Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Tuesday, June 15, 2004, 7 p.m. Jackson, Wyoming Bob Graham chaired the meeting. We discussed the potential for renewal of the committee. It was concluded many elements of it are valuable, but it is not likely to continue because, for various reasons, it is not functioning as intended. We discussed possible topics for a Regional Research project. We agreed that if developed, it should be linked closely to the National Cooperative Soil Survey in some way. We did not finalize a theme or mechanism to bring it about. Toby O'Geen volunteered to pursue the idea of a regional research project. Minutes submitted by Bob Graham.

Objective 1. To develop more effective mechanisms for direct input from the Experiment Stations into the National Cooperative Soil Survey (NCSS). AES participants have increasingly heavy and diverse demands on their time. In order for them to budget time for participation in the NCSS there must be effective incentives. The most effective incentive is the development of research projects by AES participants that target the needs of NCSS and are funded, at least in part, by NCSS agencies. This strategy usually involves a graduate student who may become an NCSS agency employee upon graduation. This strategy results in close linkages and very effective communication between AES and NCSS. Examples of where these relationships have been successfully developed include Utah State University and Washington State University. Objective 2. 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: Permafrost-affected soils were analyzed for the USDA-NRCS Gelisol Database to accompany the Circumpolar Soils Map and the North America Carbon Map. Monitoring stations were installed in ongoing NCSS mapping areas to record air and soil temperatures, soil moisture, solar radiation, wind speed and direction, and rainfall. California, Davis: NRCS spatial data (SSURGO and STATSGO) were used to identify and map Central Valley soils that present a PM-10 hazard when disturbed during agricultural operations. These soil survey databases were also used to identify and map the K-fixation capacity of San Joaquin Valley soils to improve K fertilization recommendations for cotton production. California, Riverside: NRCS spatial databases and laboratory characterization data were used to assess the extent of paralithic materials (soft, weathered bedrock) and their potential hydrologic and ecosystem functions. In cooperation with the USFS and NRCS, montane Histosols were sampled and characterized. These soils are in ecologically critical wet meadow sites and were poorly understood. A project is initiated, with cooperation from NRCS, to link spatial and process-based models to predict inorganic carbon (carbonate) storage in soils of the Mojave Desert. Colorado: With funding from USDA and the National Park Service (NPS), soil-landscape models were developed to spatially assess soil resources. Idaho: Seasonal perched water tables were found to perch more water and last longer after forest clearing, resulting in a recommendation to provide soil survey interpretations of cleared phases of soils in soils surveys. In collaboration with NRCS and USFS, forest productivity was linked to andic soil properties, particularly the sulfate adsorption characteristics. A GIS database to identify groundwater recharge potential in the Palouse Basin was developed based on SSURGO maps, environmental tracers, and extrapolation of site specific research. A website depicting photos and information on the 12 soil orders was developed and maintained. Montana: A model was developed to integrate NCSS map units with terrain indices for on-farm GIS use in predicting crop yield and to improve management. NCSS products were linked with current-condition data acquired from space satellites enabling the evaluation of annual and seasonal rangeland productivity and readiness for livestock use of individual soil map units. New Mexico: The linkages among landforms, soils, and vegetation in the Chihuahuan Desert were studied. In conjunction with the NRCS, a field tour of the Desert Project was organized and data were collected to determine the thermic temperature regime boundary in the state. Oregon: A long-term collaboration with the NRCS Wet Soils Monitoring Program was completed. Soil-landscape studies were conducted at the USFS H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest, an NSF-sponsored LTER site. Utah: Geospatial model mapping using Landsat 7 spectral data, digital elevation models, and GIS was employed on several projects, including mapping salinity sources in the upper San Rafael River drainage (with USDA-NRCS and USDI-BLM), mapping the distribution of saline soils on the east shore of the Great Salt Lake, facilitating soil survey in the remote Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument and Beaver County, and accelerating the soil survey of Wyoming public lands. Washington: Soil mapping strategies using GIS, remote sensing, and focused field sampling were developed for remote areas. These methods were applied to the Sawtooth and Pasayten Wilderness Areas and the Thunder Creek watershed in the North Cascade National Park. Objective 3. To identify and directly involve all NCSS cooperators in western regional research related to soil survey and ecosystem management. The AES participants developed collaborations with a broad spectrum of NCSS cooperators, including USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA-Forest Service, USDI-Bureau of Land Management, and USDI-National Park Service. Objective 4. To continue representation of Experiment Station pedologists in the National Cooperative Soil Survey at regional and national work planning conferences. This representation was maintained.

Anderson, K.C., S.G. Wells, and R.C. Graham. 2002. Pedogenesis of vesicular horizons, Cima Volcanic Field, Mojave Desert, California. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 66:878-887. Baker JB Southard RJ Mitchell JP. 2002. Agricultural dust production in standard and conservation tillage systems in the San Joaquin Valley. p. 60-71 In Proceedings of Conservation Tillage 2002 Research and Farmer Innovation Conferences. UC Cooperative Extension and Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Kearney Agricultural Center, Parlier, CA. Bell, E. P. 2003. Pedogenesis of clay lamellae in a semiarid environment, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. MS Thesis, Utah State University, Logan, UT. Briggs, C.A.D, A.J. Busacca, B.E. Frazier, and P.C. McDaniel. 2003. GIS-based mapping of soil distribution in Thunder Creek watershed, North Cascades Nat. Pk., Washington. Agron. Abst. SO5-briggs522540-poster, Am. Soc. Agron., Madison, WI 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. Busacca, Alan J., and Lawrence D. Meinert. 2003. Wine and Geology  The terroir of Washington State. pp. 69-85, In T.W. Swanson (ed), Western Cordillera and adjacent areas. Geological Soc. Am. Field Guide 4. Cole, N.J., and J.L. Boettinger. 2003. Mapping soils using unsupervised, supervised, and knowledge-based classification models, Powder River Basin, WY. Abstract of Technical Presentation, ESRI Southwest User Group (SWUG) Conference, Jackson, WY, October 29, 2003. Cole, N.J., and J.L. Boettinger. 2003. Unsupervised, supervised, and knowledge-based classification models for mapping soils, Powder River Basin, WY. ASA-CSA-SSSA Abstracts, Madison, WI. 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. Egerton-Warburton, L.M., R.C. Graham, and K.R. Hubbert. 2003. Spatial variability in mycorrhizal hyphae and nutrient and water availability in a soil-weathered bedrock profile. Plant and Soil 249:331-342. Frazier, C.S., R.C. Graham, P.J. Shouse, M.V. Yates, and M.A. Anderson. 2002. A field study of water flow and virus transport in weathered granitic bedrock. Vadose Zone J. 1:113-124. Hartshorn AS Southard RJ Bledsoe CS. 2003. Structure and function of peatland-forest ecotones in southeastern Alaska. Soil Science Society of America Journal. 67:1572-1581. 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. Johnson-Maynard, J.L., R.C. Graham, L. Wu, and P.J. Shouse. 2002. Modification of soil structural and hydraulic properties after 50 years of imposed chaparral and pine vegetation. Geoderma 110: 227-240. Johnson-Maynard, J.L., P.J. Shouse, R.C. Graham, P. Castiglione, and S.A. Quideau. 2004. Microclimate and pedogenic implications in a 50-year-old chaparral and pine biosequence. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 68:876-884. Kendrick, K.J., and R.C. Graham. 2004. Pedogenic silica accumulation in chronosequence soils, southern California. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 68:1295-1303. Kienast-Brown, S., and J.L. Boettinger. 2003. Remote sensing to update soil surveys: East Shore of the Great Salt Lake, UT. ASA-CSA-SSSA Abstracts, Madison, WI. Kimsey, M. 2003. Sulfate sorption in Andic Soils of the Inland Northwest. MS thesis, Univ. of Idaho, Moscow. 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. Kunch T. Frazier BE. Pan WL. Smith AM. 2001. Satellite radar assessment of winter cover types. Canadian Journal of Remote Sensing. 27:603-615. Lee, B.D., R.C. Graham, T.E. Laurent, and C. Amrhein. 2004. Pedogenesis in a wetland meadow and surrounding serpentinitic landslide terrain, northern California, USA. Geoderma 118:303-320. 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. Lee, B.D., S.K. Sears, R.C. Graham, C. Amrhein, and H. Vali. 2003. Secondary mineral genesis from chlorite and serpentine in an ultramafic soil toposequence. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 67:1309-1317. Lee, B.D., T.N. Williamson, and R.C. Graham. 2002. Identification of stolen rare palm trees by soil morphological and mineralogical properties. J. Forensic Sci. 47:190-194. Lee K Lawson RJ Olenchock SA Vallyathan V Southard RJ Thorne PS Saiki C Schenker MB. Dust exposures in manual harvest of California citrus and grapes. American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal. In Press. MacMillan, J.M. 2003. Soil properties influence western harvester ant nest site density, Uintah and Piceance Basins, Utah-Colorado. MS Thesis, Utah State University, Logan, UT. 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. McGahan DG Southard RJ Zasoski RJ. 2003. Mineralogical comparison of agriculturally acidified and naturally acidic soils. Geoderma 114:355-368. Mitchell JP Southard JP Baker JB Klonsky K Munk DS. Reduced tillage production system alternatives for processing tomatoes and cotton in California's San Joaquin Valley. Acta Horticulturae. In Press. Murashkina M Koptsik GN Southard RJ Chizhikova NP. 2004. Forms of iron, aluminum, silica and manganese in soils of taiga zone forest ecosystems. Eurasian Journal of Soil Science. 37:31-39. Murray, J., A.T. OGeen, and P.A. McDaniel. 2003. Development of GIS database for groundwater recharge assessment of the Palouse Basin. Soil Sci. 168: 759-768. Newman, B.D., B.P. Wilcox, and R.C. Graham. 2004. Snowmelt-driven macropore flow and soil saturation in a semiarid forest. Hydrol. Proc. 18:1035-1042. Nield, S.J., and J.L. Boettinger. 2003. Using GIS and remote sensing to map rangeland salinity source areas, Upper San Rafael River, UT. ASA-CSA-SSSA Abstracts, Madison, WI. O'Geen AT. Busacca AJ. 2001. Faunal burrows as indicarors of paleo-vegetation in eastern Washington, USA. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology 169:23-37. OGeen, A.T., P.A. McDaniel, J. Boll, and E. Brooks. 2003. Hydrologic processes in valley soilscapes of the eastern Palouse Basin in northern Idaho. Soil Sci. 168: 846-855. 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. Rose, K.L., R.C. Graham, and D.R. Parker. 2003. Water source utilization by Pinus jeffreyi and Arctostaphylos patula on thin soils over bedrock. Oecologia 134: 46-54. 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. Thomas J Southard RJ. 2002. Water budgets in xeric soil moisture regimes in Californias Central Valley: Can deep leaching occur under todays climate? p. 97-108 In (Zdruli et al. eds.) Selected Papers of the 7th International Meeting of Soils with Mediterranean Type of Climate, OPTIONS, Series A: Mediterranean Seminars, Number 50, CIHEAM-Mediterranean Agronomic Institute, Bari, Italy. Ufnar, D.R., B.E. Frazier, A J. Busacca, D. Lammers, and C.E. Davis. 2003. Using Landtype Associations As a Soil Survey Premapping Tool. Agron. Abst. SO5-ufnar406571-poster, Am. Soc. Agron., Madison, WI Van Miegroet, H., J.L. Boettinger, M.A. Baker. 2003. Differences in stability of soil organic carbon in semi-arid rangeland forest mosaics in northern Utah, USA. Published Abstract of Presentation, International Conference on Mechanisms and Regulation of Organic Matter Stabilisation in Soils, Munich, Germany, October 2003. Van Miegroet, H., J.L. Boettinger, M.A. Baker, J. Nielsen, D. Evans, and A. Stum. 2003. Soil carbon distribution and quality in seasonally dry rangeland forest mosaics in the Intermountain West. Published Abstract of Presentation, 10th North American Forest Soils Conference, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, July 2003. 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. Williamson, T.N., R.C. Graham, and P.J. Shouse. 2004. Effects of a chaparral to grass conversion on soil physical and hydrologic properties after four decades. Geoderma 123:99-114. Williamson, T.N., B.D. Newman, R. C. Graham, and P.J. Shouse. 2004. Regolith water in zero-order chaparral and perennial grass watersheds four decades after vegetation conversion. Vadose Zone J. 3:1017-1030. Witty, J.H., R.C. Graham, K.R. Hubbert, J.A. Doolittle, and J.A. Wald. 2003. Contributions of water supply from the weathered bedrock zone to forest soil quality. Geoderma 114:389-400. Wood, Y.A., R.C. Graham, and S.G. Wells. 2002. Surface mosaic map units: capturing the spatial variability of a desert pavement surface. J Arid Env. 52: 305-317. Wood, Y.A., R.C. Graham, and S.G. Wells. 2004. Surface control of desert pavement pedologic process and landscape function, Cima Volcanic Field. Catena. (in press).