 Native West Virginian
– Pocahontas County
 B.S. in Forest Resource Management
 Seeking M.S. Forestry
 Very interested in Forestry and GIS Analysis!

 Sedimentation
– Soil movement can cause lots of damage especially when its moving into water resources.
– Pollution of streams, Raise flood levels, Raise stream temperatures, Degrade site/stream quality and Productivity, and reduce navigational abilities.
 Sediment created from Silvicultural
Operations is the issue at hand.

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Problems:
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Soil Movement, specifically sedimentation, is very detrimental to streams and forested sites.
 Pollution to Water Resources
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Site Degradation-Both Environmentally and Aesthetically
Habitat and Productivity Loss-Both Onsite and Downstream
Assess Best Management Practices (BMP) Functionality
GOAL: FIND SIGNIFICANT SOIL MOVEMENT
CONTRIBUTORS and IDENTIFY DIFFERENCES
BETWEEN WATERSHEDS

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Two Watersheds located in Tucker County, WV
Both Similar in
Geologic and
Physical Makeup.
Slopes
Elevations
Land-cover etc…

 Study designed to evaluate soil movement and it’s relation to logging.
 Two Watersheds (Control and Treatment)
 Silt-fence Installed around all Streams
 Material Removed Once a Year
 Extensive Mapping Procedures
 Classification/Regression Trees to Model and/or Predict Sedimentation

Total Oven-Dry
Material
Burn sub-samples, calculate average percent mineral (Mostly Organic)
Apply average percent to predominantly organic fraction weight
Mineral associated with predominantly organic fraction
Manually separate predominantly mineral from predominantly organic
Place in water
(Mostly Mineral)
Oven Dry and Burn Pour off and discard
Total Sediment
Mineral associated with predominantly mineral fraction

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Use GIS to identify Landscape elements in each watershed that contribute to soil movement. (i.e.
Disturbance, Moisture, Slope, Soil Types, etc…)
Calculations: Derived From Digital Elevation Map
– Slope, Aspect, Flow Direction, Flow Accumulation, Moisture
Index, Distance Grids (from road, from stream, etc.), Soils,
Landcover, etc…
Analysis Performed Using Various Extensions of the
ESRI ArcMap 9.1 GIS program. As well as the newly developed 3-Meter DEM and Aerial Photography from the WV GIS Tech-center.
Statistical Method-Classification Trees
– R Statistical Package

Digital Elevation Map (DEM) 3-Meter
Resolution
Spatial Analysis Toolbar
Slope Grid Distance
Grids
Curvature
Aspect Grid
Raster Calculator
Moisture Index
Inputs --Tools ---
Output Grids ---
Hydrology
Tools
Flow Direction
Flow
Accumulation
Stream Networks

Sediment Reaching Silt-fence=
F (Slope, Distance From Silt-fence, Distance
From Disturbance, Distance From Slope
Breaks, Moisture, Aspect, Accumulation, Soil
Type, Vegetation, Land-use, )
Very Dynamic Subject

 This index assumes that the relative moisture in a particular area (in this case a grid cell) primarily depends on two factors;
– How much water is flowing into the area and how fast the water can flow out of the area.
Ln [(catchment area + 1) / (slope + 1)]
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The created index is a relative one so the numbers don’t represent any type of units.
– Higher Positive Numbers are Wetter
– Lower Negative Numbers are Drier
Strager (2006)

 Also:
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– Classification Tree Modeling Technique
Statistical Analyses (S-plus and R Statistics Systems)
Future Analyses
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Stream Loading-Sediment
Refining of Classification Tree Modeling
 Key to possibly modeling the soil movement or sedimentation

 According to the Statistical Modeling: R
– Slope is the most important variable
 21.58
º
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Followed by:
Moisture- +3.62 (Range -4.3 – 7.6)
 Aspect- 141 º
– Combined Grids Using Raster Calculator
 Model Refinement to Include more Variables
Coming Soon!

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3-Meter DEM much higher accuracy!
1:4800 scale aerial photography gives great visual representation!
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Leads to more thorough analysis.
Detailed 3-D Representation.
Hydrology Tools Very Influential
Upon Completion of Analyses:
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Identify Contributors to Soil Movement
 Order there level of Importance
Assess current Best Management Practices (BMP)
Model/Predict Soil Loss

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(Grayson et al. 1992; Mitasova 1996; Moore, I. D. et al. 1988; Boer et al. 1996, O’Loughlin 1986, Parker 1982)
Strager 2006