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Ruth Weisberg

Ruth Weisberg This presentation is dedicated to my friend and neighbor Ruth, who, along with many others, was instrumental in preventing the Nisqually Delta from becoming a deep water port. Where is The Nisqually Delta? How about Luhr Beach?.

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Ruth Weisberg

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  1. Ruth Weisberg This presentation is dedicated to my friend and neighbor Ruth, who, along with many others, was instrumental in preventing the Nisqually Delta from becoming a deep water port.

  2. Where isThe Nisqually Delta?How aboutLuhr Beach?

  3. The Nisqually Delta from Luhr BeachLow tide at one of the last intact estuaries in Puget Sound

  4. At the edge of the Nisqually Delta: Soils and Land Use at Luhr Beach 2 1 3 Luhr Beach McCallister Creek

  5. picnic area two foot contour lines 1 2 PSE electrical sub-station (X) Weisberg well 3 (X) NRNC well NRNC Topographic Detail

  6. Hydraquents, tidal Hydric soils are water-saturated long enough to produce reducing conditions and affect the growth of plants. Aquent-wet entisols Entisol-very young soils, often recent deposits of alluvium or colluvium These soils are illustrated but were not sampled (next slide) Dystric Xerochrepts Dystric - Xerochrepts with a base saturation less than 60% in all soil layers between 25 and 75 cm. Xerepts -describes our climate Dry summers Wet winters Inceptisol - relatively young soils that have developed a B-horizon. In this case, Site 1 has a barely discernable Bw and Site 2 has a Bs. All three of the sampling sites are a combination of dystric xerochrepts and fill Soil Survey of Thurston Countydescribes two soil types for this site What is in the name?

  7. Soil type: Hydraquents, tidal looking northeast across the mud flats at low tide mud flats fool  boat launch

  8. Sampling Site 1: forest southbulk density = 1.53 g/cm3 sandy loam Soil Horizons Oi -- 2-3 inches A -- 3-11 inches Bw -- 11-24 inches C -- 24 inches on down consolidated glacial till The photo of this soil pit did not have enough contrast to print

  9. Sampling Site 2: forest north sandy clay loam bulk density =1.29 g/cm3 sample site 2 is behind the large douglas fir

  10. The photographer is standing next to the forest-N sampling site and looking down toward the stream (behind the fence at my back).

  11. Forest north: the only photogenic soil horizons Oi horizon 2-3 inches A horizon: 3-10 inches B horizon: 10 - 24 inches C horizon: ? again struck hardpan at about 24 inches

  12. Depositional layers Qvr = Vashon recessional outwash Qvt = Vashon till Qva = Vashon advance outwash Vk = Kitsap formation Qss = Salmon Springs deposits Qpss = Pre-Salmon Springs depositsQu = Pre-Vashon deposits, undifferentiated

  13. Depositional layers piled aboveSite 3(left) Further north along the beach, layers of clay, silt and sand form caves The depositional layers behind the building: unsorted glacial till on top of layers of silt and coarse sand.

  14. Glacial till and outwash:distinct layers composed primarily of sand, silt, or clay Further north along the beach, we find depositional layers similar to those located behind the building. Here, the layers have shifted, probably due to some upheaval, and the glacial till is level with the beach

  15. Sampling Site 3: The Garden granular sandy loam the soil is too rocky to measure bulk density assume bulk density = 1.53 g/cm3 Last spring (1998), we planted Northwestern native plants in a decorative landscape around the building. This spring’s growth prevented us from digging a soil pit large enough to photograph. 3

  16. Base Saturation characteristic of mollisolsbut these are Inceptisols The most likely reason is airborne deposition of calcium -Ca concentration: garden = forest north > forest south -base saturation: garden > forest north > forest south  garden which is closest to the sound.  forest north is exposed to the prevailing winds  forest south is sheltered from the prevailing winds

  17. Plant Nutritional status

  18. The greatest concentrations of K, P, and S are in plant tissueAdditional nutrients present in plant tissue in greater concentrations than on soil exchange sites:  B, Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Zn, Si The groundwater is he average of the two sampled wells. The garden is too far away from the sampled wells for the groundwater concentration to apply (see map). Boron: The plant concentration is 50-91% of the total soil concentration. Boron is absorbed by plants as B(OH)3- or B(OH)4and is not held on soil exchange sites.

  19. Comparison of selected nutrients in Soil and Sword fern(total: acid digestion)

  20. Aluminum Arsenic and Lead: potentially toxic substances in groundwater, soil, and sword fern The groundwater is he average of the two sampled wells. The garden is too far away from the sampled wells for the groundwater concentration to apply (see map).

  21. Conclusions • The forest north is the best example of undisturbed soil development on this site • The high base saturation (for inceptisols) is probably the result of of airborne deposition • The sword fern is reservoir for some nutrients; P, K, and S are present in greater concentrations than in the soil (total). Many other nurtrients are present in the analyzed plants in concentrations greater than on the soil exchange sites. • Sword fernis also bioaccumulating toxic metals.

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