SOIL SURVEYS IN FOREST MANAGEMENT
... the roots. Water running over and under the road will cause new patterns of erosion which directly affect the soil stability. Additionally, traffic on the road will continually amplify the effect of the water resulting in uneven compaction. The information on a given soil series can be used to better understand all of the repercussions of these events. The relative nutrient contents of different soils are as variable as the presence of a given series from one area to the next. Each series has its own distinctive mineral and organic content and these amounts determine exactly which species of vegetation have the potential to grow on it. In the field of forest sciences, much research is done in the area of the productivity of a forest. Productivity is a measure of a forest’s production per unit area per unit time (Kimmins, 1987). In other words, it is a way to estimate a given area’s yield potential. Knowledge of the soil in the area under question is very important in producing this type of estimate. One of the main areas of concern in forest management is regeneration. Regeneration is the planting of seeds and seedlings along with shrub and herb species to help a forest recuperate after disturbances such as fire, disease and timber harvest. One soil series differs from another in color, texture, structure, carbonate content, humus content, mineralogy and in kind, thickness, and arrangement of soil horizons (Soil Survey Staff, 1975). The local soil series and knowledge of it characteristics are critical in determining the best suited species for initial or secondary introduction. The introductio...