USDA FOREST SERVICE
Technology & Development Program
National Soil
Quality Monitoring
Field Guide
SDTDC Soils Projects Submitted
 Inventory and Monitoring
 Toolbox ’06
 FY ‘07 projects
Soil Moisture
Compaction in rocky soils
National Soil Quality Monitoring Field Guide
 Watershed Soil and Air
 Soil Moisture
 Compaction
Selected Soil Projects
 WSA and IM
 Soil Moisture
 Compaction
 Follow up to include the National Soil
Quality Field Guide (IM)
 All three projects for FY ‘07
Goals
 Phase I
 Develop a soil quality monitoring field
guide containing schematic and
photographic examples of defined,
visually identifiable, soil visual
categories.
 Link to key indicators (erosion,
infiltration, nutrient capacity)
Goals
 Phase II
 Field guide contains recommended sampling

protocols and other tools for conducting
rapid, accurate, and consistent pre- and
post-project assessments of soil quality.
Include a standard protocol (or set) for
monitoring soil quality, guidance on project
design and determining sampling intensity.
Target Audience
 Soil scientist, timber sale administrators,

silviculturists and fuel specialist for use in
project planning and environmental analysis.
Quantitative indicators of soil quality will be
validated and correlated to each of the visual
soil disturbance categories (as defined by FS
Research and NFS) as part of a regular
agency wide soil quality monitoring program.
1 Yr time frame
 Define the soil visual class categories
 Identify how they differ nationally, ecoregion, etc. soil resilience
 Weyerhaeuser, R-6, and BC examples
 Identify how we will link qualitative with
quantitative findings.
 Identify sample sites, can we develop a
list of potential photo sites for FY ’07?
Outcomes – Products?
 Identify link between visual soil classes
and soil properties.
 Identify links to Watershed
response/watershed analysis / cwe
 Identify link to published literature
 Allow forests/regions to identify the
effects of the visual indicators based
on their values at risk.
Some SDTDC examples
 SWRCI- Soil water road condition
index. Contains table (Good, fair, poor)
and photos of each- can attach ftp site
link.
 Other projects in FY ‘07
 Soil Moisture tools-soil strength
 Compaction Monitoring- what works in
different areas.