Soil Descriptions
During terrestrial site construction, NEON orchestrated two efforts to describe and characterize the local soils. More info about each of these efforts is below. A link to soil description documents and photos for each NEON site can be found in the table at the bottom of this page. Moreover, air-dried soil from these efforts is archived and available for request, visit the Megapit and Distributed Initial Characterization Soil Archives page for more information.
Megapit Info
Sampling and analysis methods
NEON collected soil from each horizon at a single, temporary soil pit at each terrestrial field site, called the megapit. The pit was located in the locally dominant soil type, near the instrumented NEON tower, and was selected to be representative of the soil sensor locations. Soil profiles down to 2 m (or bedrock) were described based on one face of a soil pit at all sites except BONA, HEAL, TOOL and BARR, where the description was based on a soil core due to the presence of permafrost. NEON worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Natural Resources Conservation Service Kellogg Soil Survey Laboratory (NRCS-KSSL) to perform a suite of chemical and physical analyses on soil material from each horizon.
Data
A wide range of information about these soils is available in NEON data products, including:
- Texture, bulk density, Soil pH, total carbon (C), nitrogen (N), sulfur (S) and other elements (Al, Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, P, Si, Sr, Ti, and Zr): Soil physical and chemical properties, Megapit (DP1.00096.001)
- Root biomass distribution: Root biomass and chemistry, Megapit (DP1.00066.001)
Distributed Initial Characterization Info
Sampling and analysis methods
NEON contracted the Soil Science Division of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, in partnership with the USDA Agriculture Research Service, to describe the taxonomic, physical and geochemical properties of all major soil units at each NEON site. Between 10 to 34 pedons were described and sampled by horizon at each terrestrial site, generally to 1 m depth (or bedrock). Samples were sent to the NRCS-KSSL to perform a suite of chemical and physical analyses on soil material from each horizon.
Data
A wide range of information about these soils is available in a NEON data product, including:
- Texture, bulk density, soil pH, cation exchange, concentrations of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus, sulfur (S), and extractable metals: Soil physical and chemical properties, Distributed initial characterization (DP1.10047.001)
Explore the links below to see Megapit and distributed characterization soil descriptions as well as browse soil pit and core images. Click the headers to sort the table. In addition, air-dried soil from each horizon is archived and available for request in the Megapit and Distributed Initial Characterization Soil Archives.