Sampling study of the physical properties of several soil types in northern Arizona.

• Main Author: Ryan, James A.(James Arthur),1944-
• Other Authors: Thames, John L.
• Language: en
• Published: The University of Arizona. 1969
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10150/191528

A soil sampling study was made in northern Arizona on four forest watersheds ranging in size from 104 to 1121 acres. Five soil mapping units were represented. The variance of seven soil physical properties were evaluated within and between watersheds among these units in order to test soil sampling schemes for watersheds in the region. For the watersheds studied, it was found that the statistical model used did not always fit the actual field situation. Interestingly, variances did not increase with size of watershed except in a few instances. Simple random sampling was found just as effective for the majority of measurements as stratification by soil mapping units. The study points up some of the inadequacies of standard soil survey methods for describing the hydrologic characteristics of watershed soils.