SAES-422 Multistate Research Activity Accomplishments Report

Status: Approved

Basic Information

Participants

Boettinger, Janis (jlboett@cc.usu.edu)-Utah State University; Busacca, Alan (busacca@mail.wsu.edu)-Washington State University; Graham, Robert (graham@citrus.ucr.edu)-University of California, Riverside; Kelly, Eugene (pedoiso@lamar.colostate.edu)-Colorado State University; Southard, Randal (Southard@agdean.ucdavis.edu)-University of California, Davis

Tuesday, July 9, 2002, 7 p.m. Telluride, Colorado

Attending: Janis Boettinger, Alan Busacca, Bob Graham, Gene Kelley, Gene Schupp, Randy Southard. Guests: Jane Belnap, Arlene Tugel

Bob Graham chaired the meeting. We discussed the timetable for the committee. It is approved through September 2004. We need to formally select a secretary, who will become chair after Bob Graham‘s two-year term. We also need to think about the renewal process.

We plan to organize a symposium at the Western Society of Soil Science meeting in 2003, with the tentative title "Pedology in the Western U.S". We plan to make this a standing symposium at the WSSS meetings, so that WCC-093 meets with the Western Region Soil Survey Conference in even years and with WSSS during odd years. Randy Southard will make contacts regarding the WSSS meeting in 2003.

We discussed possible topics for a Regional Research project. Suggested topics included "Pedology in the Western U.S.", "Soil Carbon" and "GIS Approaches to Soil Survey". We reached no consensus on a topic to pursue. We recognize that any particular topic might not fit with the current research programs of all the participants in WCC-093. Thus, either some might have to change the focus of their research somewhat to meet project objectives, or might not participate in the regional project. Gene Kelley will take the lead in exploring further a regional project.

We decided to propose at the Conference business meeting that the WCC-093 committee constitute the Conference Research Committee and that membership on WCC -093 be expanded to included agency personnel.

We noted that there are two new university pedologists in the western region: David Brown at Montana State and Jay Noller at Oregon State. Bob Graham will make contacts and invite them to join WCC-093.

Minutes submitted by R. Southard

Accomplishments

Objective: To coordinate pedologic research activities in soils and ecosystems of the western region, with emphasis on activities that benefit NCSS goals of soil survey and ecosystem management.

Alaska
Continue sampling permafrost-affected soils in Arctic Alaska and add pedon data to the USDA-NRCS-NSSC Gelisol database for the Circumpolar Soils Map and North America Carbon Map. To date, there are more than 70 pedons sampled and analyzed.
Installed 6 soil monitoring stations; 2 in the Aniak Soil Survey project in SW Alaska. This survey is in cooperation with the native villages, and 4 in Interior Alaska associated with the Delta agricultural project, the Nenana-Goldstream soil survey project and forestry management experiment plots/Titlin Native Cooperation in Tok. Soil monitoring parameters include air and soil temperatures at -100, 0, 15, 25, 50, 75, and 100 cm; soil moisture probes (Hydroprobe, Vitel as called before) at corresponding depths, Campbell 107 soil temperature probes at similiar depth; solar radiation, wind direction/speed and rain gauge.

Univeristy of California, Davis
Measured saturated hydraulic conductivity with constant head permeameters. Objective: improve the estimation of permeability from soil properties. Result: measured hydraulic conductivities may be substantially different from estimated permeabilities.
Three projects on soil behavior: Funding from Cotton, Incorporated and the CA Department of Food and Agriculture, Investigated the distribution of K-fixing soils in cotton production in the San Joaquin Valley. The SSURGO data from five counties were used to generate a map of K-fixing soils, by identifying coarse-loamy families and fine-loamy families with coarse-loamy surface textures.
With USDA funding for a cooperative agreement, measured and modeled C storage pools and transformation mechanisms in soils on an elevational transects. Soils formed from basalt, andesite, and granite, and ranging from oak woodland to red fir biomes are being investigated to determine dominant forms of stored C. The rationale for the work is to predict what will happen to the heavy and light (not mineral bound) fractions if biomes migrate with climate change. Using a GIS approach and a number of data layers (e.g., geology, climate, elevation, net primary productivity) trying to predict soil distribution at the STATGO scale.
With funding from the UC Agricultural Health and Safety Center, developed a laboratory dust generator to allow us to measure dust produced from a wide variety of soils under controlled conditions. This work adds to the USDA-funded work on dust generated during agricultural management practices. That work showed that dust from soils derive from Coast Range alluvium and Sierran alluvium differ in the mineral composition of PM10 and PM2.5. An objective of both the field and lab dust work is to predict dust production potential from soil survey data, primarily at the SSURGO scale.

University of California, Riverside
The role of weathered bedrock in storing plant available water continues to be investigated. Discovered evidence that mycorrhizal hyphae play a critcal role in extracting water from the bedrock and transmitting it to roots that are confined to joint fractures. Investigating methods of assessing depth to hard bedrock, including ground penetrating radar.
We have begun a study of montane Histosols in California. We are interested in determining how their chemical properties are influenced by the lithology of the surrounding terrain.
Wildfires have recently been a major land management issue and we initiated projects to study the effects of how wildfires affect soils varying by landscape position.
Chlorite is a common mineral in metamorphic parent materials. Conducted a study to better understand chemical composition of chlorites and the their affects on susceptibility to weathering and the resulting weathering products. Studied how the original composition of plant material affects the ultimate composition of the resulting soil organic matter.

Colorado State University
Projects: Delivery of GIS and Web Based Models of Soil Processes; Soils resources in National Parks: Production of SSURGO data for use within the National Park System; Building Soil Landscape Models for Soil Inventories and Precision Farming; Utilization of remote Sensing Technologies; California Desert Predictive Modeling; Current Pedology /Biogeochemistry Research; Shortgrass Steppe; Aggregate Turnover Controls on Soil Organic Matter: The Influence of Management and Mineralogy; Cross Site Comparisons; Stable Si Isotope Geochemistry; Carbon Cycling processes, patterns and responses to projected changes in climate across North American biomes using the LTER network and databases.

University of Idaho
Focus is on genesis, properties, and management of soils formed in volcanic ash and loess in the Inland Pacific Northwest region:
Changes in seasonal perched water tables induced by forest canopy removal. Soils cleared of forest canopy yield greater quantities of seasonal perched water and these water tables persist up to 3 months longer than in adjacent uncleared soils. Recognizing cleared phases of soils with seasonal perched water tables may improve land-use interpretations
SO42- sorption in Andisols and andic intergrades. Stronger SO42- sorption in soils with more developed andic properties (NaF pH, oxalate-extractable Fe and Al). Sorption explains the poor response to sulfur fertilization that has been observed in many forested areas of the region.
Use of environmental tracer concentrations in pore waters to assess ground water recharge through paleosols. Cl- and ]18O depth profiles in loess of the Palouse Basin coupled with SSURGO data indicate annual recharge of 1-4 mm across 70% of the Basin. These recharge rates do not support current rates of aquifer pumpage.
Updated The Twelve Soil Orders web site (http://soils.ag.uidaho.edu). This site receives over 4,000 visits per month from all over the world. Limited laboratory analyses in support of local NCSS activities are also provided.

New Mexico State University
NMSU will host the Soil Science Institute (Sept 4-26).
Research is of the following topics: Carbonate biomineralization in soil; Carbon cycle in arid and semiarid ecosystems; Aridland ecopedology
Funding sources: NSF (Jornada Basin LTER); EPA (Carbon sequestration in arid and semiarid rangelands); USDA-NRI (CO2 emissions from exhumed petrocalcic horizons); International Arid Land Consortium (Atmogenic carbonate).

Oregon State University
Participated in the NRCS Wet Soils Monitoring work for about 10 years.
Cooperative work withthe U.S. Forest Service to investigate soil-landscape relationships at an LTER site in the H. J. Andrews Experimental Forest
One graduate student working with BLM soilscientist in Eugene, to look at historical records of land use on a wetland site and, using GIS technology, attempt to reconstruct original soil and vegetation conditions as nearly as possible to provide direction for efforts to restore this wetland to its natural state.
Project to investigate the time factor in soil genesis on Oregon soil landscapes was initiated using chronosequence transects across landscapes of varying age toconstruct and evaluate models of the role of time in soil development.

Utah State University
Dynamics of Saline and Irrigation-Induced Wet Soils (Funded by USDA-NRCS and the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station). Monitored the dynamics in a soil catena affected by seepage from upslope irrigation canals in central Utah. Completed our research on the properties and processes of artificial wetlands at this site. Current focus is to document the change in soil properties and processes as the system of irrigation delivery is changed.
GIS and Landscape Analysis for Improving the Quality and Efficiency of Soil Survey (Funded by USDA-NRCS and the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station). Completed our project assessing the utility of geographical information processing and analysis in facilitating soil inventory and interpretation in the Circle Cliffs area of the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument (GSENM). Developed and tested the utility of simple methods of improving the quality and efficiency of soil survey in vast and difficult-to access arid lands. Planning to implement our methodology in a new soil survey of Beaver County, which straddles the Great Basin and Great Basin-Colorado Plateau Transitional Zone.
Genesis and Origin of Lamellae in Sandy Soils in a Semiarid Climate, Southern Utah. Studying the origin of clay lamellae in sandy soils on the Wygaret Terrace in the White Cliffs area of the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. Lamellae generally begin at a depth of 90 cm and extend to about 150 cm. Soils with lamellae support pinyon pine and big sage, whereas sandy soils that lack lamellae support juniper and sand sage. These lamellae apparently play a critical role in the availability of water to plants.

Washington State University
Prediction of Soil Distribution in Wilderness Areas: From 1998 to 2001, Conducted a project for the USDA Forest Service and USDA NRCS titled gDevelopment, testing, and implementation of new soil inventory procedures in the wilderness areas of the Okanogan Methow Highlands area, Washington.h Under this project, 254,000 ha of mountainous, glaciated upland in the Sawtooth and Pasayten Wilderness Areas were mapped. Experimentation with use of GIS modeling of soils in wilderness areas is expanding in 2002 into the ca. 30,000 ha Thunder Creek watershed in North Cascades National Park.
Prediction of Soil Distribution using GIS in the Palouse: Developed a soil and landscape database for the WSU Cunningham Farm, located a few miles north of Pullman. Thiessen polygons based on 184 soil cores are used to represent the highly variable distribution of 10 soils over 38 ha of the Cunningham Farm. Distribution of the soils is not well predicted from topographic variables. Mitigating factors of the prediction include agricultural erosion and presence of a pre-Holocene soil surface within 150 cm of the current surface.
Prediction of Soil Distribution from Landsat 7 in Mali: In an effort to improve agricultural production, soils in Madiama Commune, Mali were separated into eight functional categories using a Landsat 7 scene from November,1999. Initially, an unsupervised classification yielded 14 landcover classes. A supervised classifier in Idrisi32 software was used with satellite bands 1 - 5, and 7. The classified image was filtered twice with a 3 x 3 mode filter to smooth the categories. Three hundred randomly distributed sites throughout the 15 by 25 km commune were ground truthed and used to develop an error matrix which showed the overall accuracy of the classification to be 89%.
Continued Studies of Soil Erodibility by Wind: Wind erosion of agricultural land in eastern Washington is responsible for loss of topsoil from loessial soils. Aerosol particulates from wind erosion cause health and visibility problems. This project developed prediction methods to estimate dust emissions and wind erosion. The objective was to measure erodibility with a portable wind tunnel, to intensively instrument farm fields during dust storm events, and to collect samples of the region‘s soils in order to analyze properties related to wind erodibility. The map of PM10 emission hazard shows the greatest hazards in the southwestern part of the plateau from Umatilla County, Oregon, through Benton, and Franklin Counties in Washington, which are all within the low rainfall zone the Columbia Plateau. This high hazard area occurs in silty soils with low soil organic matter (<1.0%) and clay (<10%) content. The hazard maps will be used by agencies and conservation districts to prioritize technical assistance to reduce particulate emissions in high hazard zones.

Impacts

  1. AES cooperators in Utah, Colorado, and Washington working closely with NCSS agencies are developing GIS/remote sensing strategies for soil surveys in remote wilderness areas, thereby cutting survey costs and time.
  2. Research in California (Davis) and Washington is revealing soil characteristics that increase dust hazard. This will allow preparation of maps showing dust production potential.
  3. Research in several western states is addressing carbon sequestration in soils, linking it to pedogenic processes for mapping and prediction purposes.
  4. Research in Utah and Oregon is making identification and delineation of wetland soils easier and more accurate.
  5. Projects in Alaska, Idaho, Utah, Idaho, and California are addressing specific soil characteristics that may refine soil taxonomy and result in more accurate identification of soils and their properties during soil survey.
  6. The linkages between hydrology and soils is being investigated in California, Idaho, and Utah, revealing important considerations for ecosystem and agricutlural management.

Publications

Busacca AJ. Marks HM. Rossi R. 2001. Volcanic glass in soils of the Columbia Plateau, Pacific Northwest, USA. Soil Science Society of America Journal 65:161-168.

O‘Geen AT. Busacca AJ. 2001. Faunal burrows as indicarors of paleo-vegetation in eastern Washington, USA. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology 169:23-37.

Dai XY. Ping CL. Candler R. Haumaier L. Zech W. 2001. Characterization of soil organic matter fractions of tundra soils in arctic Alaska by carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Soil Science Society of America Journal. 65:87-93.

Deutz P. Montanez IP. Monger HC. Morrison J. 2001. Morphology and isotope heterogeneity of Late Quaternary pedogenic carbonates: Implications for paleosol carbonates as paleoenvironmental proxies. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology. 166:293-317.

Kunch T. Frazier BE. Pan WL. Smith AM. 2001. Satellite radar assessment of winter cover types. Canadian Journal of Remote Sensing. 27:603-615.

Hubbert KR. Beyers JL. Graham RC. 2001. Roles of weathered bedrock and soil in seasonal water relations of Pinus Jeffreyi and Arctostaphylos patula. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 31:1947-1957.

Hubbert KR. Graham RC. Anderson MA. 2001. Soil and weathered bedrock: Components of a Jeffrey pine plantation substrate. Soil Science Society of America Journal. 65:1255-1262.

King M. Busacca AJ. Foit FF. Kemp RA. 2001. Identification of disseminated Trego Hot Springs tephra in the Palouse, Washington State. Quaternary Research 56:165-169.

Lee BD. Graham RC. Laurent TE. Amrhein C. Creasy RM. 2001. Spatial distributions of soil chemical conditions in a serpentinitic wetland and surrounding landscape. Soil Science Society of America Journal. 65:1183-1196.

McDaniel PA. Gabehart RW. Falen AL. Hammel JE. Reuter RJ. 2001. Perched water tables on Argixeroll and Fragixeralf hillslopes. Soil Science Society of America Journal. 65:805-810.

Quideau SA. Chadwick OA. Benesi A. Graham RC. Anderson MA. 2001. A direct link between forest vegetation type and soil organic matter composition. Geoderma. 104:41-60.

Shaw JD. Packee EC. Ping CL. 2001. Growth of balsam poplar and black cottonwood in Alaska in relation to landform and soil. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 31:1793-1804.

Walker DA. Bockheim JG. Chapin FS. Eugster W. Nelson FE. Ping CL. 2001. Calcium-rich tundra, wildlife, and the "Mammoth Steppe". Quaternary Science Reviews. 20:149-163.

Deutz P. Montanez IP. Monger HC. Morrison J. 2001. Morphology and isotope heterogeneity of Late Quaternary pedogenic carbonates: Implications for paleosol carbonates as paleoenvironmental proxies. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology. 166:29
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