Limitations for Shallow Excavations by Type of Soil
National Park Service, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Resource Mangement and Science and National Park Service: Thomas Colson. 2015. Limitations for Shallow Excavations by Type of Soil
Shallow excavations are trenches or holes dug to a maximum depth of 5 or 6 feet for graves, utility lines, open ditches, or other purposes. The ratings are based on the soil properties that influence the ease of digging and the resistance to sloughing. Depth to bedrock or a cemented pan, hardness of bedrock or a cemented pan, the amount of large stones, and dense layers influence the ease of digging, filling, and compacting. Depth to the seasonal high water table, flooding, and ponding may restrict the period when excavations can be made. Slope influences the ease of using machinery. Soil texture, depth to the water table, and linear extensibility (shrink-swell potential) influence the resistance to sloughing. The ratings are both verbal and numerical. Rating class terms indicate the extent to which the soils are limited by all of the soil features that affect the specified use. "Not limited" indicates that the soil has features that are very favorable for the specified use. Good performance and very low maintenance can be expected. "Somewhat limited" indicates that the soil has features that are moderately favorable for the specified use. The limitations can be overcome or minimized by special planning, design, or installation. Fair performance and moderate maintenance can be expected. "Very limited" indicates that the soil has one or more features that are unfavorable for the specified use. The limitations generally cannot be overcome without major soil reclamation, special design, or expensive installation procedures. Poor performance and high maintenance can be expected. Numerical ratings indicate the severity of individual limitations. The ratings are shown as decimal fractions ranging from 0.01 to 1.00. They indicate gradations between the point at which a soil feature has the greatest negative impact on the use (1.00) and the point at which the soil feature is not a limitation (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, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Resource Mangement and Science; National Park Service: Thomas Colson
- Date of Issue
- 2015-01-17
- 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, 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, Shallow Excavations Limitations, Silers Bald NC, Smokemont NC, Soil Survey, Soil Survey Geographic, Soils, Southeast Region, SSURGO, Swain County, Tallassee TN, Tapoco NC, Tennessee, Thunderhead Mountain NC, TN, Tuskeegee TN, U.S., United States, US, USA, Waterville TN, Wear Cove TN, Whittier NC
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Geology and Soils | Soil Quality | Soil Function and Dynamics