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NSSH Amendment 4

September 1998

The following changes have been made to the National Soil Survey Handbook in the web version for downloading and in the on-line hypertexted version. The NRCS-SOI-37A will be reprinted and distributed separately.

Specific changes:

1. Exhibit 602-1

  • Change in all parts: Director of Soils to Director of Soil Survey Division
  • Article III - Add the following:
    • Section 2.1.4 - Soil scientists from each of the six NRCS regional offices are included as members.
  • Article VI - Change:
    • Section 1.1.4 - Four Agriculture Experiment Station Soil Survey Leaders, one from each respective Regional Conference. This normally is the state representative that will be chair or vice chair of the next Regional Conference.
  • Article VI - Add:
    • Section 1.1.7 - A representative of the 1890 College from the vicinity of the next conference recommended by the Conference Chair.
    • Section 1.1.8 - A representative of the Tribal College from the vicinity of the next conference recommended by the Conference Chair.
  • Article VI - Change Section 4.0 to be:
    • Section 4.0 - The Steering Committee shall:

2. Exhibit 606-1 and Exhibit 606-2

  • Last paragraph before signatures, replace with the following paragraph:

    Activities conducted under this Memorandum of Understanding will be in compliance with the nondiscrimination provisions as contained in Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987 (Public Law 100-259) and other nondiscrimination statutes, namely Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and in accordance with regulations of the Secretary of Agriculture (7CFR-15, Subparts A and B) which provide that no person in the United States shall on the grounds of race, color, national origin, age, sex, religion, marital status, or handicap be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance from the Department of Agriculture or any agency thereof.

3. Part 618-07

  • Change the formula in 618-07 (c) to:
    Db15 = [(LEP/100) + 1]3 X Dbmoist
    where Db15 = bulk density 15 bar,
    LEP = linear extensibility percent adjusted to a <2 mm basis.

4. Exhibit 618-7

  • Change the 2nd formula in footnote 3 to:
    PI = LL - [9 + 0.4(clay)]

5. Part 618-18 Electrical Conductivity.
(b) Classes

  • Change class limits to:
    Nonsaline: 0 - <2
    Very slightly saline: 2 - <4
    Slightly saline: 4 - <8
    Moderately saline: 8 - <16
    Strongly saline: >16

6. Part 618-20

  • Change 618-20 (a) (1) reference to M-145-91 (1995)
  • Add to the end of 618-20 (b) (2) the following:

    Under average conditions of good drainage and thorough compaction, the supporting value of a material as subgrade may be assumed as an inverse ratio to its group index, that is, a group index of 0 indicates a "good" subgrade material and group index of 20 or greater indicates a "very poor" subgrade material.
     
  • Add to the end of 618.20 (b) (3) the following:

    Negative group index is reported as zero (0).

    For soils that are non-plastic and when the liquid limit cannot be determined, the group index shall be considered zero (0).

7. Part 618-26

  • (b) (1) Flooding frequency class.
    • Change the last line of VERY RARE to: ... but at least 1 time in 500 years.
    • Change OCCASIONAL to: ... > 5 to 50 percent chance of flooding in any year or > 5 to 50 times in 100 years.
  • (b) (2) Flooding duration classes.
    • Change to:
      Extremely brief: 0.1 to <4.0 hours
      Very brief: 4 to <48 hours
      Brief: 2 to <7 days
      Long: 7 days to <30 days
      Very long: >30 days
  • (d) (4)
    • Add to the end of the paragraph: Duration is estimated to the nearest hour up to 48 hours, then it is estimated to the nearest day.
  • (e) Entries
    • Add as the 2nd sentence: Flooding entries reflect the current existing and mapped condition with consideration for dams, levees, and other man-induced changes affecting flooding frequency and duration.

8. Part 618.46

  • (b) (2) Ponding frequency class.
    • Change:
      NONE - No reasonable possibility of ponding, near 0 percent chance of ponding in any year; less than 1 chance in 100 years.
      RARE - Ponding unlikely but possible under unusual weather conditions; from 1 to 5 percent chance of ponding any year or 1 to 5 times in 100 years.
      OCCASIONAL - Ponding is expected under usual weather conditions; >5 to 50 percent chance in any year or >5 to 50 times in 100 years.
  • (c) (2) Ponding duration class.
    • Change class limits to:
      VERY BRIEF: < 2 days
      BRIEF: 2 to < 7 days
      LONG: 7 to < 30 days
      VERY LONG: > 30 days

9. Part 618.61 (b)

  • Add to end of paragraph (3): When the percent of surface fragment cover is greater than 80 percent, the fragments are then a distinct horizon and also described as a horizon.

10. Part 618.71

  • (a) Definition. Change to: Water, satiated, is the estimated volumetric soil water content at or near zero bar tension, expressed as a percentage of the whole soil.
     
  • (b) Significance. Change 2nd sentence to: Satiated water content approximates the water content for the whole soil at saturated conditions.
     
  • (b) Significance. Change last sentence to: Correction for fragments is taken into account in calculating this entry.
     
  • (c) Estimation. Change formula to: Satiated water % = (total porosity % - entrapped air %) (100 - % volume fragments)
     
  • (d) Entries. Change the valid entries to: 10 to 70 percent

11. Exhibit 627-5 Conventional and Special Symbols Legend, NRCS-SOI-37A

  • Add Point and line features as soil delineations
  • Change definitions on the back of the 37A to this table:
     
    LABEL NAME DESCRIPTIONS FOR STANDARD LANDFORM AND MISCELLANEOUS SURFACE FEATURES
    BLO Blowout A small saucer, cup, or through-shaped hollow or depression formed by wind erosion, on a pre-existing sand deposit. Typically ___ to ___ acres.
    BPI Burrow pit An open excavation from which soil and underlying material have been removed, usually for construction purposes. Typically ___ to ___ acres.
    CLA Clay spot A spot where the surface texture is silty clay or clay in areas where the surface layer is sandy loam, loam, silt loam, or coarser. Typically ___ to ___ acres.
    DEP Depression, closed A shallow, saucer-shaped area that is slightly lower on the landscape than the surrounding area and is without a natural outlet for surface drainage. Typically ___ to ___ acres.
    ESB Escarpment, bedrock A relatively continuous and steep slope or cliff, which was produced by erosion or faulting, that breaks the general continuity of more gently sloping land surfaces. Exposed material is hard or soft bedrock.
    ESO Escarpment, nonbedrock A relatively continuous and steep slope or cliff, which was produced by erosion or faulting, that breaks the general continuity of more gently sloping land surfaces. Exposed earthy material is nonsoil or very shallow soil.
    GPI Gravel pit An open excavation from which soil and underlying material have been removed and used, without crushing, as a source of sand or gravel. Typically ___ to ___ acres.
    GRA Gravelly spot A spot where the surface layer has more than 35 percent, by volume, rock fragments that are mostly 3 inches in diameter in an area with less than 15 percent fragments.
    GUL Gully A small channel with steep sides cut by running water through which water ordinarily runs only after a rain, or after ice or snow melts. It generally is an obstacle to wheeled vehicles and is too deep to be obliterated by ordinary tillage.
    LDF Landfill An area of accumulated waste products of human habitation that can be above or below natural ground level. Typically ___ to ___ acres.
    LAV Lava flow A solidified body of rock formed through lateral, surface outpouring of molten lava from a vent or fissure. Typically ___ to ___ acres.
    LVS Levee  An embankment that confines or controls water, especially one built along the banks of a river to prevent overflow of lowlands.
    MAR Marsh or swamp A water saturated, very poorly drained area, intermittently or permanently covered by water. Sedges, cattails, and rushes dominate marsh areas. Trees or shrubs dominate swamps. Not used in map units where the named components are poorly or very poorly drained. Typically ___ to ___ acres.
    MPI Mine or quarry An open excavation  from which soil and underlying material  are removed and bedrock is exposed. Also denotes surface openings to underground mines. Typically ___ to ___ acres.
    MIS Miscellaneous water Small, constructed water area that is used for industrial, sanitary, or mining applications  and contains water most of the year. Typically ___ to ___ acres.
    WAT Perennial water Small, natural or constructed lake, pond, or pit that contains water most of the year. Typically ___ to ___ acres.
    ROC Rock outcrop An exposure of bedrock at the surface of the earth. Not used where the named soils of the surrounding map unit are shallow over bedrock, or where "Rock outcrop" is a named component of the map unit. Typically ___ to ___ acres.
    SAL Saline spot An area where the surface layer has an electrical conductivity of 8 mmhos cm -1 more than the surface layer of the named soils in the surrounding map unit, which ahs an EC of 2 mmhos cm -1 or less. Typically ___ to ___ acres.
    SAN Sandy spot  A spot where the surface layer is a loamy fine sand or coarser in areas where the surface layer of the named soils in the surrounding map unit is very fine sandy loam or finer. Typically ___ to ___ acres.
    ERO Severely eroded spot An area where on the average 75 percent or more of the original surface layer has been lost because of accelerated erosion. Not used in map units that are named severely eroded, very severely eroded, or gullied. Typically ___ to ___ acres.
    SLP Short, steep slope Narrow soil area that has slopes that are at least two slope classes steeper than the slope class of the surrounding map unit.
    SNK Sinkhole A closed depression formed either by solution of the surficial rock or by collapse of underlying caves. Typically ___ to ___ acres.
    SLI Slide or slip A prominent landform scar or ridge caused by fairly recent mass movement or descent of earthy material resulting from failure of earth or rock under shear stress along one or several faces. Typically ___ to ___ acres.
    SOD Sodic spot An area where the surface layer has a sodium absorption ratio that is at least 10 more than the surface layer of the named soils in the surrounding map unit which have sodium absorption rates of 5 or less. Typically ___ to ___ acres.
    SPO Spoil area A pile of earthy materials, either smoothed or uneven, resulting from human activity. Typically ___ to ___ acres.
    STN Stony spot A spot where 0.01 to 0.1 percent of the surface cover is rock fragments that are greater than 10 inches in diameter in areas where the surrounding soil has no surface stones. Typically ___ to ___ acres.
    STV Very stony spot A spot where 0.1 to 3 percent of the surface cover is rock fragments that are greater than 10 inches in diameter in areas where the surrounding soil has less than 0.1 percent surface stones. Typically ___ to ___ acres.
    WET Wet spot A somewhat poorly drained to very poorly drained area that is at least two drainage classes wetter than the named soils in the surrounding map unit.  Typically ___ to ___ acres.

12. Part 629

  • Replace Part 629 in total with a 1998 version.


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