Abstract
 Modeling Soil Distribution in Wilderness Areas of Washington State Track: Modeling Author(s): Bruce Frazier, Toby Rodgers, Richard Rupp Wilderness areas in Washington State have historically been excluded from soil resource inventories due to the huge investment of time and resources required to map them. Yet, they are ideal places to study soil formation and distribution under natural conditions. Computer-based models are an efficient way to predict occurrence of soils. Models lessen the need for intensive field transecting and offer a cost-efficient alternative to traditional cartographic techniques. We have used ArcGIS to develop the Remote Area Soil Proxy (RASP) modeling technique to predict natural occurrence of soils in wilderness areas. Soil pedon data are collected from dominant landscape facets that are accessible by trails. Soil formation is modeled using surrogates for the soil forming factors. Sources of spatial data include elevation models, vegetation coverage derived from remote sensing, climate from models, and parent material from geology maps, air photo interpretation, and field samples. Bruce Frazier Washington State University Crop and Soil Sciences Box 646420 Pullman , WA 99164-6420 US Phone: (509) 335-2381 E-mail: bfrazier@wsu.edu Toby Rodgers USDA-NRCS 2021 E. College Way Ste. 106 Mt. Vernon , WA 98273 US Phone: 360-428-7684 E-mail: toby.rodgers@wa.usda.gov Richard Rupp Washington State University Crop and Soil Sciences Crop and Soil Sciences Dept. Pullman , WA 99164-6420 US Phone: 509-335-2381 E-mail: richard_rupp@wsu.edu |
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