Volcanic-Ash-Derived Forest Soils of the Inland Northwest: Properties and Implications for Management and Restoration
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Volcanic-Ash-Derived Forest United States Department Soils of the Inland Northwest: of Agriculture Properties and Implications for Forest Service Rocky Mountain Management and Restoration Research Station Proceedings RMRS-P-44 9-10 November 2005 March 2007 Coeur d’Alene, ID Page-Dumroese, Deborah; Miller, Richard; Mital, Jim; McDaniel, Paul; Miller, Dan, tech. eds. 2007. Volcanic-Ash-Derived Forest Soils of the Inland Northwest: Properties and Implications for Management and Restoration. 9-10 November 2005; Coeur d’Alene, ID. Proceedings RMRS-P-44; Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 220 p. Abstract ________________________________________ Volcanic ash from the eruption of Mt. Mazama ~7,700 years ago has a strong influ- ence on many forested landscapes of the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain regions of the USA and Canada. Because of the unique biological, physical and chemical properties of the ash, it is closely tied to plant communities and forest productivity, and should therefore be considered as a resource to protect when harvesting, burning, or site preparation activities occur on it. How did this symposium get started? There has been a steady stream of questions, problems, and research on volcanic ash-cap soils for many decades. This symposium was designed to assemble experts to discuss our state-of-knowledge about volcanic ash-cap soil management and restoration. About 200 scientists and natural resource managers participated in this conference, which was held at the Coeur d’Alene Resort, Coeur d’Alene, ID in November 2005. The Technical Committee __________________________ Deborah S. Page-Dumroese is a Research Soil Scientist and Project Leader, Rocky Mountain Research Station. Debbie’s research has focused on long-term soil productivity after management activities, including belowground chemical, physical, and biological properties. Richard E. Miller is a retired Research Soil Scientist from the Pacific Northwest Research Station. Dick is still actively involved in soil research and is currently working to address issues of soil quality and monitoring. Jim Mital is the Forest Ecologist, Soil Scientist, and Weed Coordinator on the Clearwater National Forest. Jim has worked to help design “soil friendly” management options for resource managers. Paul McDaniel is Professor of Soil Science in the College of Agricultural and Life Sci- ences at the University of Idaho. Paul’s research activities have included elucidating the unique chemical and physical properties of ash-cap soils. Dan Miller is Silviculture Manager for Potlatch Forest Holdings, Inc., Lewiston, ID. Dan has been instrumental in working with logging contractors to reduce soil impacts during harvesting. You may order additional copies of this publication by sending your mailing information in label form through one of the following media. Please specify the publication title and number. Publishing Services Telephone (970) 498-1392 FAX (970) 498-1122 E-mail [email protected] Web site http://www.fs.fed.us/rm Mailing Address Publications Distribution Rocky Mountain Research Station 240 West Prospect Road Fort Collins, CO 80526 Contents _____________________________________________________ Page Properties, Characteristics, and Distribution of Ash-cap Soils .............................................. 1 Volcanic Ash-cap Forest Soils of the Inland Northwest Properties and Implications for Management and Restoration ............................................................................... 3 Steven B. Daley-Laursen Ecological and Topographic Features of Volcanic Ash-Influenced Forest Soils ............................. 7 Mark Kimsey, Brian Gardner, and Alan Busacca Field Identification of Andic Soil Properties for Soils of North-central Idaho ................................ 23 Brian Gardner Physical and Chemical Characteristics of Ash-influenced Soils of Inland Northwest Forests ...... 31 P. A. McDaniel and M. A. Wilson Assessing Quality in Volcanic Ash Soils ....................................................................................... 47 Terry L. Craigg and Steven W. Howes Past Activities and Their Consequences on Ash-cap Soils .................................................. 67 Effects of Machine Traffic on the Physical Properties of Ash-Cap Soils ....................................... 69 Leonard R. Johnson, Debbie Page-Dumroese, and Han-Sup Han Runoff and Erosion Effects after Prescribed Fire and Wildfire on Volcanic Ash-Cap Soils .......... 83 P. R. Robichaud, F. B. Pierson, and R. E. Brown Management Alternatives for Ash-cap Soils ........................................................................... 95 Volcanic Ash Soils: Sustainable Soil Management Practices, With Examples of Harvest Effects and Root Disease Trends .................................................................................... 97 Mike Curran, Pat Green, and Doug Maynard Restoring and Enhancing Productivity of Degraded Tephra-Derived Soils ................................ 121 Chuck Bulmer, Jim Archuleta, and Mike Curran Ash Cap Influences on Site Productivity and Fertilizer Response in Forests of the Inland Northwest......................................................................................................................... 137 Mariann T. Garrison-Johnston, Peter G. Mika, Dan L. Miller, Phil Cannon, and Leonard R. Johnson Economics of Soil Disturbance ................................................................................................... 165 Han-Sup Han Special Topic—Grand Fir Mosaic ........................................................................................... 173 The Grand Fir Mosaic Ecosystem—History and Management Impacts ..................................... 175 D. E. Ferguson, J. L. Johnson-Maynard, and P. A. McDaniel Chemical Changes Induced by pH Manipulations of Volcanic Ash-Influenced Soils .................. 185 Deborah Page-Dumroese, Dennis Ferguson, Paul McDaniel, and Jodi Johnson-Maynard Summaries of Poster Papers .................................................................................................. 203 WEPP FuME Analysis for a North Idaho Site ............................................................................. 205 William Elliot, Ina Sue Miller, and David Hall Erosion Risks in Selected Watersheds for the 2005 School Fire Located Near Pomeroy, Washington on Predominately Ash-Cap Soils .............................................................211 William Elliot, Ina Sue Miller, and Brandon Glaza Conference Wrap-up .................................................................................................................. 215 Richard E. Miller Properties, Characteristics, and Distribution of Ash-cap Soils Past Activities and Their Consequences on Ash-cap Soils Management Alternatives for Ash-cap Soils Special Topic— Grand Fir Mosaic Summaries of Poster Papers Properties, Characteristics, and Distribution of Ash-cap Soils Volcanic Ash-cap Forest Soils of the Inland Northwest Properties and Implications for Management and Restoration Steven B. Daley-Laursen In: Page-Dumroese, Deborah; Miller, Richard; Mital, Jim; McDaniel, Paul; Miller, Dan, tech. eds. 2007. Volcanic-Ash-Derived Forest Soils of the Inland Northwest: Properties and Implications for Management and Restoration. 9-10 November 2005; Coeur d’Alene, ID. Proceedings RMRS-P-44; Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. Steven B. Daley-Laursen, Dean and Professor, College of Natural Resources, University of Idaho. Good Morning and Welcome. My task today is to set the stage for a productive conference by providing an historical context, an overview of the subject matter to be covered, and a challenge for next steps by interested scientists and practitioners. An Historical Perspective Volcanoes have been part of the Earth’s history ever since it has had a solid surface. And, volca- noes have been a part of human culture for thousands of years. In some ways, our reactions to the magnitude of a volcanic explosion haven’t evolved as much as one might think. Ranging from ancient cultures who believed that victims should be sacrificed in response to volcanic eruption, to Harry Truman who stubbornly sacrificed himself during the most recent eruption in the continental United States, volcanoes have impacted our lives in many ways and will continue to do so in the future. But disaster sometimes brings fortune. Here on the West Coast where some volcanoes erupt vio- lently every 20-30 years or so, we live in one of the grandest ash-cap locations in the world. Soils throughout the Inland Northwest region of the United States extending from the Cascade Mountains of Oregon and Washington to Northern Idaho and Western Montana have been influenced and overlain by tephra from cataclysmic eruptions of Mount Mazama. About 6,850 years ago Mount Mazama, a strato-volcano, collapsed to produce Crater Lake, one of the world’s best known calderas. The caldera is about 6 miles (10 km) wide. The catastrophic pyro- clastic eruption released about 12 cubic miles (50 cubic km) of magma to the surface. It was one of the largest eruptions in the last 10,000 years. The Mazama eruption was followed by the May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in west- central Washington. This eruption spread less than 1/100th of the Mazama ash volume over areas of eastern Washington and Northern Idaho. The St. Helens ash plume carried by the jet