Soil Taxonomic Comparison between Selected Soils in the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area with Geology, Landforms, and Site Position.

Located on the Cumberland Plateau approximately 100 miles northwest of Knoxville, Tennessee, the Big South Fork National River and Recreational Area encompasses more than 125,000 acres along the border of Tennessee and into Kentucky.  The Big South Fork is located in Scott, Fentress, Pickett, and Morgan counties of Northeastern Tennessee, and McCreary County in Kentucky.  Seven soil profiles were selected in the Big South Fork for chemical and physical characterization representing Pennsylvanian aged sandstone geology and landforms.  The objectives of this study were first to characterize selected soil profiles by physical and chemical analysis and then classify these soils using US Soil Taxonomy, and secondly, to develop comparisons between these soil profiles with parent materials and surficial geology.  Methods for chemical analysis include total carbon analysis, cation exchange capacity, percent base saturation, pH, particle size analysis, KCl total acidity, total elemental analysis, and Mehlich I extraction.  The soils were classified at the Great Group level using US Soil Taxonomy as follows: one Paleudult; two Dystrustepts; and four Hapludults.  Laboratory data confirmed that the Paleudult developed in residuum from sandstone and shale along a side slope.  The two Dystrudepts were developed in alluvium and colluvium.  One of the Dystrudepts was sampled along a floodplain, while the other was found in colluvium on the side slope of the Cumberland Plateau.  The four Hapludults all developed in residuum weathered from shale, sandstone, and siltstone and were found along uplands and ridgetops throughout the Big South Fork area.  These soils were compared with geology and topography maps confirming that the soils in this area were comparable among similar landscapes.  Based on the data from landform, parent material, chemical and physical analysis, the author concluded that these soils follow similar patterns to those of the local geology and topography along the Cumberland Plateau.