM-C)
  • Infiltration rate
  • Ksat
  • Structural properties
  • Root limiting layers
  • Aggregate stability
  • Visual classes of surface condition, surface displacement
  • Biolog (Forest Service)
  • pH
  • Nutrient analysis ? what lab? Not available through soil survey lab
    • Resin capsules (sampled not insitu)
Vegetation Studies to Quantify Functions
  • Forest Floor, mass carbon and nitrogen
  • Woody debris – transects
  • Foliar and soil potassium
  • Deb’s vegetation form
    • Understory
      • Production
      • Bio mass of plant forms/nutrients
    • Overstory
    • Canopy
    • Basal area
  • ESD's
    • More completed plant inventory
    • Site index calculation
Sampling
  • Soil 232’s; 1.full per plot; 1 each for each soil subsample location to ~30 cm
  • Need 4 plots per kind of stand; need at least two different kinds of stands
  • Plot size and configuration: use standard NRCS protocols as appropriate

Time Frames

August 11, 2006

Place this outline and other materials on an "Idaho DSP" Web page (Hoover)

August 15, 2006

Request lab data assistance with estimate of sample number to Lincoln NSSL (Hoover)

September 7, 2006

Rough draft workplan (Tugel)October 1, 2006

Develop a map of the spatial distribution of the soils to be sampled (Gardner)

November 1, 2006

Develop the forest stand stratification schema (Gariglio – with assistance from Page-Dumroese and Kimsey)
Select the forest stand sample sites (Gariglio – with assistance from Gardner)

December 15, 2006

Develop methods to sample the given soil and plant properties listed above (Knapp – Soils portion - with assistance from all, Gariglio – Vegetative portion – with assistance from all)
Finalize workplan (Tugel with assistance from all)

February 1, 2007

Prepare the management history for each forest stand sample site (Page-Dumroese)

March 1, 2007

Develop the plot design and layout with statistically based plot design and replication (Tugel and Page-Dumroese)

May 1, 2007

Have sampling team lists prepared so numbers of samplers and logistics can be determined (Gardner, Page-Dumroese, McDaniel)

May 29-30, 2007

Have a local 2-day field trip to review sampling sites and provide training on sampling methods (Gardner – sample sites, Tugel and Page-Dumroese – sampling methods)

June 18-29, 2007

Conduct the field sampling (Knapp)

June 15 is optimal time for looking at the vegetation
1 day per plot (with 3-4 people each day
Need to look at how many people can consistently work on plot data collection

Dates for data analysis and summarization will be determined at a later date but should be within two months of the completion of sampling.

Web Links
Official Soil Series Descriptions

http://ortho.ftw.nrcs.usda.gov/cgi-bin/osd/osdname.cgi

Type in Kauder, Threebear, or Helmer to view their official series descriptions

Soil Quality Team

http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/about/ntsc/east/sq_team/sq_team.html

Soil Quality Web Site

http://soils.usda.gov/sqi/

The Intermountain Forest Tree Nutrition Cooperative

http://www.cnr.uidaho.edu/IFTNC/

USFS Rocky Mountain Research Station

          http://forest.moscowfsl.wsu.edu/index.html

Jornada Experimental Range Monitoring and Assessment

http://usda-ars.nmsu.edu/monit_assess/monitoring.php


Specific References
Dynamic cone penetrometer and Field soil aggregate stability methods

Supporting literature:
http://usda-ars.nmsu.edu/Monit_Assess/monitoring_main.php

Dynamic Soil Properties Pilot reports-Utah

Dynamic Soil Properties Pilot Study (Thursday 11:00am)
http://soils.usda.gov/partnerships/ncss/conferences/2006/west/WRCSS_proc.html

Guidelines for Sampling for Dynamic Soil Properties in Soil Survey Updates
http://soils.usda.gov/partnerships/ncss/conferences/2006/west/posters.html

Dynamic Soil Properties as a Part of Soil Survey Updates:  Illustration of the Utility of the Results from Arches National Park, Utah – Ward et al.
http://soils.usda.gov/partnerships/ncss/conferences/2006/west/posters.html

Soil Change

Soil Change, Soil Survey and Natural Resources Decision Making: A Blueprint for Action – Tugel et al.
http://soil.scijournals.org/cgi/content/full/69/3/738

State and Transistion Models and Ecological Sites

Ecological Site Description Development Workshop
http://usda-ars.nmsu.edu/presentations/ESD.htm

In particular, these presentations:
Step 3: Vegetation Dynamics In State and Transition Models (STMs): History, Concepts and Examples - Joel Brown
Beyond Plants: Indicators and Soil Surface Properties in STMs - Arlene Tugel

State and Transition Modeling: An Ecological Process Approach – Stringham et al.
http://uvalde.tamu.edu/jrm/mar03/stringham.htm


July 25-27, 2006 Meeting Attendee List
Last Name First Name Job Title Agency Location Phone Email
Kimsey Mark Post-Doctoral Fellow IFTNC1 Moscow, ID 208-885-7520 mkimsey@uidaho.edu
Andrews Susan Leader, Soil Quality Team NRCS2 Greensboro, NC 336-370-3337 Susan.Andrews@gnb.usda.gov
Barner Allie Student Trainee NRCS Moscow, ID 208-882-4960, ext. 128 Allie.Barner@id.usda.gov
Gardner Brian Soil Survey Project Leader NRCS Moscow, ID 208-882-4960, ext. 127 Brian.Gardner@id.usda.gov
Gariglio Frank State Staff Forester NRCS Lewiston, ID 208-746-9886, ext. 113 Frank.Gariglio@id.usda.gov
Hipple Karl National Leader, Interpretations NRCS Lincoln, NE 402-437-5351 Karl.Hipple@lin.usda.gov
Hoover David State Soil Scientist NRCS Boise, ID 208-378-5790 David.Hoover@id.usda.gov
Knapp Bruce MLRA Project Leader NRCS Moscow, ID 208-882-4960, ext. 117 Bruce.Knapp@id.usda.gov
Kuykendall Holli Ecologist, Soil Quality Team NRCS Greensboro, NC 336-370-3337 Holli.Kuykendall@gnb.usda.gov
Swenson Hal Assistant State Soil Scientist NRCS Boise, ID 208-378-5728 Hal.Swenson@id.usda.gov
Tugel Arlene Soil Scientist, Liaison to ARS NRCS Las Cruces, NM 505-646-2660 atugel@nmsu.edu
McDaniel Paul Professor of Soil Science UI3 Moscow, ID 208-885-7012 pmcdaniel@uidaho.edu
Page-Dumroese Deb Project Leader, Research Soil Scientist, Microbiology USFS4 Moscow, ID 208-883-2339 ddumroese@fs.fed.us
Rice Tom Computer Specialist USFS Moscow, ID 208-883-2308 trice@fs.fed.us
Tirocke Joanne Biological Science Technician USFS Moscow, ID 208-883-2320 jtirocke@fs.fed.us


1/ Intermountain Forest Tree Nutrition Cooperative
2/ USDA – Natural Resources Conservation Service
3/ University of Idaho
4/ USDA – United States Forest Service

 

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