Ft. Wainwright Soil Fill Patterns
Soil Matrix Fill Patterns
Ice Fill patterns
Organic with, or without, trace silt
Ice
(PT, Fibric, Hermic, Sapric)
Organic-mineral (OL) fibric loamy,
Ice--structureless
sand, peaty silt, mucky loam
Interbedded peat and silt (OL)
Ice (>50%) with inclusions
Silt and silt loam (ML)
Silt (>50%) with reticulate ice
Interbedded silt and sand (SM)
Silt (>50%) with layered ice
Sand (Clean, SP)
Silt or sand (>50%) with lenticular ice
Sand with fines (SM, SaL, LSa, L)
Organic (>50%) with lenticular ice
Sand-clay mixtures (SC, CISa, SaCIL)
Silty clay loam and clay (MH, CH)
Silt-sand mixtures with trace
gravel (SM)
Gravel (Dirty; GM, GC, GrSa, GrSaL,
GrSIL)
Gravel (Clean; GW, GP)
Angular gravel with silt or sand
Weathered bedrock
Figure 8. Soil texture and cryostructures that were used in classifying stratigraphy of
geomorphic units along toposequences, Ft. Wainwright, central Alaska, 1998.
Ecotypes then were derived from these tabular
Hierarchical associations among ecosystem com-
associations to differentiate ecosystems that have
ponents. Hierarchical relationships among ecosys-
different sets of associated characteristics. The
tem components were developed by successively
nomenclature for ecosystems is intended to con-
grouping data from survey plots by physiogra-
vey these characteristics by including descriptors
phy, soil texture, geomorphology, slope position,
for physiographic, texture (loamy if not explicitly
drainage, vegetation structure, and vegetation
mentioned), moisture, and vegetation structure.
composition (Table 7). Frequently, geomorphic
This hierarchical grouping reveals close associa-
units with similar texture or genesis were grouped
tions among soil texture, geomorphology, slope
(e.g., rocky and loamy were grouped for most up-
position, drainage, and soils, but several vegeta-
lands, and loamy and organic were grouped for
tion types occur on a geomorphic unit or soil type.
some lowlands) to make the table more compact.
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