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2005 NCSS National Conference

"Planning the New Soil Survey—Personnel Development, Technology, Standards and Electronic Delivery"

Committees

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Standing Committees
Research Agenda Standing Committee
NCSS Standards Standing Committee
New Technology Standing Committee

In-Conference 2005 Committees
Committee 1: WEB Soil Survey—Promoting Partnerships
Committee 2: Ecological Principles in Soil Survey
Committee 3: Recruitment and Retention of Soil Scientists in Soil Survey
Committee 4: Water Movement and Water Table Monitoring in Soil Survey

Standing Committees

Research Agenda Standing Committee

Co-Chairs:

David Hammer, National Leader Investigations, NRCS, NSSC, (david.hammer@usda.gov)
Nancy Cavallaro, CSREES, Soils, (ncavallaro@csrees.usda.gov) 

Charges:

To establish a formal mechanism within the NCSS to:

  1. Identify, document, prioritize, and address the critical research and development issues within the NCSS.
  2. Identify opportunities for partnering on priority research needs.
  3. Identify opportunities for funding priority research needs.
  4. Organize a Task Force (Choose one):
    1. Benchmark Soils and Landscapes in Soil Survey The purpose of the Task Force will be to formulate a plan to re-establish a targeted measurement program of chemical and physical relationships in soil properties and conditions through NCSS partnerships on Benchmark Soils and Landscapes for the US Soil Survey. The NCSS Research Agenda Standing Committee will report the Task Force’s recommendations at the NCSS.
    2. Geochemistry Baseline in Soil Survey. The purpose of the Task Force will be to formulate a plan to evaluate baseline geo-chemical relationships in soil properties and conditions through NCSS partnerships. The NCSS Research Agenda Standing Committee will report the Task Force’s recommendations at the NCSS.
  5. Identify an Outstanding Research Project within the NCSS partnership to present at the National NCSS Conference.
  6. The NCSS Research Agenda Standing Committee will be required to report its activities at each National Conference.

Examples for Task Forces:

Task Force: Benchmark Soils and Landscapes in Soil Survey
A team would formulate a program plan to measure of chemical and physical relationships in soil properties and conditions through NCSS partnerships on Benchmark Soils and Landscapes for the US Soil Survey.

Task Force: Geochemistry Baseline in Soil Survey
A team would formulate a long range plan to establish geo-chemical baselines in soil properties and conditions through National Cooperative Soil Survey partnerships.

  1. Soil properties relevant to assessment of the State of the Nation’s Ecosystems and National Resource Inventory should be considered.
  2. The task force should consider the purpose and strategy of sampling soil and analyzing its properties nationally by geographic area (MLRA) or through Benchmark Soils and Landscapes.

NCSS Standards Committee

Co-Chairs:

Craig Ditzler, NRCS, NSSC (craig.ditzler@lin.usda.gov)
Duane Lammers, USFS (dlammers@fs.fed.us)
Colin Voigt, BLM (colin_voigt@blm.gov)

Charges:

  1. Receive recommendations from other regional committees and be the clearinghouse for issues dealing with standards. Establish subcommittees as needed to deal with issues identified. For this conference the issues are:
    • Descriptive terms for carbonates in soils (West Region)
    • Revision to Cryepts (West Region)
    • Recognizing erosion in mollic epipedons (North Central Region)
  2. Organize a Task Force: Subaqueous Soils in Soil Survey. The purpose of the Task Force will be to:
    • Develop a guide describing techniques and procedures for doing this specialized work.
    • Propose additional terms for describing parent materials, landscapes, and landforms for NSSH Part 629.
  3. The NCSS Standards Standing Committee will be required to report its activities at each National Conference.

Task Force: Subaqueous Soils in Soil Survey

A team would formulate a plan to incorporate standards of subaqueous soil properties and conditions in the New Soil Survey through National Cooperative Soil Survey partnerships.

  1. Soil properties relevant to assessment of the State of the Nation’s Ecosystems and National Resource Inventory should be considered.
  2. The task force should consider the purpose and strategy of sampling soil and analyzing properties nationally.
  3. Catalog terms and proposals for techniques and standards for subaqueous soil mapping for incorporation into Soil Survey Handbook.

New Technology Standing Committee

Co-Chairs:

Pete Biggam, NPS (pete_biggam@nps.gov)
Jon Hempel, NGDC, NRCS (jon.hempel@usda.gov)

Charges:

To develop and document procedures, processes, and standards that will be used to integrate GIS, remote sensing, landscape modeling, and other similar technologies into the mainstream of the soil mapping and landscape inventory program.

  1. Review and document progress on recommendations from 2003 report.
  2. Review and document progress on recommendations from 1999 Task Force on Soil Survey Products of the Future and the 2003 Committee on New Inventory Techniques.
  3. Review recommendations from 2004 Regional Conference reports.
  4. The NCSS New Technology Standing Committee will be required to report its activities at each National Conference
  5. Identify an Outstanding New Technology Transfer Project within the NCSS partnership to present at the National NCSS Conference
  6. What new inventory techniques have emerged recently and what are the strengths and weaknesses of these new techniques?
  7. How will database strategies change with new inventory techniques and the desire for more complex analysis of soil inventory information?

In-Conference 2005 Committees

Committee 1: WEB Soil Survey—Promoting Partnerships

This committee should consider issues concerning WEB Soil Survey standards, product delivery, marketing strategies, public access to expertise, product timeliness and education on product use with an emphasis on promoting partnerships.

Charges:

  1. Review 2003 committee report and 2004 regional conference reports with similar charges. Review past market analysis and market strategies. Determine progress of recommendations from 2003 and 2004 meetings.
  2. What soil survey products do users need/want, and how do they want them delivered?
  3. How do we deliver products on time and on budget?
  4. How will we promote partnerships in NCSS within the WEB Soil Survey?
  5. Investigate who are the end-users of soil survey that NCSS should promote.

Co-Chairs:

Dennis Lytle, NRCS, Washington, DC (dennis.lytle@usda.gov)
Rick L. Day, Pennsylvania State University, University Park (rday@psu.edu)

Committee 2: Ecological Principles in Soil Survey

This Committee should review classical references and University curricula for ecological principles and associations with soil and natural resource inventories. The Committee should investigate new interpretations and management recommendations associated with state and transition models; ecological frameworks; ecological site inventories and ecological land use inventories and discuss how they may be incorporated into soil survey.

Charges:

  1. Review Ecological Principles committee report from 2003. Identify terminology of emerging ecological theories for use in soil survey inventories.
  2. Select and explore proposals of how ecological principles may be incorporated into the New Soil Survey and databases. Establish subcommittees to explore selected topics. Examples of possible subjects to explore:
    1. What interpretations and management recommendations from soil surveys are needed that relate to ecological problems?
    2. What NCSS soil survey inventory protocols and standards are needed to better represent ecological principles in soil survey?
    3. How could new inventory techniques of soil survey help to interpret natural and altered landscapes to better represent emerging ecological models?

Co-Chairs:

Curtis Talbot, NRCS, NSSC (curtis.talbot@usda.gov)
Randy Davis, USFS, Washington, DC (rdavis03@fs.fed.us)

Committee 3: Recruitment and Retention of Soil Scientists in Soil Survey

This committee is to concern itself with recruitment and retention of Soil Scientists in soil survey and soil resource management.

Charges (Address the following issues):

  1. Review Report from 2003 Committee on Recruitment and Retention of Soil Scientists in Soil Survey and document progress on recommendations. Gather recommendations from past national and regional committee reports for retention of soil scientists in agencies and report on progress.
  2. Investigate what new incentives and programs are available to the NCSS to recruit soil scientists with Office of Personnel Management for the federal government.
  3. What are the reasons that students do not apply for federal jobs when they are made available?
  4. What are impedes applicants from registering with OPM for positions such as soil scientist or soil conservationist?
  5. What scholarships are available nationwide that support students in soil science?
  6. Explore options for electronic or internet clearinghouse that improves information flow on positions, student applicants, scholarships, grants, and contacts within NCSS.
  7. Promote internships and career intern program in federal government to provide more opportunities for high school and college age students to consider soil science as a career.

Co-Chairs:

Gary Steinhardt, Purdue University, IN, (gsteinhardt@purdue.edu)
Denise Decker, USDA-NRCS, Human Resources, Washington, DC (denise.decker@usda.gov)
Luis Hernandez, State Soil Scientist, Arkansas (luis.hernandez@ar.usda.gov)

Committee 4: Water Movement and Water Table Monitoring in Soil Survey

This committee will explore and discuss how soil survey should address water movement and water tables for regional updates of the soil survey and database representation.

Charges:

  1. Review and document progress from 2003 Committee on Water Movement and Water Table Monitoring in Soil Survey
  2. This committee will review water table studies nationally to formulate regional guidance of measurement techniques, database documentation and interpretations for taxonomy and practical user applications in soil survey.
  3. How might studies of regional or local hydrology apply to updating and refining soil survey information?
  4. Document progress of hydro-pedology research in soil survey and applications to interpretations.

Co-Chairs:

Henry Lin, Pennsylvania State University (henrylin@psu.edu)
Cathy Seybold, NRCS (cathy.seybold@usda.gov)



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