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West Virginia Success StorySoil Survey Information is a Valuable Tool for High Value Forestry in MLRA 127 (WV, PA, MD, NY).Program: Soil Survey Overview: Forestry is a $7 billion industry in West Virginia generating over 30,000 jobs with an average of 3,540 log operations annually. With nearly 60 percent of the forests being privately owned, this is a good example of soil survey products evolving from agronomic to other paradigms in order to have more value to the taxpayer and the sustainability of major land uses. On the Allegheny Plateau (MLRA 127), soil fertility is major determinant of tree species, growth rates, and buffering capacity against acid precipitation. Inherent fertility varies widely, primarily as a function of geologic parent materials. However, it has historically been poorly understood and consequently was inadequately reflected in soil survey products. Accomplishments: The NRCS in WV is developing a systematic characterization of forest soil fertility for soil survey map unit components. In addition to doing the characterization work to identify relationships between productivity and fertility (courtesy of geochemistry analyses at the NSSL), the data are being incorporated in both the spatial and NASIS portions of our soil survey products that cover more than 10 million acres. Benefits to the Community: This information will be valuable as it is applied to silvicultural and land use decisions by forest managers over coming rotations of valuable hardwoods in the Appalachian Region. Contact: Stephen
Carpenter, MLRA Project Leader West Virginia USDA-NRCS |
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