Project Overview
Two soil pits were excavated in each of 25 small catchments in the Catskills region in the summer of 2011. One pit was located near the watershed outlet, while the other was located at an elevation approximately half way between the watershed outlet and the watershed crest. Samples were collected from the combined Oi and Oe horizons, the combined Oa and A horizons, the 0-10 cm mineral soil layer, the 10-20 cm mineral soil layer, the layer from 20 cm to bedrock or C horizon, and the C horizon where present. A “quantitive pit” approach was used to determine the mass of soil in each layer per square meter of land surface area. This allowed for the computation of element pools in the soils. Chemical analyses included total C and N, pH, exchangeable cations, organically bound Al and H, and total contents of 26 elements using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry. The methods and a summary of the results may be found in Johnson (2013, Annals of the New York Academy of Science, vol. 1298, pp. 30-42). These results are expected to be useful in future monitoring efforts through resampling of the study sites.
Objectives
The objective of the project was to provide soil chemical data for monitoring and modeling efforts in the Catskills region. The data are also part of ongoing studies of chemical weathering in Catskills soils.
Dataset Availability
Downloadable: 2 datasets
See the full list of available dataTags
Status - Completed
Start date: 2010-06-01
End date: 2014-05-31
Study Area
