Download or read book Soil and Vegetation Characteristics of Montane and Subalpine Wet Meadows, Sierra Nevada, California written by Hayley R. Olsen and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 101 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Headwater wetland meadows of the Western U.S. have great ecological value despite their limited aerial extent. The ability of meadows to perform important ecosystem functions can be impacted by human uses and management activities. Soil properties are important indicators of site quality and function. The major purpose of this project was to evaluate various soil characteristics, especially soil organic carbon (SOC), and interrelations with vegetation and hydrologic properties in montane and subalpine riparian-wetland meadows of the Sierra Nevada in the contexts of livestock grazing and hydrologic condition. Physical and chemical properties of whole soil solum samples and soils sampled by pedogenetic horizon were assessed in nineteen hydrologically functional meadows representing a range of livestock utilization in the Sierra National Forest. In addition, vegetation community composition and physical and chemical characteristics of whole solum soil samples were evaluated in riparian meadows representing a range of hydrologic condition as defined by the Properly Functioning Condition (PFC) method in the Stanislaus National Forest. Average total SOC contents were variable among meadows, but were considerably high on average at 37.2"2.87 kg C m -2 in the Sierra NF and 14.2"0.78 kg C m -2 in the Stanislaus NF. Soil moisture appeared to be an important driver of total SOC contents, while livestock utilization did not appear to influence overall C storage in hydrologically functional meadows. However, soils of more heavily grazed areas were more compacted and had slightly higher NO 3 - -N contents than more lightly grazed areas. Results of this study suggest any management activities that affect the hydrologic regime will likely impart undesirable changes in soil characteristics and plant communities.