Modeling and Mapping Profile Depth and Presence/absence of An Argillic Horizon in the Moccasin Quadrangle of CA630 Central Sierra Foothills Area of California

Many opportunities for modeling and mapping soil characteristics across the landscape are available with the new initiative for digital soil mapping (DSM) in the U.S. and California. Further, with the onset of the initial soil survey for the CA630 Central Sierra Foothills Area of California, the implementation of DSM techniques may prove to be a useful and cost effective tool to enhance traditional soil survey techniques. Soil data from the Moccasin quadrangle of CA630 Central Sierra Foothills Area will be analyzed for profile depth and the presence/absence of an argillic horizon. Classification and regression trees (CART) and Random Forest techniques will be used to model and map these soil characteristics using landscape attributes extracted from a 10m digital elevation model (DEM). This poster will present the effectiveness of these models and maps to predict profile depth and the presence/absence of an argillic horizon. Further, they may provide insight to what landscape processes are associated with the formation of these soil characteristics across the hillslope.