Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The river catchment Vacacaí Mirim is located where the water reservoir that supplies part of the water needs of the city of Santa Maria is located in a hillslope area of plateau border Southern Rio Grande. In these hillslope areas, due to the combination of strong relief is rolling to hilly common occurrence of soils with variable depth, with the predominance of shallow soils. The objectives were to conduct a study of current use and the evolution of land use and demarcation of areas of risk or potentially susceptible to loss of soil from the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). The soil survey of semi-detailed, characterize the different soil classes occurring in the region. Through techniques of GIS maps were generated from soil, slope, Permanent Preservation Areas (PPAs), land suitability and land use evolution from 1987 to 2009. Map was made usability and identified areas of land use conflicts. According to the soil survey over 50% of the area consists of Entisols and over 50% of the area has less ability, being only suitable for the protection of fauna and flora. For the second study, the topographic factor (LS) was generated from the digital elevation model (DEM), the rainfall-runoff erosivity factor (R) data through normal rainfall, erodibility factor (K) the composition particle size of each class of soil, and cover-management and support practice factor (CP) through field observations and tabulated values. About 74% of the area has soil losses ranging 1 to 2 t ha-1.yr-1. Only 3% of the area has a soil loss of more than 20 t ha-1.yr-1, and of these 3%, 1% shows soil loss exceeding 50 t ha-1.yr-1. For assessing the potential loss of soil, the topographic factor (LS) was the most strongly determined the pace of erosion followed by the factor use and cover-management and support practice factor (CP) and soil erodibility factor (K). The aid of the image of computer application Google Earth is a very important tool in the evaluation of occupation and land use in the study area. The data gathered through this methodology for the estimation of factor use and cover-management and support practice factor (CP) are reliable and the researcher can make a conference field for a possible better definition of the classes of land use. / A bacia hidrográfica do rio Vacacaí Mirim onde está situado o reservatório de água que abastece parte da necessidade de água da cidade de Santa Maria encontra-se em uma área de encosta do Rebordo do Planalto Sul-Riograndense. Nessas áreas de encosta, devido à combinação de relevo forte ondulado a montanhoso é comum a ocorrência de solos com profundidade variável, havendo o predomínio de solos rasos. Os objetivos do trabalho foram a realização de um estudo do uso atual e da evolução do uso das terras e a delimitação de áreas de risco ou potencialmente susceptíveis a perdas de solo, através da Equação Universal de Perda de Solo (EUPS). O levantamento de solos do tipo semi-detalhado, caracterizou as diferentes classes de solos que ocorrem na região. Através de técnicas de geoprocessamento foram gerados mapas de solos, declividade, Áreas de Preservação Permanente (APPs), aptidão agrícola e evolução de uso das terras de 1987 a 2009. Foi elaborado o mapa de adequação de uso e identificadas áreas com conflitos de uso. Segundo o levantamento de solo mais de 50% da área é formada por Neossolos Litólicos e mais de 50% da área apresenta aptidão inferior, sendo somente indicada para a preservação da fauna e da flora. Para o segundo estudo, o fator topográfico (LS) foi gerado a partir do Modelo Digital de Elevação (MDE), o fator erosividade da chuva (R) através de dados normais de precipitação, o fator erodibilidade do solo (K) através da composição granulométrica de cada classe de solo, e o fator uso e manejo e práticas conservacionistas (CP) por meio de observações no campo e valores tabelados. Cerca de 74% da área possui perdas de solos que variam de 1 a 2 t.ha-1.ano-1. Somente 3% da área apresenta uma perda de solo de mais de 20 t.ha- 1.ano-1 , sendo que desses 3%, 1% apresenta perda de solo superior a 50 t.ha-1.ano-1. Para a avaliação do Potencial de Perdas de solo, o fator topográfico (LS) foi o que mais fortemente determinou o ritmo dos processos erosivos seguido do fator uso e manejo e práticas conservacionistas (CP) e fator erodibilidade do solo (K). O auxílio da imagem do aplicativo computacional Google Earth foi uma ferramenta de extrema importância na avaliação da ocupação e uso das terras na área de estudo. Os dados levantados através dessa metodologia para a estimativa do fator uso e manejo e práticas conservacionistas (CP) são confiáveis e o pesquisador pode fazer uma conferência de campo para uma possível melhoria da definição das classes de uso da terra.

No Brasil, a execução de mapeamento de solos em todo o território nacional é uma demanda permanente das instituições de pesquisa e por órgãos de planejamento, dado que é uma importante ferramenta para o planejamento da ocupação racional das terras. O Mapeamento Digital de Solo (MDS) surge como alternativa para aumentar a viabilidade de execução de levantamentos de solos, utilizando-se de informações relacionadas ao relevo para mapear os solos. Este estudo objetiva testar metodologias de MDS com extrapolação para área fisiografimente semelhante e reclassificar o mapa pedológico gerado por MDS para criar um mapa de aptidão agrícola das terras e compará-lo com o mapa interpretativo gerado a partir do mapa convencional. Tendo em vista a escassez de dados existentes na Encosta do Sudeste do Rio Grande do Sul, o trabalho foi realizado em Sentinela do Sul e Cerro Grande do Sul. O MDS usou como modelos preditores um modelo geral de árvore de decisão (AD), testando-se um modelo para toda área e também o uso conjunto de dois modelos de predição. Uma vez que o MDS mapeia normalmente classes e propriedades dos solos e que desconhece-se o uso de tal técnica para gerar mapas de aptidão agrícola das terras, parte-se da hipótese que estes mapas possam ser criados a partir da reclassificação do mapa de solos gerados por MDS. O uso de modelos conjuntos de AD gerou modelos com mais acertos e maior capacidade de reprodução do mapa convencional de solos. A extrapolação para o município de Cerro Grande do Sul se mostrou eficiente. Ao classificar a aptidão agrícola das terras, a concordância entre o mapa convencional e os mapas preditos foi maior do que a concordância entre os mapas de solos. / In Brazil, the implementation of soil mapping throughout the national territory is a constant demand of research institutions and planning organs, as it is an important tool for rational planning of land occupation. Digital Soil Mapping (DSM) is an alternative to increase the viability of the soil survey because plots the information based on the relief to draw the soil map. This study aims to test methodologies DSM applied to similar landscapes areas. It also aims to reclassify the pedological map generated by DSM to create a new land suitability classes map and compare it with the land suitability classes map generated from conventional maps. The study was conducted in South Sentinel and Cerro Grande do Sul considering the lack of data in that area. The MDS was generated using a global model of decision tree (DT) for the entire area and combined with the use of two predictive models. The use of DSM to land suitability classes map is unknown. Perhaps interpretive maps created from the reclassification of DSM can produce more accurate maps than the predictor model would generate of the pedological map. The use of set models of DT created models with greater hits and higher reproductive capacity of the conventional map. The extrapolation to Cerro Grande do Sul was efficient . The DSM was more efficient to classify land suitability classes than to classify pedological maps, but this system of land sutability needs adjustments to reflect the local reality.

No description available.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-21T18:13:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ingrid Ap Gomes.pdf: 3731245 bytes, checksum: 1b9fff5805889f3ab2c04b40f9f9a4ea (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-04-15 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The faxinais are a traditional form of peasant organization characteristic of South-Central region of Parana, where the occupation of the territory is determined by the social community use of land, although land ownership is private. The present faxinalenses techniques in their use and management of soils, developed from the local empirical knowledge. The objective of this research was to perform the mapping of soils of the Faxinal Taquari dos Ribeiros, located in Rio Azul - PR, based on knowledge of the local community and scientific knowledge. Information from the Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems were used for the characterization of the study area and location of soils. The perception and the way the producers faxinalenses classified and used the land was obtained through structured interviews (informal talks) and field observations. The mapping of predictive etnosolos was performed using the technique of classification of Artificial Neural Networks (ANN). For the formal pedological mapping techniques were used classic photo interpretation, supplemented by surveys of the soil toposequence, further observations and correlations of the field. The scientific characterization of the soils was performed by means of morphological, physical and chemical profiles, and classification, according to the Brazilian System of Soil Classification (SiBCS). The results showed that the local community recognizes different types of soils in the study area, in accordance with the following attributes: color, texture, water infiltration rates, presence of rocks or minerals, depth, power demand in operations with mechanical traction or animal. We automatically send defined eight classes of land according to local knowledge: 1) Terra Branca Batumadeira, 2) Terra Branca Solta, 3) Terra Preta Batumadeira (pesada), 4) Terra Preta Solta, 5) Terra Vermelha do Faxinal (farmer) , 6) Terra Vermelha, 7) Terra de Cascalho, and, 8) Terra Roxa. According to SiBCS were found the following soil classes: CAMBISSOLOS, LATOSSOLOS and NEOSSOLOS. The soils that dominate the region are the CAMBISSOLOS and NEOSSOLOS, all of low fertility and highly susceptible to erosion. The technique of RNA was able to individualize etnosolos through the integration of input image and SPOT5 and MDT (Digital Terrain Model). The technique of RNA was able to separate the etnosolos through the integration of input variables from different sources and, when compared to traditional soil survey allowed to characterize the landscape in more detail and define the mapping units of soils. / Os faxinais são uma forma de organização camponesa tradicional característica da região Centro-Sul do Paraná, onde a ocupação do território social é determinada pelo uso comunitário das terras, apesar da propriedade da terra ser privada. Os faxinalenses apresentam técnicas próprias de uso e manejo dos solos, desenvolvidas a partir do conhecimento empírico local. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi realizar o mapeamento dos solos do Faxinal Taquari dos Ribeiros, localizado no município de Rio Azul, estado do Paraná, com base no conhecimento da comunidade local e conhecimento científico. Informações advindas do Sensoriamento Remoto e Sistemas de Informação Geográfica serviram de base para a caracterização da área de estudo e localização dos solos. A percepção e a maneira como os produtores faxinalenses classificavam e utilizavam os solos foram obtidas por meio de entrevistas semiestruturadas (conversas informais) e observações em campo. O mapeamento preditivo dos etnosolos foi realizado por meio da técnica de classificação de Redes Neurais Artificiais (RNAs). Para o mapeamento pedológico formal foram utilizadas técnicas clássicas de fotointerpretação, complementadas por prospecções do solo em topossequência, observações complementares e correlações de campo. A caracterização científica dos solos foi realizada por meio de análises morfológicas, físicas e químicas de perfis e, a classificação, de acordo com o Sistema Brasileiro de Classificação de Solos (SiBCS). Os resultados demonstraram que a comunidade local reconhece diferentes tipos de solos na área de estudo, de acordo com os seguintes atributos: cor, textura, taxas de infiltração de água, presença de rochas ou minerais, profundidade, demanda de força nas operações com tração mecânica ou animal. Foram definidas oito classes de solo segundo o conhecimento local: 1) Terra Branca Batumadeira; 2) Terra Branca Solta; 3) Terra Preta Batumadeira (ou Pesada); 4) Terra Preta Solta; 5) Terra Vermelha do Faxinal (ou do agricultor); 6) Terra Vermelha; 7) Terra de Cascalho; e, 8) Terra Roxa. De acordo com o SiBCS foram encontrados as seguintes classes de solos: CAMBISSOLOS, LATOSSOLOS e NEOSSOLOS. Os solos que dominam a região são os CAMBISSOLOS HÁPLICOS e os NEOSSOLOS LITÓLICOS, todos de baixa fertilidade natural e altamente susceptíveis à erosão. A técnica de RNA foi capaz de individualizar os etnosolos por meio da integração das variáveis de entrada Imagem SPOT5 e MDT (Modelo Digital do Terreno). A técnica de RNA foi capaz de separar os etnosolos por meio da integração de variáveis de entrada de diferentes origens e, quando comparada ao levantamento de solos tradicional, permitiu caracterizar a paisagem de modo mais detalhado e delimitar as unidades de mapeamento de solos.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / In the last decades, the phenomenon of the urbanization has been transforming a large natural spaces into an extremely altered areas. The conversion of a rural society to an urban one has happened without caring with life quality related to the social and environmental aspects, being the destruction and contamination of the natural resources its consequence, as well as the compromising of areas where the human concentration is increasing. The objectives of this research was to evaluate the land use situation and the urban land use potential of Santa Maria's urban perimeter, through three studies. The first one intended to propose an urban land use potencial system, considering different groups of land use. The second one accomplished the soils survey, determined the land use potential and their current use conflicts in the studied area, while the third study made a spatial analyzes of the land ocuppation and its use conflicts from 1975 to 2002. Tools as remote sensing and digital geoprocessing were used in the research. The results pointed to problems related to land use, where areas are used above its capacity, promoting degradation of the natural resources that might affect the population of the city. / Nas últimas décadas, o fenômeno da urbanização tem transformado imensos espaços naturais em áreas extremamente alteradas. A conversão de uma sociedade rural para uma urbana tem ocorrido sem o devido cuidado com a qualidade de vida em relação aos aspectos sociais e ambientais, sendo sua conseqüência a destruição e contaminação dos recursos naturais, assim como o comprometimento de áreas onde a concentração humana é cada vez maior. Nesse sentido, os objetivos desse trabalho foram avaliar a situação e o potencial de uso urbano das terras no perímetro urbano de Santa Maria - RS, através de três estudos. O primeiro visou à proposição de um sistema de avaliação do potencial de uso urbano das terras, considerando diferentes grupos de uso. O segundo realizou o levantamento de solos, determinou o potencial de uso das terras e seus conflitos atuais na área estudada, enquanto o terceiro efetuou uma análise da dinâmica espacial de ocupação das terras e seus conflitos de uso para diferentes épocas desde 1975 até 2002. Ferramentas como sensoriamento remoto e geoprocessamento foram utilizadas na realização dos trabalhos. Os resultados apontaram problemas em relação ao uso das terras, onde áreas são utilizadas acima de sua capacidade, promovendo degradação dos recursos naturais, afetando parte da população santamariense.

Submitted by Jorge Silva (jorgelmsilva@ufrrj.br) on 2017-08-22T18:59:33Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2013 - Andr? Luis Oliveira Villela.pdf: 14328753 bytes, checksum: ce4f856fddd576111ae58d83bad8de61 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-08-22T18:59:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2013 - Andr? Luis Oliveira Villela.pdf: 14328753 bytes, checksum: ce4f856fddd576111ae58d83bad8de61 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-08-29 / CAPES / PETROBRAS / The Brazilian territory region covered by the Amazon rainforest, due to its continental dimensions and difficulty of access and various interests in extractive activities, has great demand for information to provide support for the occupation, exploitation, and systematic recuperation thus keeping environmental safeguards. The regional soil information available is scarce and in scales inconsistent with the current demands, and the investments in new areas of research in the region is still insufficient. With technological developments, especially in the area of informatics that enables the storage and analysis of large banks of pedological data, the soil mapping techniques improved considerably. Pedometric techniques have been used to store and to explore large databases, thus enabling the improvement of existing soil databases and allowing manufacture of new products in larger scale and mapped areas, with low investment required. The hypothesis of this study is that the technique of reference area may allow the systematic digital mapping of soils from the Solim?es Formation, in the Amazon State. The general objective was to develop and compare methods for mapping soils in the Oil Province Uruc? (AM), using relief covariates. A conventional pedological survey of an area of 8.000 hectares, at the detail level, was executed to be used as a reference area (RA), in the augmentation of the map using digital soil mapping (MDS) techniques for an area of 73.000 hectares after downscaling and grouping of the legend. The numerical modeling of the terrain (MDT) was used (11 covariates derived from MDT) for further application of this soil formation factor as a predictor of the map units, in discriminant functions (DF), and in an expert system based on a tree model classification (AC). Four MDS models were developed, where two were trained using the studied region conceptual model of the pedologist, and the other two were trained with models based on a statistical analysis of the reference area information. The techniques were effective for predicting the mapping units (MU) in the study region, with overall accuracy (EG) ranging from 74.62 % to 88.81 %, and the kappa index was between 0.68 and 0.85. The MDS based in the expert system and AC showed significantly better results in terms of the kappa index, general EG, and the EG for 3 of the 4 mapping units in the area. Although the FD had not the highest accuracy levels, they showed a great potential for use in MDS, especially for preliminary mapping for the pedological survey of new regions, using knowledge of AR neighboring areas. The limitations were observed in the use of FD for mapping unities with small territorial expression, and it is recommended to increase the number of training observations in a way inversely proportional to the frequency of observation of these MUs. The major contribution of this work to scientific community was the establishment of bases and techniques of MDS, using AR and the soil relief relationship, for systematic mapping of new soils form Solim?es Formation. / A regi?o do territ?rio brasileiro coberta por floresta tropical amaz?nica, por suas dimens?es continentais e dificuldade de acesso e interesses diversos em atividades extrativistas, apresenta forte demanda por informa??es gerais que possam servir como subs?dio para a ocupa??o, explora??o e recupera??o ordenada e ambientalmente equilibrada. As informa??es pedol?gicas dispon?veis sobre a ?rea s?o escassas e em escalas incompat?veis com as demandas atuais, e os investimentos em novas frentes de pesquisa na regi?o ainda s?o insuficientes. Com a evolu??o tecnol?gica, sobretudo na ?rea da inform?tica que possibilita o armazenamento e an?lises de extensos bancos de dados pedol?gicos, as t?cnicas de mapeamento pedol?gico v?m se aperfei?oando consideravelmente. T?cnicas de pedometria t?m sido utilizadas para armazenar e explorar grandes bancos de dados e t?m possibilitado o aperfei?oamento das bases pedol?gicas existentes e permitido a confec??o de novos produtos em escala e ?reas mapeadas maiores, com menores investimentos exigidos. A hip?tese deste trabalho ? de que a t?cnica de ?rea de refer?ncia permite o mapeamento digital sistem?tico dos solos da regi?o da forma??o Solim?es, e o objetivo geral foi desenvolver e comparar m?todos de mapeamento de solos da Forma??o Solim?es, na Prov?ncia Petrol?fera de Urucu, AM, utilizando covari?veis do relevo. Foi executado um levantamento pedol?gico convencional de uma regi?o com 8.000 ha, em n?vel de detalhe para ser utilizado como ?rea de refer?ncia (AR) para a amplia??o do mapa, com t?cnicas de mapeamento digital de solos (MDS) para uma ?rea de 73.000 ha com redu??o de escala e agrupamento de legenda. Foi ent?o elaborada modelagem num?rica do terreno (MDT) (11 covari?veis derivadas do MDT) para posterior utiliza??o deste fator de forma??o do solo, como preditor das unidades de mapeamento, em fun??es discriminantes (FD) e um sistema especialista baseado em modelo de ?rvores de classifica??o (AC). Foram desenvolvidas 4 cartas MDS, sendo duas treinadas por modelos baseados no modelo conceitual do ped?logo sobre a regi?o em estudo, e duas treinadas por modelos baseados em an?lise estat?stica de informa??es sobre a ?rea de referencia. As t?cnicas mostraram-se eficientes para predi??o de unidades de mapeamento (UM) na regi?o de estudo, com exatid?o global (EG) variando entre 74,62% a 88,81% e ?ndice kappa entre 0,68 e 0,85. O MDS baseado em sistema especialista e AC apresentou resultados sensivelmente melhores em termos de ?ndice kappa, EG geral e EG para 3 das 4 UM da ?rea. Embora as FD n?o tenham apresentado os maiores ?ndices de acur?cia, estas tem grande potencial de uso em MDS, sobretudo para a confec??o de mapas preliminares para o levantamento pedol?gico de novas regi?es, utilizando-se do conhecimento de AR de ?reas vizinhas. Foram observadas limita??es no emprego de FD para o mapeamento de UM?s com pequena express?o territorial, sendo recomend?vel o aumento do n?mero de observa??es de treinamento inversamente proporcional ? frequ?ncia de observa??o destas UM?s. A maior contribui??o deste trabalho para a comunidade cient?fica foi o estabelecimento de bases e t?cnicas de MDS, utilizando AR e rela??o solo-relevo para o mapeamento sistem?tico de novas ?reas da forma??o Solim?es.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Terrain attributes control many hydrological, geomorphological and pedological processes, these processes influence the solar radiation, rainfall, runoff, evapotranspiration, soil moisture and the distribution of vegetation. In this way, the terrain attributes were extracted from MDE's high resolution (0.5 m) and accuracy to explain the differentiation of the soils of northeast region in the Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil; also, to assess the accuracy of an MDS generated and soil maps obtained by the traditional soil survey, using the Kappa index, the overall accuracy, the user accuracy and correctness of the producer. Four representative catenas soils were studied of the landscape of the northeast region in the Rio Grande do Sul State. Terrain attributes analyzed by multivariate techniques showed to be effective in the differentiation of the soil, especially elevation, slope, the moisture content of the soil and the LS factor. The accuracy of the MDS was classified as excellent. The attributes of slope upstream slope, moisture content of the soil, elevation, LS factor and plane curvature in the / Os atributos do terreno controlam muitos processos hidrológicos, geomorfológicos e pedológicos, influenciando a radiação solar, precipitação pluvial, o escoamento superficial, evapotranspiração, umidade do solo e a distribuição da vegetação. Dessa maneira, atributos do terreno foram extraídos de MDE s de alta resolução (0,5 m) e exatidão para explicar a diferenciação de solos da região nordeste do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil; também, para avaliar a acurácia entre um MDS gerado e os mapas de solos obtidos pelo método tradicional de levantamento, utilizando o índice Kappa, a exatidão global, a exatidão do usuário e a exatidão do produtor. Foram estudados solos de quatro catenas representativas da paisagem da região nordeste do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Os atributos do terreno analisados pelas técnicas multivariadas apresentaram-se efetivos na diferenciação dos solos, principalmente a elevação, a declividade, o índice de umidade do terreno e o fator LS. A acurácia do MDS foi classificada como excelente. Os atributos do terreno declividade a montante, declividade, índice de umidade do terreno, elevação, fator LS e curvatura planar apresentaram elevado potencial preditivo, conferindo exatidão ao MDS gerado.

Shetland boasts exceptionally well-preserved, but largely overlooked, field systems spanning a period of approximately 4000 years (Neolithic/Bronze Age – Viking/Norse). These have the potential to vastly increase our understanding of past agricultural practices and life styles. This study uses topographical survey, Shape Analysis, GIS, soil survey and micromorphology to answer questions relating to their location, form and function/management, pioneering the use of new tools and testing current models. An holistic landscape approach to the field systems is developed and tested against a multi-period site. Previously unknown types and periods of field systems are identified through survey and shape analysis, tools demonstrated to be valuable in refining the emerging model of field classification. GIS has illuminated pre-, during and post- construction factors influencing boundary form. New insights into location arise from the survey and GIS. Soils work has demonstrated that existing models of soil management over-simplify a complex situation, that thin acidic soils retain cultural information and that accretion was important to the sustainability of these peaty soils. While soils were sustainable over extended periods, the cultural inheritance of managed land appears to be limited. This thesis therefore presents the most holistic and comprehensive understanding of Shetland field systems which has so far been attempted.

Saltwater Forest is a Dacrydium cupressinum-dominated lowland forest covering 9000 ha in south Westland, South Island, New Zealand. Four thousand hectares is managed for sustainable production of indigenous timber. The aim of this study was to provide an integrated analysis of soils, soil-landform relationships, and soil-vegetation relationships at broad and detailed scales. The broad scale understandings provide a framework in which existing or future studies can be placed and the detailed studies elucidate sources of soil and forest variability. Glacial landforms dominate. They include late Pleistocene lateral, terminal and ablation moraines, and outwash aggradation and degradation terraces. Deposits and landforms from six glacial advances have been recognised ranging from latest Last (Otira) Glaciation to Penultimate (Waimea) Glaciation. The absolute ages of landforms were established by analysis of the thickness and soil stratigraphy of loess coverbeds, augmented with radiocarbon dating and phytolith and pollen analysis. In the prevailing high rainfall of Westland soil formation is rapid. The rate of loess accretion in Saltwater Forest (ca. 30 mm ka⁻¹) has been low enough that soil formation and loess accretion took place contemporaneously. Soils formed in this manner are known as upbuilding soils. The significant difference between upbuilding pedogenesis and pedogenesis in a topdown sense into an existing sediment body is that each subsoil increment of an upbuilding soil has experienced processes of all horizons above. In Saltwater Forest subsoils of upbuilding soils are strongly altered because they have experienced the extremely acid environment of the soil surface at some earlier time. Some soil chronosequence studies in Westland have included upbuilding soils formed in loess as the older members of the sequence. Rates and types of processes inferred from these soils should be reviewed because upbuilding is a different pedogenic pathway to topdown pedogenesis. Landform age and morphology were used as a primary stratification for a study of the soil pattern and nature of soil variability in the 4000 ha production area of Saltwater Forest. The age of landforms (> 14 ka) and rapid soil formation mean that soils are uniformly strongly weathered and leached. Soils include Humic Organic Soils, Perch-gley Podzols, Acid Gley Soils, Allophanic Brown Soils, and Orthic or Pan Podzols. The major influence on the nature of soils is site hydrology which is determined by macroscale features of landforms (slope, relief, drainage density), mesoscale effects related to position on landforms, and microscale influences determined by microtopography and individual tree effects. Much of the soil variability arises at microscales so that it is not possible to map areas of uniform soils at practical map scales. The distribution of soil variability across spatial scales, in relation to the intensity of forest management, dictates that it is most appropriate to map soil complexes with boundaries coinciding with landforms. Disturbance of canopy trees is an important agent in forest dynamics. The frequency of forest disturbance in the production area of Saltwater Forest varies in a systematic way among landforms in accord with changes in abundance of different soils. The frequency of forest turnover is highest on landforms with the greatest abundance of extremely poorly-drained Organic Soils. As the abundance of better-drained soils increases the frequency of forest turnover declines. Changes in turnover frequency are reflected in the mean size and density of canopy trees (Dacrydium cupressinum) among landforms. Terrace and ablation moraine landforms with the greatest abundance of extremely poorly-drained soils have on average the smallest trees growing most densely. The steep lateral moraines, characterised by well drained soils, have fewer, larger trees. The changes manifested at the landform scale are an integration of processes operating over much shorter range as a result of short-range soil variability. The systematic changes in forest structure and turnover frequency among landforms and soils have important implications for sustainable forest management.

Saltwater Forest is a Dacrydium cupressinum-dominated lowland forest covering 9000 ha in south Westland, South Island, New Zealand. Four thousand hectares is managed for sustainable production of indigenous timber. The aim of this study was to provide an integrated analysis of soils, soil-landform relationships, and soil-vegetation relationships at broad and detailed scales. The broad scale understandings provide a framework in which existing or future studies can be placed and the detailed studies elucidate sources of soil and forest variability. Glacial landforms dominate. They include late Pleistocene lateral, terminal and ablation moraines, and outwash aggradation and degradation terraces. Deposits and landforms from six glacial advances have been recognised ranging from latest Last (Otira) Glaciation to Penultimate (Waimea) Glaciation. The absolute ages of landforms were established by analysis of the thickness and soil stratigraphy of loess coverbeds, augmented with radiocarbon dating and phytolith and pollen analysis. In the prevailing high rainfall of Westland soil formation is rapid. The rate of loess accretion in Saltwater Forest (ca. 30 mm ka⁻¹) has been low enough that soil formation and loess accretion took place contemporaneously. Soils formed in this manner are known as upbuilding soils. The significant difference between upbuilding pedogenesis and pedogenesis in a topdown sense into an existing sediment body is that each subsoil increment of an upbuilding soil has experienced processes of all horizons above. In Saltwater Forest subsoils of upbuilding soils are strongly altered because they have experienced the extremely acid environment of the soil surface at some earlier time. Some soil chronosequence studies in Westland have included upbuilding soils formed in loess as the older members of the sequence. Rates and types of processes inferred from these soils should be reviewed because upbuilding is a different pedogenic pathway to topdown pedogenesis. Landform age and morphology were used as a primary stratification for a study of the soil pattern and nature of soil variability in the 4000 ha production area of Saltwater Forest. The age of landforms (> 14 ka) and rapid soil formation mean that soils are uniformly strongly weathered and leached. Soils include Humic Organic Soils, Perch-gley Podzols, Acid Gley Soils, Allophanic Brown Soils, and Orthic or Pan Podzols. The major influence on the nature of soils is site hydrology which is determined by macroscale features of landforms (slope, relief, drainage density), mesoscale effects related to position on landforms, and microscale influences determined by microtopography and individual tree effects. Much of the soil variability arises at microscales so that it is not possible to map areas of uniform soils at practical map scales. The distribution of soil variability across spatial scales, in relation to the intensity of forest management, dictates that it is most appropriate to map soil complexes with boundaries coinciding with landforms. Disturbance of canopy trees is an important agent in forest dynamics. The frequency of forest disturbance in the production area of Saltwater Forest varies in a systematic way among landforms in accord with changes in abundance of different soils. The frequency of forest turnover is highest on landforms with the greatest abundance of extremely poorly-drained Organic Soils. As the abundance of better-drained soils increases the frequency of forest turnover declines. Changes in turnover frequency are reflected in the mean size and density of canopy trees (Dacrydium cupressinum) among landforms. Terrace and ablation moraine landforms with the greatest abundance of extremely poorly-drained soils have on average the smallest trees growing most densely. The steep lateral moraines, characterised by well drained soils, have fewer, larger trees. The changes manifested at the landform scale are an integration of processes operating over much shorter range as a result of short-range soil variability. The systematic changes in forest structure and turnover frequency among landforms and soils have important implications for sustainable forest management.