Forest Soil Types of Nova Scotia
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Forest Soil Types of Nova Scotia Identification, Description, and Interpretation Forest Soil Types of Nova Scotia Identification, Description, and Interpretation Author: Kevin Keys, MScF, RPF Photo Credits: Eugene Quigley Peter Neily Sean Basquill 2007 Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources Manual FOR 2007-2 Contacts: Kevin Keys Jacques Whitford Ltd. Dartmouth, NS 902-468-7777 [email protected] Peter Neily Forest Management Planning Nova Scotia Natural Resources 902-893-5692 [email protected] Table of Contents Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 1. Background ......................................................................................................................................... 1. FEC Soil Types ................................................................................................................................... 1. Soil Texture Key .................................................................................................................................. 7. Soil Type Descriptions ......................................................................................................................... 8. Soil Type Matrix ................................................................................................................................ 13. Soil Type Photographs ....................................................................................................................... 14. Soil Survey Correlation ...................................................................................................................... 25. Management Interpretations ............................................................................................................... 27. Planning Considerations ..................................................................................................................... 31. Literature Cited ................................................................................................................................. 33. Appendix 1. List of Probable Soil Types Associated with Nova Scotia Soil Survey Units. .................... 34. Appendix 2. Chronological List of Nova Scotia Soil Surveys .............................................................. 37. Appendix 3. Soil Type Field Assessment ............................................................................................ 38. Appendix 4. Soil Terminology ............................................................................................................ 39. List of Figures Figure 1. Keys to FEC soil types in Nova Scotia .................................................................................. 2. Figure 2. Soil texture class and particle size class key ............................................................................ 6. Figure 3. FEC soil type matrix ............................................................................................................ 13. List of Tables Table 1. Probable FEC soil types associated with mapped soil survey units in Nova Scotia .................. 25. Table 2. Hazard ratings for FEC soil types .......................................................................................... 32. Acknowledgements Thanks to Ken Webb, MSc, P.Ag. (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Truro, NS) for his thorough review of this guide. Any errors found in this document are the sole responsibility of the author. Introduction This document is part of the provincial forest ecosystem classification (FEC) project. It describes all currently recognized FEC soil types in the province along with management interpretations, photographs, and correlation with soil survey map units. Although part of a more comprehensive FEC system, this document can be used as a stand alone guide for identifying and interpreting forest soils in Nova Scotia. Background In 2000, the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources began a long-term project to systematically identify and describe forest ecosystem units in the province. To date, over 1,000 FEC plots have been assessed throughout Nova Scotia. This has resulted in the production of several publications describing regional vegetation types and soil types (Keys et al., 2003; Keys and Quigley, 2005; Neily et al., 2006; Keys et al., 2007; Neily et al., 2007). The project will culminate with production of a complete provincial FEC guide in 2009. FEC Soil Types There are currently 18 soil types and 4 soil type phases in the provincial FEC system. These units are differentiated based on general features of ecological and/or management related significance (details below). Because more than one soil type can be associated with a given forest cover type, and because different soils can respond differently to management treatments, determination of soil type is recommended for stand-level management purposes. Note: Not all soil types occur everywhere in the province. With time, users of this guide will become familiar with those types found within their region of interest. A series of keys have been developed (Figure 1) which enable users to identify different soil types based on: - thickness and type of surface organic horizons - mineral soil depth - presence of organically enriched Ah or Ap mineral horizons - dominant particle size and texture classes within the soil profile - soil drainage condition - surface stoniness / coarse fragment content The soil type keys are hierarchical (starting with the main soil type key), with the user working down through decision points until the soil type is determined. Once a soil type has been keyed out, soil type descriptions can be consulted to verify the decision. Use of the keys requires digging a small soil pit in an area representative of the forest stand being assessed (see Appendix 3 for details). With experience, soil type assessments generally take less than ten minutes. Page 1 Along with soil type keys, a soil texture and particle size key has also been developed to aid field assessment (Figure 2). Explanations of soil-related terms used in this guide are given in Appendix 4. Figure 1. Keys to FEC soil types in Nova Scotia. Main Soil Type Key Start Here START Go to Organic thickness Yes Organic Soil Key 40 cm or more. No Mineral soil depth less than or equal to 30 cm over bedrock OR Go to Mineral soil depth less than or Yes Shallow Soil Key equal to 30 cm over a fully cemented or fragipan horizon (Bfc, Bhfc, Bhc, Bx, BCx). No Dominant Particle Size Class between 30 cm and 60 cm: Fine-loamy, Fine-silty, Fine-clayey Go to OR Go to No Yes Coarse Soil Key A layer 10 cm or more thick starting Fine Soil Key within the top 30 cm of mineral soil with Particle Size Class Fine-loamy, Fine-silty, Fine-clayey Page 2 Coarse Soil Key START Ah or Ap (old field) horizon Mottles or Gley present within Permanent Gley present present with thickness top 30 cm of mineral soil, or within top 30 cm of mineral Yes Yes greater than 3 cm directly below Ah/Ap if thicker soil, or directly below Ah/Ap (Does not include Ahe) than 30 cm if thicker than 30 cm No Loamy Sand or Sand dominant texture within top 40 cm of mineral soil OR No Yes Gravel + Cobble + Stone content greater than 50%within top 40 cm of mineral soil No Yes No ST8-C ST8 ST9 ST10 Mottles or Gley present within Mottles or Gley present within Yes Yes top 30 cm of mineral soil top 10 cm of mineral soil ST4 No No Granite surface Loamy Sand and/or Sand stoniness class Yes ST3-G dominant texture within top Very Stony or greater 60 cm of mineral soil OR Granite surface Gravel + Cobble + Stone No stoniness class content greater than 50% with Very Stony or greater No Sandy Loam, Loamy Sand, and/or Sand dominant texture within ST3-L top 40 cm of mineral soil No Silt Loam or Loam Yes dominant texture within top 20 cm of Silt Loam or Loam mineral soil No dominant texture Yes within top 20 cm of ST3 Yes mineral soil No Yes ST1 ST2 ST2-L ST2-G Page 3 Fine Soil Key START Ah or Ap (old field) horizon present with thickness greater than 3 cm (Does not include Ahe) No Yes Mottles or Gley present Mottles or Gley present within top 30 cm of mineral within top 30 cm of No No ST5 ST11 soil, or directly below Ah/Ap mineral soil if thicker than 30 cm Yes Yes Permanent Gley present Permanent Gley present within top 30 cm of mineral within top No No ST6 ST12 soil, or directly below Ah/Ap 30 cm of mineral soil if thicker than 30 cm Yes Yes ST7 ST13 Organic Soil Key START Wetland O horizon (Of, Om, Oh) present in top 40 cm No Yes ST14-U ST14 Page 4 Shallow Soil Key START ST4 ST10 No Yes Permanent Gley Mottles or Gley present 10 cm or Ah horizon present with present 10 cm or thickness greater Yes more above Yes more above bedrock bedrockor than 3 cm or cemented layer cemented layer (Does not include Ahe) No No Ah or Ap (old field) horizon Ah or Ap (old field) horizon present with thickness present with thickness Yes Yes ST17 greater than 3 cm greater than 3 cm ST18 (Does not include Ahe) (Does not include Ahe) No No Granite surface stoniness Granite surface stoniness Yes Yes ST15-G class Very Stony or greater class Very Stony or greater ST16-G No No ST15-L ST16-L Yes Yes Silt Loam or Loam Silt Loam or Loam dominant texture within top dominant texture within top 20 cm of mineral soil 20 cm of mineral soil No No ST15 ST16 Page 5 Figure 2. Soil texture class and particle size class key. START Soil texture classes are in Bold. Related