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At least 397 records · Page 22Linked to original sources
USGS2001

Estimation of infiltration rates of saturated soils at selected sites in the Caloosahatchee River basin, southwestern Florida

Soil infiltration measurements were made at 23 sites in the Caloosahatchee River Basin in Glades, Hendry, and Lee Counties in southwestern Florida. The sandy soils of the basin are characterized by high infiltration rates limited in some areas by a high water table during the wet season. Because soil characteristics are similar within the basin, soils are classified by landscape group based on landscape cover and associated drainage. In accordance with this designation by the South Florida Water Management District, 11 sites are classified in the rock landscape group, 7 in the flatwoods landscape group, 4 in the slough landscape group, and 1 in the depression landscape group. Data for 16 sites were fit to Horton's equation by using a regression analysis to estimate the infiltration rates of saturated soils. For some sites, an outlier value was removed prior to the regression analysis. Seven of the sites did not yield data that fit Horton's equation. The flatness of the plotted data suggests that saturated conditions may have been reached early in the test. The infiltration rate of saturated soils for these sites was estimated by averaging the data collected after the first 20 minutes of the test. For all sites, the estimated infiltration rates of saturated soils ranged from 9.8 to 115 centimeters per hour in flatwoods, 3.4 to 66 centimeters per hour in rock, and 2.5 to 55 centimeters per hour in slough. The estimated soil infiltration rate at the one site in the depression was 181 centimeters per hour. Five sites were located on irrigation control berms where infiltration rates of the highly compacted and rocky soil may not represent the rates of less disturbed soils at sites within the same landscape groups.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2002

Selected micrometeorological and soil-moisture data at Amargosa Desert Research Site in Nye County near Beatty, Nevada, 1998-2000

Selected micrometeorological and soil-moisture data were collected at the Amargosa Desert Research Site adjacent to a low-level radioactive waste and hazardous chemical waste facility near Beatty, Nev., 1998-2000. Data were collected in support of ongoing research studies to improve the understanding of hydrologic and contaminant-transport processes in arid environments. Micrometeorological data include precipitation, air temperature, solar radiation, net radiation, relative humidity, ambient vapor pressure, wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, soil temperature, and soil-heat flux. All micrometeorological data were collected using a 10-second sampling interval by data loggers that output daily mean, maximum, and minimum values, and hourly mean values. For precipitation, data output consisted of daily, hourly, and 5-minute totals. Soil-moisture data included periodic measurements of soil-water content at nine neutron-probe access tubes with measurable depths ranging from 5.25 to 29.75 meters. The computer data files included in this report contain the complete micrometeorological and soil-moisture data sets. The computer data consists of seven files with about 14 megabytes of information. The seven files are in tabular format: (1) one file lists daily mean, maximum, and minimum micrometeorological data and daily total precipitation; (2) three files list hourly mean micrometeorological data and hourly precipitation for each year (1998-2000); (3) one file lists 5-minute precipitation data; (4) one file lists mean soil-water content by date and depth at four experimental sites; and (5) one file lists soil-water content by date and depth for each neutron-probe access tube. This report highlights selected data contained in the computer data files using figures, tables, and brief discussions. Instrumentation used for data collection also is described. Water-content profiles are shown to demonstrate variability of water content with depth. Time-series data are plotted to illustrate temporal variations in micrometeorological and soil-water content data. Substantial precipitation at the end of an El Ni?o cycle in early 1998 resulted in measurable water penetration to a depth of 1.25 meters at one of the four experimental soil-monitoring sites.

Nevada↗
USGS1979

A single-degree-of-freedom model for non-linear soil amplification

For proper understanding of soil behavior during earthquakes and assessment of a realistic surface motion, studies of the large-strain dynamic response of non-linear hysteretic soil systems are indispensable. Most of the presently available studies are based on the assumption that the response of a soil deposit is mainly due to the upward propagation of horizontally polarized shear waves from the underlying bedrock. Equivalent-linear procedures, currently in common use in non-linear soil response analysis, provide a simple approach and have been favorably compared with the actual recorded motions in some particular cases. Strain compatibility in these equivalent-linear approaches is maintained by selecting values of shear moduli and damping ratios in accordance with the average soil strains, in an iterative manner. Truly non-linear constitutive models with complete strain compatibility have also been employed. The equivalent-linear approaches often raise some doubt as to the reliability of their results concerning the system response in high frequency regions. In these frequency regions the equivalent-linear methods may underestimate the surface motion by as much as a factor of two or more. Although studies are complete in their methods of analysis, they inevitably provide applications pertaining only to a few specific soil systems, and do not lead to general conclusions about soil behavior. This report attempts to provide a general picture of the soil response through the use of a single-degree-of-freedom non-linear-hysteretic model. Although the investigation is based on a specific type of nonlinearity and a set of dynamic soil properties, the method described does not limit itself to these assumptions and is equally applicable to other types of nonlinearity and soil parameters.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1983

Alternate data sources for soil surveys on rangeland

Soil information is an essential theme in a digital information base for land management and resource monitoring, but public land management agencies seldom have detailed soil maps available for all of the area under their administration. Most of these agencies conduct soil surveys on a scheduled basis, but escalating costs and declining budgets are reducing the number of surveys that can be scheduled. Digital elevation and satellite spectral data are available or are obtainable for all areas in the continental United States and may be used as an aid to produce soils data. A study was conducted in the Grass Creek Resource Area in north-central Wyoming to assess the utility of incorporating digital elevation and Landsat data into an information base for soil survey and to evaluate the usefulness of these data as an input to an order-three soil survey. Slope-interval maps were produced from digital elevation data and topographic maps of three 7.5-minute quadrangle areas. These slope-interval maps were then overlaid on orthophotoquadrangles and used to produce photo-interpreted physiographic maps. These physiographic maps were digitized into a data base and used with Landsat multispectral scanner data to produce tabular summaries that describe each map polygon in terms of physiographic unit, slope, aspect, elevation, area, and spectral values. A good relationship was found between the physiographic units and soil mapping units defined during a conventional soil survey, and between the Landsat spectral categories and existing vegetation communities. Field evaluations confirmed the feasibility of using this approach for producing physiographic maps as an aid for mapping soils and range sites. The project is a cooperative investigation of the Earth Resources Observation Systems Data Center of the U.S. Geological Survey, the Soil Conservation Service, and the Bureau of Land Management.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2018

Postwildfire measurement of soil physical and hydraulic properties at selected sampling sites in the 2011 Las Conchas wildfire burn scar, Jemez Mountains, north-central New Mexico

The generation of runoff and the resultant flash flooding can be substantially larger following wildfire than for similar rainstorms that precede wildfire disturbance. Flash flooding after the 2011 Las Conchas Fire in New Mexico provided the motivation for this investigation to assess postwildfire effects on soil-hydraulic properties (SHPs) and soil-physical properties (SPPs) as a function of remotely sensed burn severity 4 years following the wildfire. A secondary purpose of this report is to illustrate a methodology to determine SHPs that analyzes infiltrometer data by using three different analysis methods. The SPPs and SHPs are measured as a function of remotely sensed burn severity by using the difference in the Normalized Burn Ratio (dNBR) metric for seven sites. The dNBR metric was used to guide field sample collection across a full spectrum of burn severities that covered the range of Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS) and Burned Area Reflectance Classification (BARC) thematic classes from low to high severity. The SPPs (initial and saturated soil-water content, bulk density, soil-organic matter, and soil-particle size) and SHPs (field-saturated hydraulic conductivity and sorptivity) were measured under controlled laboratory conditions for soil cores collected in the field. The SHPs were estimated by using tension infiltrometer measurements and three different data analysis methods. These measurements showed large effects of burn severity, focused in the top 1 centimeter (cm) of soil, on some SPPs (bulk density, soil organic matter, and particle sizes). The threshold of these bulk density and soil organic matter effects was between 300 and 400 dNBR, which corresponds to a MTBS thematic class between moderate and high burn severity and a BARC4 thematic class of high severity. Gravel content and the content of fines in the top 1 cm of soil had a higher threshold value between 450 and 500 dNBR. Lesser effects on SPPs were observed at depths of 1–3 cm and 3–6 cm. In contrast, SHPs showed little effect from dNBR or from MTBS/BARC4 thematic class. Measurements suggested that 4 years of elapsed time after the wildfire may be sufficient for SHP recovery in this area. These measurements also indicated that SPP differences as a function of burn severity cannot be used as reliable indicators of SHP differences as a function of burn severity.

New Mexico↗
USGS2021

Resistance, resilience, and recovery of dryland soil bacterial communities across multiple disturbances

Dryland ecosystems are sensitive to perturbations and generally slow to recover post disturbance. The microorganisms residing in dryland soils are especially important as they contribute to soil structure and nutrient cycling. Disturbance can have particularly strong effects on dryland soil structure and function, yet the natural resistance and recovery of the microbial components of dryland soils has not been well documented. In this study, the recovery of surface soil bacterial communities from multiple physical and environmental disturbances is assessed. Samples were collected from three field sites in the vicinity of Moab, UT, United States, 6 to 7 years after physical and climate disturbance manipulations had been terminated, allowing for the assessment of community recovery. Additionally, samples were collected in a transect that included three habitat patches: the canopy zone soils under the dominant shrubs, the interspace soils that are colonized by biological soil crusts, and edge soils at the plot borders. Field site and habitat patch were significant factors structuring the bacterial communities, illustrating that sites and habitats harbored unique soil microbiomes. Across the different sites and disturbance treatments, there was evidence of significant bacterial community recovery, as bacterial biomass and diversity were not significantly different than control plots. There was, however, a small number of 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequence variants that distinguished particular treatments, suggesting that legacy effects of the disturbances still remained. Taken together, these data suggest that dryland bacterial communities may possess a previously unappreciated potential to recover within years of the original disturbance.

Frontiers in Microbiology↗
USGS2014

Changes in vegetation and biological soil crust communities on sand dunes stabilizing after a century of grazing on San Miguel Island, Channel Island National Park, California

San Miguel Island is the westernmost of the California Channel Islands and one of the windiest areas on the west coast of North America. The majority of the island is covered by coastal sand dunes, which were stripped of vegetation and subsequently mobilized due to droughts and sheep ranching during the late 19th century and early 20th century. Since the removal of grazing animals, vegetation and biological soil crusts have once again stabilized many of the island's dunes. In this study, historical aerial photographs and field surveys were used to develop a chronosequence of the pattern of change in vegetation communities and biological soil crust levels of development (LOD) along a gradient of dune stabilization. Historical aerial photographs from 1929, 1954, 1977, and 2009 were georeferenced and used to delineate changes in vegetation canopy cover and active (unvegetated) dune extent among 5 historical periods (pre-1929, 1929–1954, 1954–1977, 1977–2009, and 2009–2011). During fieldwork, vegetation and biological soil crust communities were mapped along transects distributed throughout San Miguel Island's central dune field on land forms that had stabilized during the 5 time periods of interest. Analyses in a geographic information system (GIS) quantified the pattern of changes that vegetation and biological soil crust communities have exhibited on the San Miguel Island dunes over the past 80 years. Results revealed that a continuing increase in total vegetation cover and a complex pattern of change in vegetation communities have taken place on the San Miguel Island dunes since the removal of grazing animals. The highly specialized native vascular vegetation (sea rocket, dunedelion, beach-bur, and locoweed) are the pioneer stabilizers of the dunes. This pioneer community is replaced in later stages by communities that are dominated by native shrubs (coastal goldenbush, silver lupine, coyote-brush, and giant coreopsis), with apparently overlapping or cyclical succession pathways. Many of the dunes that have been stabilized the longest (since before 1929) are dominated by exotic grasses. Stands of biological soil crusts (cyanobacteria) are found only on dunes where vascular vegetation is already present. Biological soil crusts are not found on dunes exhibiting a closed vascular plant canopy, which may indicate that the role of soil crusts in dune stabilization on the island is transitory. Particle-size analyses of soil samples from the study area reveal that higher biological soil crust LOD is positively correlated with increasing fine grain content. The findings indicate that changes in vegetation communities may be the most rapid at earlier and later stages of dune stabilization and that regular monitoring of dunes may help to identify the interactions between vegetation and soil crusts, as well as the potential transitions between native and exotic plant communities.

California↗
USGS2020

Soil moisture product validation good practices protocol, version 1.0

The Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) included soil moisture in the list of Essential Climate Variables (ECVs) to express its important role in Earth’s water, energy and carbon cycle. Soil moisture has a major impact on agriculture, land surface hydrology, weather, and climate forecasting. This document is a community-based effort to provide recommendations on good practices for the validation of global to regional soil moisture products. Definitions are given and metrics to adequately describe the quality of soil moisture products are presented. Spaceborne active and passive microwave sensors are listed with their characteristics, and the typical soil moisture retrieval methods are explained, including dielectric mixing models and optical methods. Spatial scaling, root zone soil moisture estimation, and operational implementations are addressed, as these issues continue to gain more and more importance. Standard and advanced in situ measurement techniques are described as well as sensor calibration, spatial representativity, sampling strategies, and the benefit of airborne campaigns.The community has agreed upon the utilization of the International Soil Moisture Network (ISMN) as the main online repository for in situ soil moisture measurements. Different validation methods such as ground-based validation, satellite product intercomparison, and time series analyses are presented. We provide strategies to evaluate the long-term quality of soil moisture products, and give advice on how to handle typical temporal and spatial-scale mismatches and how to effectively report validation results. Moreover, the benefit of blind tests is discussed to gain objective validation results. We encourage data providers, scientists and practitioners to use this Soil Moisture Product Validation Good Practices Protocol to provide, analyze, and improve high quality Earth Observation results.

Report↗
USGS2020

Generalized models to estimate carbon and nitrogen stocks of organic soil horizons in Interior Alaska

Boreal ecosystems comprise one tenth of the world’s land surface and contain over 20 % of the global soil carbon (C) stocks. Boreal soils are unique in that its mineral soil is covered by what can be quite thick layers of organic soil. These organic soil layers, or horizons, can differ in their state of decomposition, source vegetation, and disturbance history. These differences result in varying soil properties (bulk density, C concentration, and nitrogen (N) concentration) among soil horizons. Here we summarize these soil properties, as represented by over 3000 samples from Interior Alaska, and examine how soil drainage and stand age affect these attributes. The summary values presented here can be used to gap-fill large datasets when important soil properties were not measured, provide data to initialize process-based models, and validate model results. These data are available at https://doi.org/10.5066/P960N1F9 (Manies, 2019).

Alaska↗
USGS1982

Effects of soils and grazing on breeding birds of uncultivated upland grasslands of the Northern Great Plains

The principal use of uncultivated upland grasslands in the northern Great Plains is for livestock production. However, on lands set aside for wildlife or for scientific or recreational use, grazing by livestock may be used as a management measure to enhance populations of game species or to create conditions that increase the diversity of plant or animal species. To determine the effects of grazing on the avifauna of various types of Great Plains grasslands, we conducted bird censuses and plant surveys during 1974-78 on 615 plots of lightly, moderately, or heavily grazed native rangeland.Numbers of horned lark (Eremophila alpestris), western meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta), lark bunting (Calamospiza melanocorys), and chestnut-collared longspur (Calcarius ornatus) accounted for 65-75% of the total bird population, regardless of grazing intensity. For the entire area sampled (600,000 km2), horned lark, western meadowlark, and chestnut-collared longspur were the dominant birds. Major differences in composition of the dominant species and species richness occurred among the major soils. Increased mean annual soil temperature seemingly had a greater negative influence on avian species richness than did decreased soil moisture or organic matter content. Differences in total bird density were not significant among soils and among grazing intensities within most soils. For the area as a whole, light or moderate grazing resulted in increased species richness. Of the 29 species studied, 2 responded significantly to grazing for the area as a whole and 6 others to grazing on the soil in which peak densities occurred. Response of several other species to grazing effects evidently varied among strata.A list of plants with mean cover values of more than 1% in any of the 18 combinations of soils and grazing intensities contained less than 25 species, attesting to the relative simplicity of the grassland vegetation in the northern Great Plains. Agropyron spp. and Bouteloua gracilis were the dominant plants that provided greater than average cover on the best habitat for the most bird species. Optimum habitat for each bird species is given in terms of grazing, soils, and dominant plant species. Increased soil temperature probably had a negative effect on plant species richness, especially among soils with a high organic matter content that supported perennial grasses and other mesophytes.

Wildlife Research Report↗
USGS1999

Soil respiration at the Amargosa Desert Research site: A section in U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program: Proceedings of the technical meeting, Charleston, South Carolina, March 8-12, 1999: Volume 3 (Part C) (WRI 99-4018C)

Automated opaque flux-chamber measurements of soil carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) flux (soil respiration) into the atmosphere at the Amargosa Desert Research Site show seasonal and diel cycles of soil respiration that are closely linked with soil temperature and soil moisture. During 1998, soil respiration increased with soil warming through spring, reaching a maximum rate (not counting anomalously high values scattered through the record) of about 0.055 moles CO 2 m -2 day -1 around Julian Day 120. Respiration rates then declined along with volumetric soil moisture content, tending to stay at or below about 0.02 moles CO 2 per square meter per day (m -2 day -1 ) for the rest of the year, except after summer rainfalls when respiration sharply increased for short periods. The diel respiration pattern during dry spells is marked by a sharp rise in CO 2 flux coincident with steeply rising soil temperatures in the morning, then dropping back to low levels about the time of maximum soil temperature. The reason for this pattern in unclear.

Nevada↗
USGS2022

Soils

Soils play a strong role in determining how New Mexico’s diverse landscapes will respond to climate change. Soil cover acts like a sponge, holding in water that falls as rain or snow. The presence of soil supports vegetation, and substantially reduces runoff and erosion. Soil enhances other processes such as infiltration of water and aquifer recharge. Soils can be damaged by a warming climate. Loss of vegetation in the Northwest High Desert and Eastern Plains, where soils are not well developed and easily damaged, will lead to dustier conditions in much of the state. On mountain hillslopes, the loss of vegetation cover in response to ongoing climate change will increase soil erosion, which then increases hillslope runoff. This, in turn, causes additional increases in soil erosion and bedrock exposure, which can largely prevent widespread recolonization by most plants, including trees. Soils on mountain hillslopes that face south, which are typically hotter and drier, will be damaged sooner by a warming climate than those on generally north-facing hillslopes that are slightly cooler and moister. Soils take many thousands of years to form, so these hillslopes will increasingly support sparse forests, or, in some circumstances, be entirely deforested. These changes are already well underway in some mountains in New Mexico.

New Mexico↗
USGS2023

Forming regional soil carbon networks to support effective climate change solutions

Sequestration and storage of organic carbon (C) in soil is an essential component of climate change mitigation and fundamental in promoting the health and climate resilience of soils. Sources of available soil C data are increasing, which complicates efforts to consolidate the data in forms that can be readily used by stakeholders. Spatial and temporal gaps in data availability also limit the quantification of changes in soil C through space and time. Improved coordination among producers and users of soil C data would provide data compatibility at the spatial and temporal resolution required for C monitoring, accounting, and verification of policy implementation. These challenges can be addressed by forming regional-scale networks to coordinate the collection and use of soil C data by promoting consistency in methods, collecting new data to fill critical gaps, integrating existing data from multiple sources, and providing data interpretation to stakeholders in readily usable forms. Forming networks in regions such as the Northeastern United States would require close coordinationwith existing programs that are involved in collecting or aggregating soil C within that region. Network formation could be accomplished by (1) producing a planning document, (2) designing a network structure tailored to the region, and (3) acquiring the institutional support to establish and operate the network. Increasing the availability and usage of soil C data through regional networks would support the development of climate change solutions and increased ecosystem services through land management efforts that increase soil C storage.

Soil Science Society of America Journal↗
USGS2002

Effects of subsurface aeration and trinexapac-ethyl application on soil microbial communities in a creeping bentgrass putting green

The sensitivity of creeping bentgrass (Agrostis palustris Huds.) to the extreme heat found in the southeastern United States has led to the development of new greens-management methods. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of subsurface aeration and growth regulator applications on soil microbial communities and mycorrhizal colonization rates in a creeping bentgrass putting green. Two cultivars (Crenshaw and Penncross), a growth regulator (trinexapacethyl), and subsurface aeration were evaluated in cool and warm seasons. Total bacterial counts were higher in whole (unsieved) soils than in sieved soils, indicating a richer rhizosphere soil environment. Mycorrhizal infection rates were higher in trinexapac-ethyl (TE) treated plants. High levels of hyphal colonization and relatively low arbuscule and vesicle occurrence were observed. Principal components analysis of whole-soil fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) profiles indicated that warm-season microbial populations in whole and sieved soils had similar constituents, but the populations differed in the cool season. FAME profiles did not indicate that subsurface aeration and TE application affected soil microbial community structure. This is the first reported study investigating the influences of subsurface aeration and TE application on soil microorganisms in a turfgrass putting green soil.

Biology and Fertility of Soils↗
USGS2019

Plant richness and composition in hardwood forest understories vary along an acidic deposition and soil-chemical gradient in the northeastern United States

Aims A century of atmospheric deposition of sulfur and nitrogen has acidified soils and undermined the health and recruitment of foundational tree species in the northeastern US. However, effects of acidic deposition on the forest understory plant communities of this region are poorly documented. We investigated how forest understory plant species composition and richness varied across gradients of acidic deposition and soil acidity in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State. Methods We surveyed understory vegetation and soils in hardwood forests on 20 small watersheds and built models of community composition and richness as functions of soil chemistry, nitrogen and sulfur deposition, and other environmental variables. Results Community composition varied significantly with gradients of acidic deposition, soil acidity, and base cation availability (63% variance explained). Several species increased with soil acidity while others decreased. Understory plant richness decreased significantly with increasing soil acidity ( r = 0.60). The best multivariate regression model to predict richness ( p < 0.001, adjusted -R 2 = 0.60) reflected positive effects of pH and carbon-to-nitrogen ratio (C:N). Conclusions The relationship we found between understory plant communities and a soil-chemical gradient, suggests that soil acidification can reduce diversity and alter the composition of these communities in northern hardwood forests exposed to acidic deposition.

New York↗
USGS2023

Experimental manipulation of soil-surface albedo alters phenology and growth of Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass)

Purpose The sensitivity of wildland plants to temperature can be directly measured using experimental manipulations of temperature in situ. We show that soil surface temperature and plant density (per square meter) have a significant impact on the germination, growth, and phenology of Bromus tectorum L., cheatgrass, a short-statured invasive winter-annual grass, and assess a new experimental temperature manipulation method: the application of black and white gravel to warm and cool the soil surface. Methods We monitored height, seed production, and phenological responses of cheatgrass, seeded into colored gravel at low and high densities at two sites in the western USA: Boise, ID and Cheyenne, WY. Soil surface temperature and volumetric water content were measured to assess treatment effects on soil surface microclimate. Results Black gravel increased mean temperatures of the surface soil by 1.6 and 2.6 °C compared to white gravel in Cheyenne and Boise, respectively, causing 21–24 more days with soil temperatures > 0 °C, earlier cheatgrass germination, and up to 2.8-fold increases in cheatgrass height. Higher seeding density of cheatgrass led to 1.4-fold taller plants on black gravel plots at both sites, but not white gravel at the Boise site, indicating a possible thermal benefit or reduction of water demand due to plant clustering in warmer treatments. Conclusions Manipulating soil-surface albedo altered the soil microclimate and thus growth and phenology of cheatgrass, whose life history and growth form confer a strong dependency on soil-surface conditions.

Idaho, Wyoming↗
USGS2005

Phosphate reactivity in long-term poultry litter-amended southern Delaware sandy soils

Eutrophication caused by dissolved P from poultry litter (PL)-amended agricultural soils has been a serious environmental concern in the Delaware-Maryland-Virginia Peninsula (Delmarva), USA. To evaluate state and federal nutrient management strategies for reducing the environmental impact of soluble P from long-term PL-amended Delaware (DE) soils, we investigated (i) inorganic P speciation; (ii) P adsorption capacity; and (iii) the extent of P desorption. Although the electron microprobe (EMP) analyses showed a strong correlation between P and Al/Fe, crystalline Al/Fe-P precipitates were not detected by x-ray diffraction (XRD). Instead, the inorganic P fractionation analyses showed high levels of oxalate extractable P, Al, and Fe fractions (615-858, 1215-1478, and 337-752 mg kg-1, respectively), which were susceptible to slow release during the long-term (30-d) P desorption experiments at a moderately acidic soil pHwater. The labile P in the short-term (24-h) desorption studies was significantly associated with oxalate and F extractable Fe and Al, respectively. This was evident in an 80% reduction maximum in total desorbable P from NH4 oxalate/F pretreated soils. In the adsorption experiments, P was strongly retained in soils at near targeted pH of lime (???6.0), but P adsorption gradually decreased with decreasing pH near the soil pHwater (???5.0). The overall findings suggest that P losses from the can be suppressed by an increase in the P retention capacity of soils via (i) an increase in the number of lime applications to maintain soil pHwater at near targeted pH values, and/or (ii) alum/iron sulfate amendments to provide additional Al- and Fe-based adsorbents. ?? Soil Science Society of America.

Soil Science Society of America Journal↗
USGS2014

Fifteen-year patterns of soil carbon and nitrogen following biomass harvesting

The substitution of forest-derived woody biofuels for fossil fuel energy has garnered increasing attention in recent years, but information regarding the mid- and long-term effects on soil productivity is limited. We investigated 15-yr temporal trends in forest floor and mineral soil (0–30 cm) C and N pools in response to organic matter removal treatments (OMR; stem-only harvest, SOH; whole-tree harvest, WTH; and whole-tree plus forest floor removal, FFR) at three edaphically distinct aspen ( Populus tremuloides Michx. and P. grandidentata Michx.) forests in the Great Lakes region. The OMR and temporal effects were generally site specific, and both were most evident in the forest floor and combined profile (mineral soil and forest floor) compared with the mineral soil alone. Forest floor and combined profile C and N pools were generally similar in the SOH and WTH treatments, suggesting that slash retention has little impact on soil C and N in this time frame. Temporal changes in C and N at one of the three sites were consistent with patterns documented following exotic earthworm invasion, but mineral soil pools at the other two sites were stable over time. Power analyses demonstrated that significant effects were more likely to be detected for temporal differences than the effects of OMR and in the combined profile than in the mineral soil. Our findings are consistent with previous work demonstrating that OMR effects on soil C and N pools are site specific and more apparent in the forest floor than the mineral soil.

Soil Science Society of America Journal↗