Checking billy barr’s snow log…
Regional Assessment of Drought Impacts on Soils: Development of an integrated soil functional mapping framework. Soils serve critical roles in most terrestrial ecosystems. In particular, the accumulation of soil organic matter is an important function supporting ecosystem productivity and serving as a feedback to climate change. With the more frequent occurrence of extensive and persistent drought conditions in the Western US, there is an urgent need to improve our ability to map soil organic matter and forecast how it may respond. To address this need, we are developing and testing an integrated framework for measurement, mapping, and modeling of soil functions at a regional scale in the East River and surrounding watersheds. This work will result in development of detailed maps of soil properties, a community accessible archive of soil samples, and an integrated framework for modeling changes in soil functions (not limited to soil organic matter storage) across the region.