Dynamic Soil Survey Project (DSS)
Project Title: Dynamic Soil Survey in the Sierra Ancha Experimental Forest
Project Sponsors: Natural Resources Conservation Service, USFS Rocky Mountain Research Station
Principal Investigators: Salli Dymond (NAU)
Collaborators: Jackson Leonard (USFS), Erin Rooney (NRCS)
Graduate Students: Emory Ellis (PhD), TBD
Project Location: Sierra Ancha Experimental Forest, AZ, USA
Funding Total: $295,000
Project Summary: Wildfire frequency and magnitude are increasing across the semiarid southwest US, necessitating changes to forest management and fire mitigation to support ecosystems and nearby communities. Forest ecosystem processes, especially those in dryland systems, are greatly influenced by soil hydrologic properties. For instance, shallow and deep soil water storage sustains streamflow, provides water for plants, and buffers against extreme wildfire. Soil water storage is highly mediated by the spatial heterogeneity of soils and the temporal nature in which soils respond to external forcings, such as weather, disturbance, and management. However, there is often a disconnect between the types of data that scientists may collect in the field and the knowledge that may be necessary to make management decisions. The overarching goal of this study is to intensively measure and characterize soil physical parameters across managed and disturbed forest catchments in northern Arizona. Measuring soil hydrologic properties across landscape scales and moisture conditions is a noted “grand challenge” in linking soil science and catchment hydrology and is necessary for solving a multitude of practical environmental problems.
Presentations:
Dymond, S.F. 2023. Linking the Dynamic Soil Survey and Ecohydrology at the Sierra Ancha Experimental Forest. National Soil Moisture Workshop.
Beltsville, MD. Aug. 17, Virtual.
Project Sponsors: Natural Resources Conservation Service, USFS Rocky Mountain Research Station
Principal Investigators: Salli Dymond (NAU)
Collaborators: Jackson Leonard (USFS), Erin Rooney (NRCS)
Graduate Students: Emory Ellis (PhD), TBD
Project Location: Sierra Ancha Experimental Forest, AZ, USA
Funding Total: $295,000
Project Summary: Wildfire frequency and magnitude are increasing across the semiarid southwest US, necessitating changes to forest management and fire mitigation to support ecosystems and nearby communities. Forest ecosystem processes, especially those in dryland systems, are greatly influenced by soil hydrologic properties. For instance, shallow and deep soil water storage sustains streamflow, provides water for plants, and buffers against extreme wildfire. Soil water storage is highly mediated by the spatial heterogeneity of soils and the temporal nature in which soils respond to external forcings, such as weather, disturbance, and management. However, there is often a disconnect between the types of data that scientists may collect in the field and the knowledge that may be necessary to make management decisions. The overarching goal of this study is to intensively measure and characterize soil physical parameters across managed and disturbed forest catchments in northern Arizona. Measuring soil hydrologic properties across landscape scales and moisture conditions is a noted “grand challenge” in linking soil science and catchment hydrology and is necessary for solving a multitude of practical environmental problems.
Presentations:
Dymond, S.F. 2023. Linking the Dynamic Soil Survey and Ecohydrology at the Sierra Ancha Experimental Forest. National Soil Moisture Workshop.
Beltsville, MD. Aug. 17, Virtual.
