Duration: 10/01/2007 to 09/30/2012

Administrative Advisor(s):

NIFA Reps:

Non-Technical Summary

Statement of Issues and Justification

The effects of climate change on soils are not well known, although it is widely recognized that soil properties vary greatly and function differently as a result of the climate conditions in which they are found. Global circulation models predict a 3 to 4 °F increase in temperatures by 2030 and 8 to 11°F by 2090 for the western US. Predictions of precipitation are less conclusive. Two climate model scenarios forecast an increase in precipitation, particularly in California, and a drying in parts of the Rocky Mountains, while others predict drier conditions in the Rocky Mountains by 2030 (NAST, 2001). Crucial unknowns identified by the US Global Change Research Program suggest that comprehensive studies are needed to document interactions between soils, water, and air resources.

Soils are the foundation of a myriad of ecosystem processes and services on the planet, yet few studies have addressed the soils greater role interacting with the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere (Rosenzweig and Hillel, 2000). Examples of ecosystem services soils provide include air and water purification, stabilization against erosion, flood control, carbon storage and regulation of nutrient and water supply. Understanding the ecosystem services soils provide in the context of climate change is imperative for planning and policy development by stakeholders in agriculture and natural resources. Our goal is to investigate the resiliency of soils (and near surface processes regulated by soil) to climate change in a manner that meets the needs of the National Cooperative Soil Survey (NCSS), while addressing critical natural resource issues in the western U.S. The National Cooperative Soil Survey (NCSS) is a nationwide partnership of federal, regional, state and local agencies; and private entities and institutions. This partnership (including the State Agricultural Experiment Stations) works together to cooperatively investigate, inventory, document, classify, interpret, disseminate, and publish information about soils of the United States and its trust territories and commonwealths. The activities of the NCSS are carried out on national, regional, and state levels. Primary federal agency NCSS participants include Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Department of Defense (DoD), Forest Service (FS), National Park Service (NPS), and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Than National Soil Survey Handbook can be found at the following URL: http://www.soils.usda.gov/technical/handbook/

Pedologists of the western region have recognized the need for a regional understanding of the effects of global warming on soil change. To predict the impacts of climate change we will establish a framework of benchmark soilscapes as monitoring sites across the western U.S. in the form of two regional bioclimatic sequences, one established in transported materials and the other in residuum. In these sequences the variation among soil forming factors, parent material, age, and relief will be minimized to study the effects of climate and vegetation on soil properties. The project will emphasize changes in physical, chemical, mineralogical, hydrological and morphological characteristics of benchmark soilscapes that are tied to pedologic processes. These data will be used to illustrate and predict soil properties and processes as a function of climate. This infrastructure will also serve as pilot landscapes to explore the ability of soil survey to address soil change over human timescales.

Improving the benchmark soil list is a national priority for the NCSS because it offers the opportunity to apply research to representative soils that occupy dominant positions in a region. The NCSS recognizes benchmark soils as geographically important soils that occupy the greatest spatial extent of a soil survey area or have regional land-use importance. Currently, there are significant gaps in the NCSS benchmark soils dataset and the variability of soil properties within these soilscapes is unknown. We see an opportunity to expand upon the importance of these landscapes by demonstrating how soil properties and near-surface processes evolve and change in response to climate. Our approach will be to establish long-term research sites across carefully selected elevation gradients to form soil developmental sequences within 5-10 representative biogeographic provinces of the western US, that when combined in a multistate research effort, form one of two regional bioclimatic sequences. By examining how soil properties in these benchmark soils respond to climate, we propose to develop conceptual and empirical models to predict changes in soil and near surface processes under future climate change scenarios (Fig. 1a)(See Attachments). This same approach will be used to identify pedogenic thresholds that buffer the ecosystem from change and yet facilitate rapid change when overwhelmed (Fig. 1b; Chadwick and Chorover, 2001).

We hypothesize that climate change impacts on the western U.S. can be determined by quantifying temperature and precipitation, the two main climatic drivers of soil formation, and soil forming processes, across the regional soil bioclimatic gradient. This study will focus on four major soil forming processes: 1) primary mineral weathering and secondary mineral formation, 2) organic matter accumulation, 3) leaching and 4) organism effects on soil. These four processes result in observable soil morphologic features (e.g., color, texture, soil mineralogy, structure, and horizonation) that indicate the soil physical, chemical and biological properties involved in ecosystem function. This study will document the linkages between soil forming processes, soil morphology, and important ecosystem services such as phosphorus cycling, carbon sequestration, biodiversity and regulating quantity and quality of water. The timescales over which these processes occur vary, from human timescales (decades) to geologic time (thousands to millions of years). In this study, soil morphologic properties will be used to reflect the effects of climate over geologic time, and related dynamic soil properties, such as aggregate stability, infiltration rate, consistence, and surface soil strength will be used to
document soil change over human timescales.

Related, Current and Previous Work

This project will focus on improving our understanding of the impact of global climatic change on soil properties, processes, and pedologic thresholds (resiliency to change followed by rapid change) that govern near surface ecosystem processes. A review of the current and proposed multi-state research projects found no projects with potential to overlap. Some active projects could be synergistically related including NC1017 - Carbon Sequestration and Distribution in Soils of Eroded Landscapes, NC1008 - Impact of Climate and Soils on Crop Selection and Management, and NE1021 - Hydropedology: Genesis, Properties, and Distribution of Hydromorphic Soils.

Objectives

1. Identify benchmark soil landscapes across the western region where differences among soil forming factors (parent material, relief and time) are minimized but climate and vegetation vary.
   
2. Characterize biogeochemical, mineralogical, physical, and morphological properties of soils within benchmark landscapes in collaboration with USDA-NRCS National Soil Survey Laboratory and field staff.
   
3. Measure primary drivers of pedologic processes (soil temperature and moisture) using soil climate monitoring stations and link observations to soil properties and measurable soil forming processes (weathering, leaching, carbon accumulation, faunal interactions) across the climosequence.
   
4. Conduct experiments that measure the impacts these pedogenic processes on ecosystem services such as carbon storage, nutrient cycling, biodiversity, and regulation of quality and quantity of water supply.
   
5. Develop conceptual and empirical models of how climatic change will affect the ecosystem services regulated by soil with emphasis on local and regional pedogenic thresholds that influence the timing and direction of soil and environmental change.
   

Methods

The unique aspect of this proposed research is its unifying project design. The sites within the regional bioclimatic sequences will serve as long term pedologic observatories to examine the effects of climate change on soil. The efforts of each member will provide much needed characterization data for the NCSS benchmark soil program. Several discussions between western pedologists and Soil Survey Program leaders have concluded that each participant will be closely linked with their USDA-NRCS State Soil Scientist to achieve project and NCSS goals. The approach by each participant is outlined below. Objective 1: Benchmark soilscape site selection The regional bioclimatic sequences will consist of benchmark soilscapes that represent a dominant landscape of the region. A benchmark soilscape is a group of soils with similar ecosystem functions distributed across a dominant landscape. A benchmark soilscape may contain several soil series, but should contain at least one benchmark soil or a candidate soil series to become an official benchmark soil. Examples of a dominant landscape would be the metavolcanic terrain of the Sierra Nevada Foothills, east-side terraces of the San Joaquin Valley, or the west-, central- or eastern-portion of the Palouse loess deposits. Two regional bioclimatic sequences will be established in order to reflect the environmental variation of the west (Fig 2). The concept of a bioclimatic sequence dictates that commonalities in age, parent material, and relief be maintained, while climate and vegetation vary across the study area. We will incorporate some degree of flexibility into this concept in order to maximize participation and to include regionally significant soils. One sequence will be established in transported parent materials and the other in residual parent materials. Investigators will identify benchmark soilscapes in cooperation with their State Soil Scientist with commonalities in age, parent material, and relief that fit within one or both of the regional bioclimatic sequences. Landscape age will be constrained to Holocene-late Pleistocene timescales. Potential research sites will be presented at annual meetings by the respective investigator and committee will decide whether it fits the project design. Our approach will be to establish long-term research sites across over 11 carefully selected representative biogeographic provinces of the western US, that when combined, form two regional bioclimatic sequences. Participants will be encouraged to establish additional sites across elevation gradients that represent a soil developmental sequence, within a particular landscape. Study sites include the Hawaiian Islands volcanic chronosequence, Columbia Plateau (Washington, Oregon, Idaho), desert landscapes (Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, California), Volcanic Cascade Range (California, Oregon, Washington) and the Rocky Mountains (Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming). In order to link these efforts throughout the west, at least one benchmark soilscape from each developmental sequence will be selected as a keystone for the broad-scale bioclimatic sequences. Each participant will work with USDA-NRCS soil survey MLRA offices to identify regionally important soils that fit the criteria for the study and are considered to be benchmark soils. In many instances, benchmark soils have not been established for a particular geographic province. In these cases, new benchmark soils will be established by the study in cooperation with NRCS staff. The research sites identified by participants reflect a wide range in mean annual precipitation (MAP) and mean annual temperature (MAT) indicative of the western US. The current study sites selected encompass a range in MAP of 220 to 3000 mm and a range in MAT of 3 to 25 °C (Table 1). Physiographic descriptions of several study sites are summarized in Appendix I. Objective 2: General characterization Investigators will work closely with USDA-NRCS field soil scientists to characterize morphologic and physical properties of soils. Soil samples will be collected according to genetic horizon for each sampling location. Samples will be air dried and shipped to the USDA-NRCS National Soil Survey Laboratory for standard physical, chemical, geochemical and mineralogical analysis. Chemical/mineralogical analysis will include, but not be limited to, organic carbon, inorganic carbon, available P, exchangeable cations, CEC, pH, electrical conductivity, total nitrogen, extractable iron, manganese and aluminum, and x-ray diffraction. Physical analysis will include particle size analysis, bulk density (core and clod-saran method), soil water characteristic curves via pressure plates, and aggregate stability (Soil Survey Staff, 2004). The National Soil Survey Laboratory has agreed to support this task provided that each investigator works with their respective State Soil Scientists to plan for field and laboratory assistance. The National Lab will be responsible for all QAQC. The data will be stored at the UC Davis Soil Resource Laboratory and on the project website available to all participants. Objective 3: Measurement of primary pedogenic drivers Climate change will directly affect two primary drivers of pedogenesis, soil temperature and soil moisture. These primary drivers of pedogenesis influence the rates, pathways and thresholds that constrain near surface processes. Each site will be instrumented with soil temperature and soil moisture monitoring equipment. If available, these instruments will be supplied by NRCS. These instruments are typically HOBO® Soil Monitoring Stations, each of which is a cost-effective, multi-channel data logger for measuring and recording soil moisture and temperature. These measurements will be used to quantify the differences in climate across the regional sequences. When integrated across the sequence, these data will be used to empirically derive the effects of primary pedogenic drivers, i.e. climate change, on morphologic, chemical, physical and mineralogical soil properties. Soil moisture and temperature will be monitored at four depths in the soil profile within major genetic horizons. The sensors will be used to compare temporal aspects of soil moisture and temperature. Temporal nature of the frequency, duration, and timing of conditions such as permanent wilting point, saturation, field capacity, duration of available water, and soil temperature ranges at which these conditions occur will be assessed. Conditions such as field capacity, saturation, and permanent wilting point will be determined from soil water characteristic curves discussed in the previous section. Relationships between soil chemical, physical and mineralogical properties and primary pedogenic drivers will be analyzed by regression analysis (Alvarez and Lavado, 1998). Each participant will be responsible for downloading the climatic data at least two times per year. Objective 4: Soil Forming Processes This study will track the effects of moisture and temperature on near surface processes closely governed by the following pedogenic processes: 1) primary mineral weathering and secondary mineral formation, 2) organic matter accumulation, 3) effects of organisms in soil and 4) leaching. The following experiments will be set up to characterize these processes along the climosequence and empirically derive the impacts of climate change. 4.1 Mineral weathering and formation The degree of weathering regulates nutrient cycling and is often correlated to moisture and temperature. Weathering rates will be estimated using ion exchange resin soil solution lysimeters. The lysimeter design will be modified from that of Susfalk and Johnson (2002). It will consist of a PVC coupling containing anion and cation exchange resin set in layers of sand, and covered on each end by water permeable Nitex ® sheets. The device will be inserted into a larger PVC coupling to create a cup on the upper end to which a known composition and amount of coarse grained (200 mesh) lithium feldspar will be added (Avalon Ventures LTD.). Two ion exchange collectors will be placed in the soil, one with lithium feldspar and one without to serve as a blank. Ion exchange resin will be collected once a year. The ion-exchange collectors will also be used to quantify nutrient fluxes. After collection, resins will extracted with 100 mL of 2.0 N KCl by shaking for 30 minutes. The solution will then be filtered and analyzed for nitrate, ammonium and orthophosphate with Dionex ion chromatography (Susfalk and Johnson, 2002). Extracts will be sent to the National Soil Survey Laboratory for analysis of trace elements Li, Ti, Nb, and Rb. Relative weathering rates will be determined by comparisons of the amount of trace elements recovered in the lithium feldspar addition minus the blank. Coupling weathering intensity with mineralogical characterization information will provide insight into ecosystem services such as phosphorus cycling. Phosphorus is often the limiting nutrient in many ecosystems. Mineralogical transformations can have significant impacts on the fate of P in the ecosystem. This component of the study will assess the impacts of climate change on P cycling by documenting the dominant P pools within each climatic regime, available, weakly sorbed, strongly sorbed and fixed. We will use P extraction techniques through selective dissolution to quantify the P pools within these benchmark soils (Miller et al., 2001). Studies such as this have been used to identify primary pools, P contained in primary minerals, P bound to secondary minerals, and P incorporated into biomass. 4.2 Organic matter accumulation Soil organic matter is an important source of most macro- and micronutrients, a major source of cation exchange capacity and a critical influence on several physical properties of soil. An increase in global temperature of 0.03 °C yr-1 could result in a loss of 1 Gt of soil carbon per year as CO2 over the next 60 years (Jenkinson et al., 1991). In this proposed study we will monitor the fate of inorganic and organic carbon along the climosequence by measuring carbon pools that exist within each benchmark soilscape and documenting relative decomposition rates. Since land use is an important factor that influences carbon stocks, sites will be chosen where minimal physical alteration such as tillage has occurred. Highly managed sites may also be sampled as a supplement to this study to quantify carbon pools in soils with agricultural, urban, or other land uses. Three sites will be identified within each benchmark soilscape to represent the geomorphic variability of the landscape. To quantify carbon pools at each site, a composite sample will be collected from each genetic horizon from three soil profiles reflecting the general variability of the landscape. Soil profiles will be sampled to a 1-m depth and undisturbed core samples will be collected from each genetic horizon for bulk density measurements. Total carbon and nitrogen, organic carbon and inorganic carbon will be determined using standard methods at the National Soil Survey Laboratory. Bulk density measurements will be used to convert carbon percentages to a mass per area basis so that pools can be summed and compared over each benchmark landscape (Homann and Grigal, 1996). The litter bag method is a standard protocol to determine the rate of litter decomposition. A pre-weighed reference material will be added in sealed mesh bags and placed on the soil surface. Changes in mass, nutrient content and carbon will be measured after one and two years (Harmon et al., 1999). Similarly, standard wood substrates such as wood dowels will be buried in A horizons of each soil profile to provide an index of decomposition for materials more resistant to decomposition (Jenney et al, 1949; Harmon et al., 1999). 4.3 Effects of organisms on soils The role of organisms in soil will also be explored. We will characterize the degree of biodiversity in soil dwelling invertebrate fauna within each benchmark soil. The sampling will begin in the second year of the study after knowledge of temperature and moisture is gained. We will attempt to synchronize our sampling efforts for fauna relative to the environmental parameters of each benchmark soilscape to standardize invertebrate sampling in a manner that accounts for various life stages which have different systematics. Soil climate data will be used to synchronize sampling across the climosequence to times when faunal activity is high. A 25 x 25 x 5 cm square will be excavated and collected from the soil surface. Invertebrates will first be collected by hand sorting then by washing and wet sieving (Parmelee and Crossley, 1988). Fauna will be preserved in alcohol if soft bodied larvae or frozen if adults. The numbers of insects, arthropods and annelids collected will be determined. The numbers of different orders will be determined for insects. Classification of fauna will be done by the institutes entomology department or samples will be sent to UC Davis for determination. We will explore the potential to characterize microbial biodiversity through phospholipid fatty acid analysis (PLFA). PLFA identifies and quantifies membrane lipids, which degrade rapidly upon cell death. PLFA profile analysis can rapidly provide information on the total viable biomass, microbial community composition, and the metabolic or physiological condition of a community (White et al. 1996, Pinkart et al. 2002). Microbial community data are often analyzed using multivariate statistical analysis to characterize their structure and dynamics (Bossio et al. 1998). Although PLFA does not identify specific organisms, it shows major groupings, is rapid, is quantitative and shows good resolution in studies examining changes in the total microbial community in relation to the environment (Green & Scow 2000). This approach will only be accomplished on select sites. 4.4 Leaching The relative degree of leaching will be estimated by placing gypsum cylinders in the soil profile at 25-, 50- and 75-cm depths. The cylinders will dissolve over time upon exposure to soil solution. The gypsum cylinders will be collected after one year, oven dried and weighed to determine the dissolution rate. The rate of dissolution of the cylinders will be measured by weighing the cylinders before and after exposure to leaching over a water year. Gypsum cylinders will be developed with techniques outlined by Petticrew and Kalff (1991). Briefly, a PVC pipe (10 cm × 3 cm i.d.) will serve as a mold. A mixture of calcium sulfate hemihydrate and deionized water will be added to the molds, and extracted after they harden. The gypsum cylinders are then removed and oven dried to a constant weight at 40 °C for 48 hours and cooled in a desiccator. At this point, they are ready for field use. The gypsum cylinders will be constructed at UC Davis and sent out to all project participants. The benchmark soilscapes will serve as pedologic observatories to test emerging technologies and initiatives for NCSS. The testing of techniques to document dynamic soil properties is an emerging issue for NCSS and the benchmark soilscapes will be used to help develop and test procedures for the Sampling Guide for Dynamic Soil Properties that is currently being developed by the NCSS. This approach will not be used at all sites but will be performed where the NRCS leader of soil investigations deems appropriate. Data management A workshop was organized to discuss how to coordinate and standardize the data collection and data management approach. The workshop was held at the Western Society of Soil Science Annual Meeting in Boise Idaho June 18th, 2007. The workshop addressed lab QAQC, data storage and processing. It was determined that the National Soil Survey Lab will characterize all chemical and mineralogical soil properties. The data will be entered via WinPEDON a data entry and storage system used by NCSS that allows direct uploads to the National Soils Information System. The data will be stored at the UC Davis Soil Resource Laboratory and on the project website available to all participants. It will also be stored at the National Soil Survey Laboratory for use by the NCSS. Objective 5: Model development Results of empirical models will take a variety of forms. Relationships between soil organic carbon, chemical and physical properties, weathering intensity, litter decomposition, and degree of leaching will be expressed as a function of soil temperature and precipitation at sites throughout the regional climosequence (Fig. 2). Morphological properties such as solum thickness, clay content, A horizon thickness, and clay mineralogy will also be expressed as a function of soil temperature and moisture. Using these regression equations it will be possible to simulate changes in soil properties under different climate scenarios, assuming that present conditions have reached steady-state conditions (Alvarez and Lavado, 1998). For example, if a relationship between temperature, precipitation, and soil organic carbon is established such as that in fig 1a, then a corresponding 10 percent increase in mean annual soil temperature could be simulated reflecting a new trend that is below the observed trend (Fig 1a).

Measurement of Progress and Results

Outputs

• Annual project report documenting research and outreach activities for the previous year
• An interactive webpage will be developed to communicate results and attract other researchers
• Benchmark soil profile descriptions and complete characterization uploaded to the National Soil Information System.
• Peer reviewed publications submitted by project participants
• A comprehensive list of benchmark soils for the western region
• A final report issued at the conclusion of the project; Value added products for soil survey;

Outcomes or Projected Impacts

• Improve the way benchmark soils are selected and studied by USDA-NRCS-NCSS and illustrate their importance in understanding the effects of climatic change.
• Better characterization of benchmark soils
• Foundation for assessing new initiatives in NCSS such as soil change and geochemical landscapes
• Provide better estimates for carbon sequestration models in key landscape settings.
• Greater use of soil survey information
• Framework (the benchmark concept) for NCSS to extend information to new and existing stakeholders on emerging such as climate change
• Progress and results of this project will be delivered by Cooperative Extension Specialists and Ag. Experiment Faculty to what may be considered non-traditional stakeholders including technical service providers working at government agencies such as NRCS, US Forest Service, National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management and ultimately to the soil survey user. The research products of the western regional climosequence will: (1) provide information for the use and management of the diverse western environments; (2) forecast the impacts of climatic change on near-surface processes; and, (3) improve the link between research and the cooperative soil survey program in areas of scaling, soil change, climate change, and soil variability. Results from this effort will foster new collaborations among pedologists and other disciplines leading to proof of concept for grant proposals to funding agencies such as NSFs Frontiers in Exploration of the Critical Zone and NEON the National Ecologic Observatory Network. A direct recipient of the research findings will be the NCSS, which encompasses the NRCS, Forest Service, Park Service, BLM and land grant universities. The NCSS is in the process of planning future directions of soil survey (Mike Golden, Director of Soil Survey pers. Comm.). The findings of this research will help realize this planning effort for future areas of emphasis such as: 1) assessing soil change and soil quality, 2) establishing protocols for NRCS Area Soil Scientists and NCSS cooperators to monitor and measure soil properties, 3) developing a more comprehensive geochemical inventory of soils, and 4) providing soils-based interpretations on impacts of climate change establishing. There are consequences if this research is not accomplished. If this type of research is never done then the ability of the NCSS to address the future needs of its stakeholders in the context of climate change will be diminished. Furthermore, the opportunity to have multiple long-term research sites that have been selected as highly representative landscapes of the western U.S. would be lost. In addition, there will be no baseline soils data for agencies to plan for regional climate change. Perhaps most importantly, the long standing relationship between pedologists at Land Grant Universities (both CE specialists and professors) and the Cooperative Soil Survey will be in jeopardy because of the challenges associated with blending research with the soil survey agenda. Now that the NRCS soil survey program is approaching a complete soil survey for the nation, research is needed to further document its utility and weaknesses in the midst of future soil and natural resource issues. If this project does not occur then the impacts of climate change will likely not be a focus of the soil survey program in the future. Studies such as this are necessary in order for NCSS to adequately address soil survey users evolving needs. The NCSS relies heavily upon its University cooperators, both Cooperative Extension Specialists and professors, to determine future directions of the soil survey.

Milestones

(2007): Develop project website and establish contacts with State Soil Scientists. Establish benchmark soilscape monitoring sites.

(2008): (Through 2009)Complete benchmark soilscape monitoring site locations. The geographic location of research sites and geographic extent of the terrain they represent will be depicted in map form and published on the groups website. Sites will be instrumented with temperature and moisture sensors. Soils will be sampled for general characterization.

(2009): Complete benchmark soilscape monitoring site locations. The geographic location of research sites and geographic extent of the terrain they represent will be depicted in map form and published on the groups website. Sites will be instrumented with temperature and moisture sensors. Soils will be sampled for general characterization.

(2010): Summarize climate data and morphologic and chemical characterization information.

(2011): Summarize climate data and morphologic and chemical characterization information. Begin summarizing experimental results.

(2012):Summarize experimental results. Develop empirical models to predict effects of global warming in the context of a regional bioclimosequence in the west. Identify morphologic properties that best describe and encompass soil change in response to climate as a scaling mechanism for soil survey. Identify pedologic thresholds that exist.

Projected Participation

View Appendix E: Participation

Outreach Plan

The concept of the project was developed in collaboration with National Cooperative Soil Survey (NCSS) needs and has received overwhelming support from cooperators of the NCSS when objectives were presented at the Western Cooperative Soil Survey Meeting in Park City, Utah in June of 2006 and the National Cooperative Soil Survey Meeting in Madison, Wisconsin in June of 2007. Representatives from 11 of the 12 western states will participate in this study, which demonstrates wide-spread involvement across the region (Table 1). The participant from Nevada does not have an AES appointment, and as a result, does not appear on the appendix E form. Many states have multiple participants. Two of the representatives are Cooperative Extension Specialists. Over 20 scientists from agencies such as U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, USDA-NRCS, USDA-ARS and the National Park Service have expressed interest in collaborating on this project. This critical collaborative interest will bolster the current level of participation in the project.

Many of these agency scientists have volunteered research sites with existing soil climate monitoring infrastructure and field staff time for use in this project despite having no clear way to formally sign up for this project. All USDA-NRCS State Soil Scientists have been notified of and introduced to this project and are willing to cooperate. Once the project begins, an active participant list will be posted on the group website to formally recognize all participants. Project updates will be presented at the Regional and National Cooperative Soil Survey Meetings each year as a recruiting tool to attract even greater participation from these core agencies.

The proposed study represents a direct form of outreach and extension fostering a continued relationship between land grant universities and USDA-NRCS-NCSS. This new project will directly address and link the needs of the NCSS and the research community and ultimately the general public. In addition, the benchmark landscapes will serve as reference sites for the NCSS to test future soil survey programs such as the need to address dynamic soil properties in soil survey. Results of the study will be documented by annual reports, through the project website, and via peer-reviewed publications. Sites will serve as long term pedologic research observatories for future research collaborators, classes and stakeholders. Participants will serve on regional and national NCSS committees to provide formal input on research needs, future directions, interpretations, and new technologies for soil survey.

Cooperative Extension and Agricultural Experiment Station faculty will use the data and sites as natural laboratories where training workshops will be held for stakeholders such as NRCS, Forest Service, BLM, consultants, land managers and students to visit and learn about potential impacts of climate change on soil processes. The 2009 NCSS Soil Geomorphology training course, taught by a University of California Cooperative Extension Soil Resource Specialist, will use the sites from this project across California for this short course. Once the project is in place, we will actively recruit greater involvement with Cooperative Extension especially those with extension programs in range management and forest management who may be interested in the linkage between state and transition models, land use, and landscape change.

A great deal of momentum has been generated for this project. Cooperative Extension was involved in this years NCSS meeting. An Extension Specialist presented this proposal at a work planning conference on Soil Survey-Future Directions in Soil Health and Productive Lands. Key decision makers and program leaders attended this conference representing each agency as part of the NCSS. As a result of this working meeting, the Extension Specialist is now the chair of the Western Regional NCSS Research Needs Committee and co-chair of the National Research Needs Committee. Cooperative Extension is directly involved in this project and is having a significant impact towards the buy-in for this project and its level of influence on the future directions of NCSS. This in turn is a direct example of the type information exchange that will be stimulated by this project and demonstrates how project participants are actively involved with the NCSS.

Organization/Governance

The primary membership of this multi-state project will be composed of land grant institutions from the western U.S. Discussion at the Western Regional Cooperative Soil Survey Conference has fostered considerable support among academics and NRCS-NCSS. Participants include: Anthony OGeen, Mike Singer, Randal Southard, Randy Dahlgren (University of California, Davis), Bob Graham (University of California, Riverside), Bruce Frazier (Washington State University), Paul McDaniel (University of Idaho), Janis Boettinger (Utah State University), Curtis Monger (New Mexico State University), Jay Noller (Oregon State University), Craig Rasmussen (University of Arizona), Keith Paustain (Colorado State University), Goro Uehara (University of Hawaii), and Jay Norton (University of Wyoming). This project will also collaborate with other researchers that are not affiliated with Land Grant Institutions or do not have AES appointments, yet interact with NCSS such as Ron Reuter (Oregon State University) and Brenda Buck (University of Nevada, Las Vegas). A chair and secretary will be selected from the participants. Representatives from the institutions will meet annually to coordinate tasks, present results and review progress. Additional participants with expertise in soil microbiology, biogeochemistry, scaling, soil change and environmental science will be encouraged to join.

Further interest in this project was demonstrated by a recent participant meeting June 18-19 in Boise, Idaho. Details of potential soilscape locations in Oregon, California, Arizona, and Idaho were presented. A field trip was also organized to examine representative soilscapes in western Idaho and eastern Oregon, which also allow for preliminary sampling and discussion of field methodologies to employ in our cooperative, multi-state benchmark sites.

Literature Cited

Alvarez, R., and R.S. Lavado, 1998. Climate, organic matter and clay content relationships in th ePampa and Chaco soils, Argentina. Geoderma, 83:127-141.

Bossio, D.A., K.M. Scow, N. Gunapala, and K.J. Graham. 1998. Determinants of soil microbial communities: effects of agricultural management, season, and soil type on phospholipid fatty acid profiles. Microbial Ecology 36:1-12.

Chadwick, O.A., and J. Chorover, 2001. The chemistry of pedogenic thresholds Geoderma 100 (3-4): 321-353.

Green, C.T., K.M. Scow. 2000. Analysis of phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) to characterize microbial communities in aquifers. Hydrogeology J. 8:126-141.

Harmon, M.E., K.J. Nadelhoffer, and J.M. Blair, 1999. Measuring decomposition, nutrient turnover, stores in plant litter. In. Standard soil methods for long-term ecological research. Eds G.P. Robertson, D.C Coleman, C.S. Bledsoe, and P. Sollins. Oxford University Press New York, NY.

Jenkinson, D.S., D.E. Adams, and A. Wild, 1991. Model estimates of CO2 emissions from soil in response to global warming. Nature 351:304-306.

Jenny, H., P. Gessel, and F.T. Bingham, 1949. Comparative study of decomposition of organic matter in temperate and tropical regions. Soil Science 68:419-432.

Miller, A.J., E.A.G. Schuur, and O.A. Chadwick, 2001. Redox control of phosphorus pools in Hawaiian montane forest soils. Geoderma, 102:219-237.

Parmelee, R.W., and D.A. Crossley, Jr., 1988. Earthworm production and role in the nitrogen cycle of a no-tillage agroecosystems on the Georgia piedmont. Pedobiologia 32:353-361.

Petticrew EL, and J., Kalff, 1991. Calibration of a gypsum source for freshwater flow measurements. Can J Fish Aquat Sci. 48:1244-1249.

Pinkart, H.C., Ringelberg, D.B., Piceno, Y.M., Macnaughton, S.J. and D.C. White, 2002. Biochemical approaches to biomass measurements and community structure analysis. In C.J. Hurst, R.L. Crawford, G.R. Knudsen, M.J. McInerney, L.D. Stecenbach, eds. Manual of environmental microbiology, 2nd Ed.ASM, Washingtoon D.C.

Rosenzweig, C. and D. Hillel, 2000. Soils and global climate change: challenges and opportunities. Soil Science 165:47-56.

Soil Survey Staff, 2004. Soil survey laboratory methods manual. Soil Survey Investigations Report No. 42, Version 4, USDA-NRCS, Washington, D.C.

Susfalk, R.B., and D.W. Johnson, 2002. Ion exchange resin based soil solution lysimeters and snowmelt solution collectors. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 33:1261-1275.

White, D.C., H.C. Pinkart, and D.B. Ringelberg, 1996. Biomass measurements: biochemical approaches. pp. 91-101. In C.J. Hurst, ed., Manual of Environmental Microbiology. ASM Press, Washington, D.C.

Attachments

Land Grant Participating States/Institutions

AZ, CA, NM, OR, UT, WY

Non Land Grant Participating States/Institutions