A Guide to Soil Quality Monitoring for Long Term Ecosystem Sustainability on Northern Region National Forests

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• Research Publications
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[Last update: 03/04/2013]

REFERENCE DOCUMENTS 

Forest Soil-Disturbance Monitoring Protocol (FSDMP) Toolkit

• Forest Soil Disturbance Monitoring National Database Coming Soon!
  An access database is being created for all FSDMP data and should be available sometime in the spring of 2011. Keep watching this spot for further information.
• Forest Soil-Disturbance Monitoring Protocol Toolkit Brochure
  (PDF - 4.2 MB) [Document posted on 03/09/2010]
• Forest Soil Disturbance Monitoring Protocol, Volumes I and II
  by Deborah S. Page-Dumroese, Ann M. Abbott, and Thomas M. Rice, September 2009, GTR-WO-82
  • Forest Soil Disturbance Monitoring Protocol,
    Volume I: Rapid Assessment
    General Technical Report GTR-WO-82a
    (PDF - 211 KB)
  • Forest Soil Disturbance Monitoring Protocol,
    Volume II: Supplementary Methods, Statistics, and Data Collection
    General Technical Report GTR-WO-82b
    (PDF - 1.8 MB)
  • Forest Soil Disturbance Monitoring Protocol,
    SPANISH version
    (PDF - 13.57 MB) [Document posted on 03/04/2013]
• Soil-Disturbance Field Guide (Visual Field Guide) 0819 1815P. by Carolyn Napper, Deborah S. Page-Dumroese and Steve Howes. 2009. San Dimas, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, San Dimas Technology and Development Center. 112 p.
  [Link to document posted on 01/06/2010]
• Point Form for the Field Guide - 03/31/2010
  (Excel file - 35 KB) [Document posted on 03/09/2010; Last update 04/20/2010]
• FSDMP Training Materials
  by Ann M. Abbott, Deborah S. Page-Dumroese, Carolyn Napper and Janie Ybarra, May 2010
  • Part One: FSDMP Protocol Basics
    (multi-media presentation) [Posted on 05/20/2010]
  • Part Two: Gallatin NF Example
    (multi-media presentation) [Posted on 05/20/2010]
  • Part Three: How to Use the Soil-Disturbance Field Guide
    (multi-media presentation) [Posted on 05/20/2010]
• Scientific background for soil monitoring on National Forests and Rangelands: workshop proceedings. April 29–30, 2008; Denver, CO. Page-Dumroese, Deborah; Neary, Daniel; Trettin, Carl. Published in 2010. Proc. RMRS-P-59. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 126 p.
  [Link posted on 07/13/2010]
• GTR-PNW-811 – Miller, Richard E., James D. McIver, Steven W. Howes and William B Gaeuman. Assessment of Soil Disturbance in Forests of the Interior Columbia River Basin: A Critique. (available at http://www.treesearch.fs.fed.us/pubs/35150). 2010.
  [Link to document added 07/30/2010]
• Reeves, Derrick, Deborah Page-Dumroese and Mark Coleman. “Detrimental Soil Disturbance Associated with Timber Harvest Systems on National Forests in the Northern Region.” (PDF file - 1.89 MB) RMRS-RP-89, June 2011.
  [document added 07/06/2011]
• Robinson, Scott B. “Assessing Visual Disturbance Conditions on the Custer National Forest.” (PDF file - 570 KB) Unpublished masters thesis, Michigan Technical University, 2011. (used the FSDMP to do retrospective monitoring)
  [document added 05/09/2011]

Other Reference Documents

• 2010 Soil Management Manual (part of FSM 2500 – Watershed and Air Management)
  [Document added to SoLo on 12/06/2010]
  • Chapter 2500 - Zero Code
  • FSH 2509.18 - Soil Management Handbook
  • Chapter 2550 - Soil Managment Manual

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FORMS 

National Forest Soil Disturbance Monitoring Forms

NOTE: You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader (free download) to view PDF files.

• SoLo Soil Disturbance Monitoring Form (SDM - blank form, ".xls") and associated "Read Me First" file (PDF)
  [Form most recently updated on 05/05/2010]
• Forest Soil Disturbance Monitoring Form, SPANISH version (blank form, ".xls") (PDF)
  [Document added to this page on 03/04/2013]
• Abbreviated Soil Monitoring Form - This form is for 10 soil monitoring points. Can be used during a quick walk-through of the activity area.
  [Link posted on 04/01/2010]
• Paper Field Form and Sample Size Calculation Tables
  (Excel file) [Document posted on 03/09/2010; file fixed and uploaded on 04/20/2010]

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NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM (NFS) DOCUMENTS 

Region 1 Forest Service Handbooks

• Clearwater NF Land System Inventory - 1983 (PDF - 21.4 MB)
• Lolo NF Land System Inventory - 1988 (PDF - 54.8 MB)
• MT631—Soil Survey of Helena National Forest Area, Montana (link to PDF).
  [link added 07/29/2011]
• Region One Soil Quality Monitoring Handbook (HTML)
• Soil Survey of Gallatin National Forest, Montana (PDF - 34.6 MB; maps not included). 1996. Authors: Carl E. Davis and Henry F. Shovic. USDA Forest Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service in cooperation with the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station.
• Soil Survey of Kootenai National Forest Area, Montana and Idaho (PDF - 12.8 MB; maps not included). 1995. Authors: Louis J. Kuennen and Marci L. Nielsen-Gerhardt. USDA Forest Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service in cooperation with the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station.

Administrative Studies and Reports

• Modoc NF Timber Stand Fertilization Analysis Inventory - 1985 (out of area) (PDF - 896 KB)
• Region 1 Soil Characterization Lab Data (sections for Beaverhead NF, Bitterroot NF, Clearwater NF, Custer NF, Deerlodge NF, Flathead NF, Gallatin NF, Kootenai NF and Nez Perce NF) - prepared by the University of Idaho College of Agriculture Department of Plant, Soil and Entomological Sciences for the USDA Forest Service; April 1981 (PDF - 19.3 MB)
• Region 1 Soil Compaction Study: Final Report to the United States Forest Service (applies to Bitterroot NF, Flathead NF and Kootenai NF) - prepared by Steve Cullen and Clint Montagne; January 1981 (PDF - 5.8 MB)
• Subsection Attributes - List showing physiography, geology and climate information (PDF - 236 KB)

Monitoring Reports

BEAVERHEAD-DEERLODGE NF - Soil Monitoring Data

• Ruby Allotment - 1987, 1990 (PDF - 244 KB)
• Warm Springs Exclosure - 1987 (PDF - 168 KB)
• Elkhorn Timber Sale - 1984 (PDF - 1.7 MB)
• Elkhorn Timber Sale - 1983 (PDF - 292 KB)
• Elkhorn Timber Sale - 1982 (PDF - 532 KB)

FLATHEAD NF - Soil Monitoring Data

• Soil Data: Collection includes data from the 1960s through the 1980s (PDF - 4.1 MB)

GALLATIN NF - Soil Monitoring Reports

• 1991 Soil Monitoring Program - Summary Report (PDF - 1.1 MB)
• 1990 Soil Monitoring Program - Summary Report (PDF - 432 KB)

HELENA NF - Soil Monitoring Data, Reports & Other Studies

• Clancy-Unionville Project Data Sheets - 2004 (PDF - 1 MB)
• Clancy-Unionville Pre-Soil Monitoring Report - 2003 (PDF - 436 KB)
• Clancy-Unionville Project Data Sheets - 2003 (PDF - 3.4 MB)
• Toston Maudlow Salvage Sale Unit Logs - 2002–2003 (PDF - 908 KB)
• Clancy-Unionville Project Data Sheets - 2002 (PDF - 2.9 MB)
• Regeneration Study - Soil Moisture and Temperature Implications, 1984–1986 (PDF - 206 KB)

IDAHO PANHANDLE NF - Soil Monitoring Reports

• Rone, Gina (IPNF Forest Soil Scientist). August 2011. Summary of Soil Monitoring on the IPNF 1980s to 2010 (PDF Document)
• 1997 Soil Monitoring Report (MS Word Document - 32 KB)
• 1998 Soil Monitoring Report (MS Word Document - 84 KB)
• 1999 Soil Monitoring Report (MS Word Document - 133 KB)
• 2000 Soil Monitoring Report (MS Word Document - 44 KB)
• 2001 Soil Monitoring Report (MS Word Document - 44 KB)
• 2002 Soil Monitoring Report (MS Word Document - 37 KB)
• 2003 Soil Monitoring Report (MS Word Document - 37 KB)
• 2004 Soil Monitoring Report (MS Word Document - 40 KB)

KOOTENAI NF - Soil Monitoring Data and Reports

• 1988-2003 Soil Monitoring Report - Summary (PDF - 404 KB)
• 1997 Soil Monitoring Report (HTML) OR 1997 Soil Monitoring Report (PDF - 376 KB)
• 2003 Soil Monitoring Data Sheets (PDF - 22.9 MB)
• 2002 Soil Monitoring Data Sheets (PDF - 3.2 MB)
• 2001 Soil Monitoring Data Sheets (PDF - 716 KB)
• 2000 Soil Monitoring Data Sheets (PDF - 512 KB)
• 1999 Soil Monitoring Data Sheets (PDF - 2.6 MB)
• 1998 Soil Monitoring Data Sheets (PDF - 2.3 MB)
• 1997 Soil Monitoring Data Sheets (PDF - 2.2 MB)
• 1996 Soil Monitoring Data Sheets (PDF - 2.4 MB)
• 1995 Soil Monitoring Data Sheets (PDF - 776 KB)
• 1994 Soil Monitoring Data Sheets (PDF - 240 KB)
• 1993 Soil Monitoring Data Sheets (PDF - 1.9 MB)
• 1992 Soil Monitoring Data Sheets (PDF - 3.1 MB)
• 1991 Soil Monitoring Data Sheets (PDF - 672 KB)
• 1990 Soil Monitoring Data Sheets (PDF - 428 KB)
• 1989 Soil Monitoring Data Sheets (PDF - 472 KB)
• 1988 Soil Monitoring Data Sheets (PDF - 368 KB)

LEWIS & CLARK NF - Soil Monitoring Data and Reports

• 2002 Soil Monitoring Report (PDF - 768 KB)
• 2002 Soil Monitoring Data Sheets (PDF - 2.6 MB)

LOLO NF - Soil Monitoring Data and Reports

• Post-Burn Summary - 2004 (PDF - 196 KB)
• Antique Salvage Timber C.E. - 2003 (PDF - 80 KB)
• Draft Soil and Water Report for Fishtrap EIS - 2002–2003 (PDF - 128 KB)
• Knox-Brooks Stewardship Project Designation by Prescription Inspection Form - Memo - 2002–2003 (PDF - 664 KB)
• Boyer Salvage Implementation Monitoring - Field Notes - 2002 (PDF - 12 KB)
• Landowner Fire, Unit 713 West (Becky McFarlan) - 2002 (PDF - 24 KB)
• Soil Transects, Superior Ranger District - 2002 (PDF - 272 KB)
• Post Burn Field Notes: Soils Recon - 2002 (PDF - 16 KB)
• Field Notes, Proposed Unit 211/227, 223 Soils - 2002 (PDF - 12 KB)
• Superior District, Alpine Fire - Soil Quality Evaluation Forms - 2001 (PDF - 184 KB)
• Item 4-3 on Soil Productivity - 2000-2001 (PDF - 40 KB)
• Landowner Fire Soil Surveys - 2001 (PDF - 148 KB)
• Flat Creek Fire Soils Survey - 2001 (PDF - 580 KB)
• Ninemile Soil Surveys - 2001 (PDF - 423 KB)
• Game Range Stewardship Project - Soil Quality and Productivity Monitoring - 2001 (PDF - 28 KB)
• Forest Plan Monitoring Report, Soil Productivity Item 4-3 - 1987-2001 (PDF - 1.4 MB)
• Mill-Key-Wey Soil Compaction Check - 2000 (PDF - 32 KB)
• Knox-Brooks Soil Quality Considerations - Memo - 2000 (PDF - 28 KB)
• Ninemile, Marion-Josephine Timber Sale - Soil Monitoring Data Sheets - 1986–2000 (PDF - 5.5 MB)
• Seeley Lake Fuels Hazard Reduction Project - Report - 1999 (PDF - 396 KB)
• Sloway Campground Facilities Improvements - Memo - 1998 (PDF - 84 KB)
• Archibald Timber Sale, Seeley Lake Ranger District - Memo - 1997 (PDF - 16 KB)
• South Fork - East Fork Lolo Range Allotment, Missoula Ranger District - Report and Data - 1994–1997 (PDF - 148 KB)
• Plains/T. Falls - Machine Site Preparation Inspection Report - 1995 (PDF - 296 KB)
• Soil Analysis Report (Chemical) for N 47 degrees 30.5', W 114 degrees 54.7' - 1994 (PDF - 132 KB)
• Savenac Nursery, Soil Nutrient Analysis - 1991 (PDF - 204 KB)
• Camas Report - Chemical Analysis - 1990 (PDF - 220 KB)
• Chemical Analysis of Lolo National Forest Soils - 1990 (PDF - 440 KB)
• Plains Seed Orchard Site - Memo - 1989 (PDF - 940 KB)
• Plains Ranger District - Soil Type Map - 1989 (PDF - 136 KB)
• Finley Flat Data Sheets - 1986 (PDF - 988 KB)
• Mullan Gulch Plantation: regeneration unit, Superior Ranger District - Report - 1984 (PDF - 252 KB)
• Chemical Analysis of Soil Samples Collected from Champion's Thompson River Haul Road - 1983 (PDF - 288 KB)
• Siegel Pass Regeneration Study Plan - DRAFT - 1983 (PDF - 392 KB)
• Northern Tier, Ninemile Study - 1979 (PDF - 172 KB)
• Plains Ranger District: Data from Upper Wallace Creek, Siegel Creek and others - Year? (PDF - 600 KB)
• Lolo NF Best Management Practices Effectiveness Report Link (PDF - 20 KB)
• St. Regis - Ninemile Survey - Year? (PDF - 60 KB)

NEZ PERCE NF - Soil Monitoring Reports

• Dead French Timber Sale - Soil Monitoring Reports - 1987, 1988 (PDF - 140 KB)
• Huckleberry Heaven - Soil Monitoring Reports - 199? (PDF - 108 KB)
• Monitoring of Recent Landslides - 1997 (PDF - 40 KB)
• Soil Monitoring Study: Mackay Day Timber Sale - 2003 (PDF - 452 KB)
• Soil, Water and Riparian Monitoring North Fork Face Timber Sale, Salmon River Ranger District - 1988 (PDF - 308 KB)
• NFS Report?Soil and Vegetation Response to Prescribed Burning for Winter Range Enhancement, Selway Ranger District (PDF - 112 KB)
• Region 6 Soil Monitoring Methodology, Mark Sommer/Nez Perce National Forest 8/16/91 (PDF - 88 KB)
• Slate Creek District Overview - 1987–2000 (PDF - 120 KB)

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RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS 

Symposium Proceedings/General Technical Reports (GTRs)

Washington Office

• WO-GTR-68 – Winthers, E.; Fallon, D.; Haglund, J.; DeMeo, T.; Nowacki, G.; Tart, D.; Ferwerda, M.; Robertson, G.; Gallegos, A.; Rorick, A.; Cleland, D. T.; Robbie, W. 2005. Terrestrial Ecological Unit Inventory technical guide: Landscape and Land Unit Scales. USDA Forest Service, Washington Office, Ecosystem Management Coordination Staff.
  [Document added to SoLo on 03/03/2009]

Intermountain Research Station (Later renamed Rocky Mountain Research Station)

• GTR-INT-326 – Page-Dumroese, D.; Harvey, A.; Jurgensen, M. A Guide to Soil Sampling and Analysis on the National Forests of the Inland Northwest United States (PDF - 6.92 MB). United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station - General Technical Report, INT-GTR-326, October 1995.
• (Document in GTR-INT-280) – Geist, J. M., R. T. Meurisse, T. A. Max. 1991. Monitoring Forest Soil Properties to Maintain Productivity. (HTML) In:  Harvey, Alan E.; Neuenschwander, Leon F., compilers. Proceedings - management and productivity of western-montane forest soils; 1990 April 10–12; Boise, ID. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-280. Ogden UT: U. S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station. pp 90–94.

Rocky Mountain Research Station (Previously named Intermountain Research Station)

• (Document in RMRS-P-41) – Page-Dumroese, D.; Jurgensen, M.; Abbott, A.; Rice, T.; Tirocke, J.; Farley, S.; DeHart, S. Monitoring Changes in Soil Quality from Post-fire Logging in the Inland Northwest (PDF available at http://forest.moscowfsl.wsu.edu/smp/docs/dumroese/RMRS-P-41_605-614.pdf). In:  Andrews, Patricia L.; Butler, Bret W., comps. 2006. Fuels Management. How to Measure Success: Conference Proceedings. 28-30 March 2006; Portland, OR. Proceedings RMRS-P-41. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. pp 605–614.

Other Publications

• Arnold, Julie and Chelsea Wrenn. Assessment of Soil Disturbance Following Silvicultural Operations Using the Draft Visual Indicators Protocol: A Region 8 Trial on the Santee Experimental Forest. 2008. USDA Forest Service, Center for Forested Wetlands Research, Southern Research Station, Cordesville, SC (unpublished as of 01/06/2009).
  [link to document added 02/20/2009]
• Aust, W. Michael; James A. Burger; Emily A. Carter; David P. Preston and Steven C. Patterson. Visually determined soil disturbance classes used as indices of forest harvesting disturbance. 1998. South. J. Appl. For. 22(4): 245–250.
  [link to document added 02/13/2009]
• B. C. Ministry of Forests. Soil Conservation Surveys Guidebook, 2nd Edition. 2001. Province of British Columbia, Canada.
  [link to document added 02/13/2009]
• Breckenridge, R. P., W. G. Kepner, and D. A. Mouat. 1995. A Process for Selecting Indicators for Monitoring Conditions of Rangeland Health. (HTML) Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. 36: 45–60.
• Bulmer, Chuck; Shannon M. Berch; Mike Curran; Bill Chapman; Marty Kranabetter; Stephane Dubé; Graeme Hope; Paul Courtin and Richard Kabzems. Monitoring the effects of forest practices on soil productivity and hydrologic function. 2008. BC Journal of Ecosystems and Management 9(2):48–59.
  [link to document added 02/20/2009]
• Burger, James A. and Daniel L. Kelting. Using soil quality indicators to assess forest stand management. 1999. For. Ecol. Mgmt. 122: 155–166.
  [link to document added 02/13/2009]
• Canadian Forest Service and B.C. Ministry of Forests. Forest Soil Temperature Manual (FRDA report 130) (available at http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/pubs/Docs/Frr/Frr130.htm). 1990.
• Curran, Mike; Doug Maynard; Ron Heninger; Tom Terry; Steve Howes; Doug Stone; Tom Niemann and Richard E. Miller. Elements and rationale for a common approach to assess and report soil disturbance. 2007. For. Chron. 83(6): 1–15.
  [link to document added 02/13/2009]
• Curran, Michael P.; Richard E. Miller; Steven W. Howes; Douglas G. Maynard; Thomas A. Terry; Ronald L. Heniger; Thomas Niemann; Ken van Rees; Robert F. Powers and Stephen H. Schoenholtz. Progress towards more uniform assessment and reporting of soil disturbance for operations, research, and sustainability protocols. 2005. For. Ecol. Mgmt. 220: 17–30.
  [link to document added 02/13/2009]
• Ford, G. L.; C. L. Maynard; J. A. Nesser; D. Page-Dumroese. Landtype Associations of the Northern Region, A First Approximation (PDF - 2.6 MB). 1996. (This document was expanded in 1997 and functions as the Landtype Associations section of this SoLo web site.)
• Halvorson, Jonathan J., Jeffrey L. Smith, and R. I. Papendick. 1997. Issues of scale for evaluating soil quality. (HTML) Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, Jan.–Feb. 1997. pp 26-30.
• Herrick, J. E.; Whitford, W. G.; de Soyza, A. G.; Van Zee, J. W.; Havstad, K. M.; Seybold, C. A.; Walton, M. Field soil aggregate stability kit for soil quality and rangeland health evaluations. 2001. (published in CATENA 44: 27–35 by Elsevier; available for purchase at Science Direct)
• Howes, Steve; John Hazard, and J. Michael Geist. 1983. Guidelines for sampling some physical conditions of surface soils. (PDF - 3.2 MB) U.S. Forest Service publication R6-RWM-146-1983. Pacific Northwest Region. Portland, OR. July 1983. 34 pp.
• National Research Council – Board on Agriculture. Rangeland Health: New Methods to Classify, Inventory, and Monitor Rangelands. (http://books.nap.edu/books/0309048796/html/97.html#pagetop) Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1994.
• Page-Dumroese, D. S., A. E. Harvey, M. F. Jurgensen and M. P. Amaranthus. Comparison methods for determining bulk densities of rocky forest soils. 1999. (abstract is available at Soil Science Society of America Journal)
• Rangeland Health Criteria Tables (PDF - 76 KB) - applies to eastern Montana forests that contain open rangeland
• Reeves, Derrick, Deborah Page-Dumroese and Mark Coleman. “Detrimental Soil Disturbance Associated with Timber Harvest Systems on National Forests in the Northern Region.” (PDF file - 1.89 MB) RMRS-RP-89, June 2011.
  [document added 07/06/2011]
• Robinson, Scott B. “Assessing Visual Disturbance Conditions on the Custer National Forest.” (PDF file - 570 KB) Unpublished masters thesis, Michigan Technical University, 2011. (used the FSDMP to do retrospective monitoring)
  [document added 05/09/2011]
• Wilson, S. D. and H. R. Kleb. 1996. The influence of prairie and forest vegetation on soil moisture and available nitrogen. The American Midland Naturalist. 136: 222–231.

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GRADUATE THESES 

• Reeves, Derrick B. “Soil Disturbance Monitoring of Timber Harvest Operations in the USDA Forest Service Northern Region.” (PDF file - 1.6 MB) Unpublished masters thesis, University of Idaho, 2011.
  [document added 05/23/2011]
• Robinson, Scott B. “Assessing Visual Disturbance Conditions on the Custer National Forest.” (PDF file - 570 KB) Unpublished masters thesis, Michigan Technical University, 2011. (used the FSDMP to do retrospective monitoring)
  [document added 05/09/2011]

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