Identifying Ecological Sites, and Their Susceptibility to Human Disturbance, in the North Central Appalachians.

Identifying Ecological Sites, and their susceptibility to human disturbance, in the North Central Appalachians.

We identified Ecological Sites (ES) in MLRAs 127, 140, and 147 using GIS datasets and field sampling of ecological communities.  A geomorphic template was developed for the region that best constrained ESs using a combination of drainage conditions and family particle size as identified through SSSURGO2 data and regional climate models. ESs were then developed by combining these variables in a raster calculation, resulting in ESs with unique landscape and soil characteristics.  The extent of each ES was then calculated using cell statistics derived from the before mentioned calculations.  State and Transition Models were then derived for ESs within each MLRA to show how a reference state may transition to a disturbed state, and which vegetative communities will occur in those states. Reference states were identified at two Ecological Sites within each MLRA.  Dynamic soil properties were then measured and compared across different states of select Ecological Sites in each MLRA.  The dynamic soil properties that were measured include O horizon composition and thickness, A horizon thickness (A over Ap), truncated profiles, and the presence of a buried A.