The Soil Scientist

Making soil mapping more relevant: a calcium carbonate and climate change connection

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 03:25:00 +0000

I've been thinking for quite some time about how the United States Soil Survey (aka the National Cooperative Soil Survey or NCSS), of which I am a part, can become more relevant to the scientific community and 'mainstream' America alike.

I go out each and every day to map soils for this cooperative soil survey, and I absolutely love my job. But I often times wonder how the information I am collecting could be better used to address the critical environmental problems we are facing today; global warming, climate change, carbon sequestration, energy shortages, and the like. This is not to imply that the information we collect lacks value. Quite the contrary. All the pHs, ECs, CECs, soil textures, rock fragment volumes, parent materials, plants, and many other types of soil data will eventually go into a published county soil survey. The interim, in essence, "draft" soils data, is published via the world wide web on the Soil Data Mart. I wonder though if there is more that this survey could be doing to provide the average user better, less cumbersome environmental data. I also wonder if the time we spend out in the field could be better spent collecting more meaningful data that would have a direct impact on scientists' ability to model the critical air/water/soil interfaces on our planet.

With the advent of Google Earth in 2004, and the prolific use of mobile smart phone technology able to channel the internet in the most remote of places, I posit that much of the data we are collecting for the U.S. Soil Survey could be done more efficiently, distributed more frequently, and explained more succinctly to lay audiences with an urgency toward helping all of humanity understand that protecting and preserving good soils protects and preserves our entire way of life here on the planet.

A recent study carried out by soil scientists at Clemson University and Virginia Tech I think speaks to some of this urgency and sheds much needed light on the direction the U.S. Soil Survey needs to take to stay relevant in an ever changing world. The lead researcher, Dr. Elena Mikhailova, a soil scientist with a background in both soils and geology, and her team looked at the 12 soil orders and how they compared to one another in their ability to store carbon.

An excerpt from the article posted on the Clemson University website is as follows:

'The study evaluated average annual atmospheric wet deposition of ionic calcium from 1994 to 2003 in the continental United States by soil order using spatial analysis of ionic calcium wet deposition data obtained from the National Atmospheric Deposition Program and the State Soil Geographic Database from the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Using Geographic Information System (GIS) software, spatial data layers were developed and averaged to create a final iconic calcium wet deposition map layer. The total deposition per soil order was calculated by combining the final average ionic calcium wet deposition map layer with the generalized soil order data layer.

Results from the study revealed that the total wet deposition of ionic calcium was 8.6 × 108 kilograms, which would be equivalent to the maximum theoretical formation of 2.6 × 108 kilograms of carbon as soil inorganic calcium, barring losses due to competitive processes, such as plant uptake, erosion and deep leaching. The soil orders receiving the highest area-normalized total wet deposition of ionic calcium were Alfisols and Mollisols, non-arid soils that typically are associated with the “bread-basket” regions of the United States. [Mikhailova stated, “Formation of new carbonate minerals in soils — what scientists call pedogenic carbonates — represent a pathway by which atmospheric (carbon dioxide) can be sequestered.]

And here is the key sentence that I think really pertains to what we could be doing as soil scientists to map our planet...

"Maps of potential (soil inorganic carbon) formation and storage based on wet (ionic calcium) deposition can aid in understanding terrestrial ecosystem inorganic carbon dynamics and the way it can be manipulated to decrease (carbon dioxide) concentrations in the atmosphere.” Future studies "will measure, profile and identify the soil carbon characteristics and regional distribution to understand conditions and develop predictive models for future soil inorganic carbon research."

If ever there was an opportunity for the NRCS in general, and the NCSS in particular, to partner with fine agricultural research universities like Clemson and Virginia Tech, it is now. We could in effect map the soils of the U.S. while at the same time contribute to critical carbon modeling. The duality of our efforts could make a lasting impact on how all of humanity views soil, and its vital role in all of our lives.

I would love to hear your take on these issues I've raised. Email thesoilscientist@gmail.com or feel free to leave a post here on this web log.

Thanks,

The Soil Scientist Administrator

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Oklahoma State University's Soil Judging Team Qualifies for Nationals

noreply@blogger.com (Drew Mather) — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 01:19:00 +0000

The Oklahoma State University Soil Judging Team is going to compete at the National Soil Judging Contest in Springfield, MO in the spring of 2009 (date TBD).

Members of the team (pictured above, l to r):

Coach - Brian Carter

Member - Eric Shaw

Member - Jason Ray

Member - Brian Williams

Member - Alicia Norton

Assistant Coach - Travis Conley

Read the FULL STORY by clicking HERE.

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Soil scientists report new measures and models for determining soil health

noreply@blogger.com (Drew Mather) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 14:28:00 +0000

A new article (free download from the Soil Science Society of America Journal or SSSAJ until December 19th, 2008) details how researchers are measuring and modeling the health of our soils.

A news synopsis from newswise.com of the article is available by clicking HERE

The abstract of the research article is available by clicking HERE

The full text of the article (free until Dec. 19th, 2008) is available by clicking HERE

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Soil Scientist participates in Envirothon

noreply@blogger.com (Drew Mather) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 14:13:00 +0000

A soil scientist in Canada stays involved with his community, and the local high schools, by participating in Envirothon, North America's largest environmental education competition.

The event was held in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, on November 7, 2008. Delmar Holmstrom, the soil scientist, was quoted in the article as being "encouraged about the future" after having seen how the high school students performed in the event.

Click HERE to read the entire story

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Soil Scientist involved with a controversial land use management issue in Nevada

noreply@blogger.com (Drew Mather) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 04:25:00 +0000

The Upper Las Vegas Wash Conservation Transfer Area in Southern Nevada has reached a critical juncture for developers, city planners, and conservation groups. A soil scientist from Utah State University, Dr. Janis Boetinger, is involved and has coauthored a final report up for review.

Read the report in its entirety HERE.

Then, if you have a chance, read the article in the local Las Vegas newspaper on the report by clicking HERE.

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National Geographic Article Features Two Soil Scientists

noreply@blogger.com (Drew Mather) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 03:11:00 +0000

It's been a few months since the issue came out, but it's worth repeating that the National Geographic September Issue features two soil scientists in a very positive and impactful light.

The cover article entitled, "Our Good Earth - The future rests on the soil beneath our feet", by Charles C. Mann, raises a number of important environmental challenges directly related to saving our soil, and how soil scientists are helping.

Rattan Lal, the prominent soil scientist from Ohio State University, is featured in the beginning of the article spreading cautious optimism on how its possible to restore degraded soils, yet he tempers the optimism with the dire circumstances we are under if we don't care for our most precious resource, soil.

Wim Sombroek, the pre-eminent former soil scientist, director of ISRIC (International Soil Reference and Information Centre, and secretary general of the International Society of Soil Science (now International Union of Soil Sciences), who passed away in 2003, is quoted on his days growing up in the Netherlands on small plots of plaggen soils. Mann also mentions Sombroek's fascination with terra preta (a particular type of black soil found in Brazil human formed with the unique addition of charcoal) and how he was one of the first to study this type of soil in the Amazon.

Enjoy the article in its entirety by clicking HERE.

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Soil mapping critical to a project in Utah

noreply@blogger.com (Drew Mather) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 04:05:00 +0000

Crews working on a new airport site in Utah depend on accurate soil mapping to get the job done.

Read MORE by clicking HERE.

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Governor of MT, a trained soil scientist, possibly being considered for Secretary of Energy

noreply@blogger.com (Drew Mather) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 13:50:00 +0000

Montana's governor, Brian Schweitzer, has a master of science degree in soil science from Montana State University.

He is mentioned as a good candidate for Secretary of Energy in the new Obama Administration.

Read MORE by clicking HERE.

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noreply@blogger.com (Drew Mather) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 13:01:00 +0000

Michel Ransom, professor of soil science at Kansas State University, was recently recognized for his outstanding educational contributions. Read MORE by clicking HERE.

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Soil scientist in Brazil noted for his work @ Emprapa

noreply@blogger.com (Drew Mather) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 04:07:00 +0000

Edson Lobato, a soil scientist at Emprapa, Brazil's Ag Research Agency, is featured in an article published in the Christian Science Monitor this month.

Check out the full story HERE by Sara Miller Llana.

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New manager of Nevada Test Site is a soil scientist

noreply@blogger.com (Drew Mather) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 05:58:00 +0000

The 10th manager of the National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office, which manages all programs at the Nevada Test Site, has been named today.

Stephen A. Mellington succeeds Gerald L. Talbot Jr., said Darwin Morgan, a spokesman for the National Nuclear Security Administration.

Click HERE to read more...

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Soil scientist weighs in on new hybrid tree

noreply@blogger.com (Drew Mather) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 05:42:00 +0000

Gary Banuelos, a plant and soil scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agriculture Research Service in Parlier, CA said he is slightly skeptical of the tree's ability to survive the west side's poor soil and water conditions...

Click HERE to read the entire article...

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