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Putting Forest Health Monitoring in its Place – The Vermont Long-term Soil Monitoring Project

The Vermont Long-Term Soil Monitoring Project is a cooperative project aimed at detecting changes in soils due to human-caused impacts in two forested sites in Vermont. The project has a planned lifespan of 200 years and involves regular soil sampling and analysis at various time intervals. The project is a collaboration between the Vermont Monitoring Cooperative, Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, University of Vermont, USDA Forest Service, and Natural Resources Conservation Service.

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Putting Forest Health Monitoring in its Place – The Vermont Long-term Soil Monitoring Project

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  1. Putting Forest Health Monitoring in its Place –The Vermont Long-term Soil Monitoring Project

  2. Vermont Long-Term Soil Monitoring Project • A cooperative long-term soil monitoring project established with the goal of detecting changes in soils due to human-caused impacts at two forested sites in Vermont. • Major partners - • Vermont Monitoring Cooperative (VMC) • Vermont Agency of Natural Resources • University of Vermont • USDA Forest Service Green Mountain National Forest • Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)

  3. Vermont Long-Term Soil Monitoring Project Monitoring strategy - measure changes in soil properties in forest locations where ecological processes are in a “steady state” by sampling at various time intervals over project life. Planned lifespan of project - 200 years (2002-2202). Sampling years: 0, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 150, 200 – 8 times (2 more times in reserve). Five long-term 50x50 meter soil monitoring plots were established in 2000. Initial background soil characterization was done through the NRCS National Soil Survey Lab in “Year Zero minus 2” (2000). Each plot has 100 5x5 m. subplots for sampling. Soil climate analysis (SCAN) equipment was also installed at the two major locations in September 2000.

  4. Vermont Long-Term Soil Monitoring Project Current Long-term Soil Monitoring Team members: Scott Bailey, USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station Nancy Burt, USDA Forest Service, GMNF Sean Lawson, State of Vermont, VMC Eric Miller, Ecosystems Research Group Don Ross, University of Vermont Jamie Shanley, US Geological Survey Thom Villars, USDA-NRCS (chair) Sandy Wilmot (Honorary advisory member)

  5. 2002 Sampling (Year Zero) 3600 feet Organic and mineral horizons from 10 randomly selected soil pits were sampled within each 50x50m plot. 206 soil horizons sampled from 50 soil pits. 2300 – 2400 feet 1800 feet

  6. Where did the 206 samples go? Subsamples of each horizon were sent to 3 labs: • NRCS National Soil Survey Lab - completed • University of Vermont Soil Lab - in progress • Forest Service Research Lab - in progress Plus another subsample of each horizon was: • Archived at Hubbard Brook (for now) Also, separate samples were collected for mercury analysis that was performed free of charge by State of VT, courtesy of N. Kamman.

  7. 2002 Sampling: Mt. Mansfield – Forehead Site 3600 feet elevation Montane Spruce – Fir Forest natural community

  8. 2002 Sampling: Mt. Mansfield – Forehead Site Soils underlain by bedrock. There are 4 soil Orders here!

  9. 2002 Sampling: Lye Brook – Road site Approx 2300 feet elevation Northern Hardwood Forest natural community

  10. 2002 Sampling: Lye Brook – Road site Soils are Spodosols (except one) underlain by dense till.

  11. 2002 Sampling: Lye Brook – Trail site Approx 2400 feet elevation Northern Hardwood Forest natural community

  12. 2002 Sampling: Lye Brook – Trail site All soils are Spodosols underlain by dense till.

  13. 2002 Sampling: Mt. Mansfield – Polka Dot site Approx. 2400 feet elevation Yellow Birch Northern Hardwood Forest natural community All excavated soil material was laid on plastic to avoid contamination of larger area.

  14. 2002 Sampling: Mt. Mansfield – Polka Dot site Soils are mix of Spodosols and Inceptisols underlain by dense till.

  15. 2002 Sampling: Mt. Mansfield – Ranch Brook site Approx 1800 feet elevation Northern Hardwood Forest natural community, with some signs of enrichment

  16. 2002 Sampling: Mt. Mansfield – Ranch Brook site Soils are primarily Inceptisols, with two Spodosols.

  17. Cation Exchange Capacity (by sum of cations) for All Horizons, NSSL

  18. Carbon Sequestration in Soils – Mean Total % Carbon in All Horizons, NSSL Forehead Ranch Brook Polka Dot Lye-Trail Lye-Road

  19. Mercury concentration in surface horizons, based on elevation Mercury concentration in surficial soils shows a strong positive relation with elevation. This elevational dependence may be related to increased deposition of Hg at higher elevations. Error bars show +/- 1 standard deviation, based on 10 samples at each site (except 20 at Lye Road). At Mansfield Polka, A horizon values are plotted as there was little O horizon present (-?). (J. Shanley)

  20. Mercury concentration in soil horizons Mercury retention is greatest in the soil O horizon. Based on samples from 4 sites, Hg concentration in the O horizon was more than 3 times greater than in the B horizon. (Lye Trail was not sampled.) (J. Shanley)

  21. Vermont Soil Climate Analysis Network (SCAN) Sites – supporting the long-term study Edge of Lye Brook Wilderness, GMNF, near Lye – Road site Mount Mansfield State Forest, near Polka Dot site

  22. Location of Soil Climate Analysis Network sites in the US

  23. The VT SCAN sites were installed in 2000 nearby 2 long-term soil monitoring plots Lye Brook site under construction, Green Mountain National Forest, September, 2000

  24. What is measured at a SCAN site? Hourly readings of: • Air temperature (max, min, average) • Precipitation • Wind speed and direction (average and maximum) • Solar radiation • Relative humidity • Barometric pressure • Snow depth and weight (used for calculating water content) • Soil temperature and moisture (and other data) at 5 depths: 2, 4, 8, 20 and 40 inches • Updated hourly on the Web at: http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/scan

  25. Vermont Soil Climate Analysis Network 2001-20055 yr.Average Monthly Precipitation and Soil Moisture, MM Spring Moisture Peak Summer Drawdown of soil moisture – even with high rainfall (pink line)

  26. Vermont Soil Climate Analysis Network 2001-20055 yr. Average Monthly Air and Soil Temperature, MM Fall Turnover Spring Moisture Peak Spring Turnover Winter “hibernation” Summer Drawdown – even with high rainfall

  27. Vermont Soil Climate Analysis NetworkHurricane Katrina –Its effect on hourly precipitation and soil moisture at Mt. Mansfield 40 inch depth – storm, what storm?

  28. What’s next for the Long-term Soil Monitoring Project?? • Complete 2002 Year Zero lab characterization • Plan, fund, and carry out Year 5 sampling in summer 2007 • Begin Year 5 sample processing, archiving and characterization • Develop and publish initial report

  29. Finally, what are some of the challenges facing the project: • Separating natural soil variation from actual long-term changes • Standardizing soil description protocols • Developing a permanent Archive Plan • Funding for lab work and unsupported personnel costs • Completing data analysis and publication • Time demands of project outside scope of “normal job” for some committee members • 200 years??? - Institutionalizing the program into agencies and passing on the project to a new generation of scientists

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