Effect of management activities on forest soil properties in the Rocky Mountains: V. Burn and soil surface conditions

This data publication describes the burn characteristics and soil alterations that occurred on soil surfaces in Rocky Mountain national forests during silvicultural treatments on fixed plots. These data were collected over a five-year period (1989-1993) from 11 national forests located in Montana, Idaho, and Arizona. At each site, the degree of soil surface damage from burning and the amount of soil disturbance from piling and harvest procedures was estimated to determine how the soil surface itself was affected by each treatment. The treatments (listed by treatment code) applied to the sites included the following: 1 = bole removed followed by broadcast burn, 2 = bole removed followed by dozer or grapple pile, 3 = control (undispersed), 4 = whole tree removal (only in 1990 Helena/Deerlodge Forest), and 9 = burned only. Not every treatment was used in each forest. This package includes only data on soil surface conditions at each sample location. It includes visual estimates of the percentage of plot burned and the percentage of burn in each severity class across the plot. Soil compaction, displacement, and mixing were also visually estimated to describe the mechanical changes that occurred on the soil surface during treatment. The original intent of the study was to summarize the data to an individual stand so returning to each stand for additional sampling in subsequent years was not planned and plot locations were not permanently marked. However, written or diagrammed descriptions of the location of each sample site exist on the sample forms. These descriptions are included with these archived data in case there is a future need to return to the sample areas.
The overall purpose of this study was to determine how management practices, such as burning, machine piling, scarifying, and scalping, change the character of the organic-rich surface soil layer; and how this change affects seed sprouting, seed-growth performance, and mycorrhizal development that maintains vegetation in these Rocky Mountain forests. The specific purpose of collecting the burn and soil surface data was to create a more complete picture of the effects of treatments so that recommendations created for managers could more accurately describe the treatment damage.
There are six separate data publications containing the data collected to examine the effect of management activities on forest soil properties in the Rocky Mountains: I. understory vegetation; II. tree, stump, and downed woody debris data (variable plots and transects); III. soil core data; IV. soil chemistry data; V. burn and soil surface conditions; and VI. microsite data. Data were originally published on 08/04/2021. Minor metadata updates were made on 09/24/2021.