COMPARISON OF SLOPE POSITION AND SOIL DEVELOPMENT

BY: ISAAC HUNTER FOSS

Soil Pit
Sites, S.E of
Coeur D

Site #1

Site #2

Soil Pit #1 Rubson Series

Oi
Oe
A
Bw1
Bt1
Bt2
Bt3
C

Depth
0-3cm
3-5cm
5-12cm
12-19cm
19-36cm
36-60cm
60-82
82-95

Texture/ %clay

Percent Rock Fragments

Color
Moist

Ashy silt-loam/ 6
Ashy silt-loam/ 8
silt-loam/ 13
silt-loam/ 16
very-fine silt loam/ 19
very-fine silt loam/ 2

0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%

7.5YR 4/2
7.5YR 5/3
10YR 6/3
10YR 6/3
10YR 5/2
10YR 5/2

Dry

Structure
Grade

Size

10YR 6/4
10YR 6/3
10YR 7/3
10YR 7/3
10YR 6/5
10YR 7/3

2
2
1
1
1
0

vf
vf
co
co
co
co

Color

Site #2

Soil Pit #2 Blinn series

Depth

0-2cm

Type

Rupture Resistence
Dry

gr
gr
sbk
sbk
sbk
m

s
s
ha
ha
ha
s

Structure

Efferv.
10% HCL

Roots

Boundary

Moist

Consistency
Stickyness
Plactisity

fr
fr
fr
fr
fr
vfr

ss
ss
ss
ss
ss
so

0
0
0
0
0
0

co
co
f
vf
n/a
n/a

w
w
s
s
s
s

Efferv.

Roots

Boundary

Rupture resistence

ps
ps
ps
ps
ps
po

Consistency

Texture

Percent Rock Fragments

Moist

Dry

Grade

Size

Type

Dry

Moist

Stickyness

Plactisity

10% HCL

2-10cm

ashy-loam

2%

10YR 3/3

10YR 6/2

fsbk

fr

ss

ps

f-m

Bw1

10-34cm

stoney-loam

20%

10YR 4/3

10YR 6/3

sbk

sh

fi

ss

ps

f-m

Bw2

34-42cm

stoney-loam

20%

10YR 4/2

10YR 6/3

sbk

sh

fi

ss

ps

42-85cm

very stoney-loam

35%

10YR 5/4

10YR 7/4

sh

fr

ss

ps

n/a

Site #1

Site Specifics
Introduction
The area that I picked to dig my soil pits in is private land located just south of Beauty bay on lake Coeur d Alene, ID. I wanted to see different soils development stages between the shoulder and at the toe slope of a ridge. Site #1 is located on the toe slope of the ridge , GPS coordinates are 47.609737, -116.733896 . Site #2 is located at the shoulder of the ridge GPS coordinates are 47.599217, -116.740816 .
Methods
Site #1 vegetation type consisted of western red cedar (Thuja plicata), Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and a few intermittent aspen (Populus tremuloides). Slope was a 5% north facing and as I stated above it was located on a toe slope. The area was much more moist than on
top where site #2 was located and much more organic matter on the surface. This soil is an Alfisol due to its subsurface zone of accumulation of clay and it has base saturation greater than 35%. This soil has presence of volcanic ash in it but not enough for it to be classified as an
Andisol. Soil moisture regime is xeric and soil temperature regime is frigid. It contains an ochric epipedon and has an argillic horizon present. Uses for this soil are tree production as well as some crop production but growth and yields are limited.
Site #2 vegetation type consisted of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) , grand fir (Abies grandis), snowberry (Symphorocarpus albus), and ocean spray ( Holodiskus discolor). Slope was 4% and was S.E. facing. The location of this pit bordered a
field that had been previously cleared many year earlier but native vegetation was beginning to reclaim the area. This soil is described as a Inceptisol by the soil web survey and it has a xeric soil moisture regime and a frigid soil temperature regime. It is defined as a Inceptisol because
of its weakly developed soil horizons which were evident looking at the soil profile. This soil has a parent material of basalt and it is influenced by some volcanic ash but does not posess enough of an ash layer for it to be described as an Andisol. This soil is mainly suitable for timber
production but area have been cleared for pastures and some small gardening and crops. Wildlife habitat in the area is very good with many sightings of whitetailed deer and elk while driving to the site for excavation of the pits.
Summary
After looking at these two soils you can really see the morphological differences that they poses. Site #2 is a weakly formed soil with rock fragments greater than 35% of its composition. It has an ocheric epipedon and has lithic contact within 31 of the surface. Site #1 had almost no
rock fragments and was mainly the result of accumulation of products of weathering that settled here. It was very interesting to see the different processes involved in soil development and morphology between these two areas. From soil beginnings at the top of the ridge to the results of erosion and weathering at the bottom was a good look into the development of these soils that are located in a relatively close proximity.

References
Soil web 2014. <http://casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/soilweb/> accessed November 20th, 2014. The Twelve Soil Orders <http://www.cals.uidaho.edu/soilorders/orders.htm> Alfisols accessed November 20th, 2014. Soil Survey Staff, 2014. Keys to Soil Taxonomy. 12th edition: <http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/PA_NRCSConsumption/download?
cid=stelprdb1252094&ext=pdf > accessed December 2nd, 2014. Simplified Guide to Soil Taxonomy <http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/PA_NRCSConsumption/download?cid=stelprdb1247203&ext=pdf > accessed December 2nd, 2014.