Potential Soil Damage by Fire
National Park Service: Thomas Colson. 2011. Potential Soil Damage by Fire
The ratings in this interpretation indicate the potential for damage to nutrient, physical, and biotic soil characteristics by fire. The ratings involve an evaluation of the potential impact of prescribed fires or wildfires that are intense enough to remove the duff layer and consume organic matter in the surface layer. The ratings are based on texture of the surface layer, content of rock fragments and organic matter in the surface layer, thickness of the surface layer, and slope. The ratings are both verbal and numerical. The soils are described as having a "low," "moderate," or "high" potential for this kind of damage. "Low" indicates that fire damage is unlikely. Good performance can be expected, and little or no maintenance is needed. "Moderate" indicates that fire damage can occur because one or more soil properties are less than desirable. Fair performance can be expected, and some maintenance is needed. "High" indicates that fire damage can occur because of one or more soil properties and that overcoming the unfavorable properties requires special design, extra maintenance, and costly alteration. Numerical ratings indicate gradations between the point at which the potential for fire damage is highest (1.00) and the point at which the potential is lowest (0.00). The map unit components listed for each map unit in the accompanying Summary by Map Unit table in Web Soil Survey or the Aggregation Report in Soil Data Viewer are determined by the aggregation method chosen. An aggregated rating class is shown for each map unit. The components listed for each map unit are only those that have the same rating class as listed for the map unit. The percent composition of each component in a particular map unit is presented to help the user better understand the percentage of each map unit that has the rating presented. Other components with different ratings may be present in each map unit. The ratings for all components, regardless of the map unit aggregated rating, can be viewed by generating the equivalent report from the Soil Reports tab in Web Soil Survey or from the Soil Data Mart site. Onsite investigation may be needed to validate these interpretations and to confirm the identity of the soil on a given site.
- Type
- Geospatial Dataset
- Authors
- National Park Service: Thomas Colson
- Date of Issue
- 2011-10-10
- Units
- GRSM
- Keywords
- APHN, Appalachian Highlands Network, Blockhouse TN, Blount County, Bryson City NC, Bunches Bald NC, Cades Cove TN, Calderwood TN, Clingmans Dome NC, Cocke County, Cove Creek Gap NC, Dellwood NC, Environment, Fines Creek NC, Fire Damage, Fontana Dam NC, Gatlinburg TN, Graham County, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, GRSM, Hartford TN, Haywood County, Jones Cove TN, Kinzel Springs TN, Luftee Knob NC, Mount Guyot TN, Mount Le Conte TN, National Standards for Spatial Digital Accuracy (NSSDA), Natural Resource Inventory And Monitoring Program, NC, Noland Creek NC, None, North Carolina, NRIM, Pigeon Forge TN, Richardson Cove TN, SERO, Sevier County, Silers Bald NC, Smokemont NC, Soil Survey, Soil Survey Geographic, Soils, Southeast Region, SSURGO, Swain County, Tallassee, Thunderhead Mountain NC, TN, Tuskeegee NC, U.S., United States, US, USA, Waterville TN, Wear Cove TN, Whittier NC