Topic: Floodplain Hydric Soils Workshop
When: Friday, September 23, 2022, 12:00 - 4:00 PM
Where: Crosby Farms Regional Park (St. Paul)
Cost: Free for Current Members of the Wetland Professionals Association
$30 for Non-members and $10 for students (both include a 1-year WPA membership)
Register here: Sign Up Genius - (https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E45AAAB23A5FDC70-floodplain)
Workshop Description: We will be exploring the soils and geomorphology of a forested floodplain of the Mississippi River. The group will examine soils on a natural levee and two terrace levels above the active floodplain. We will discuss some hydric soil indicators if present, but in these landscapes evaluating the flooding duration and frequency is of more value for wetland delineation. We will examine soil profiles indicating successive burial by flooding events and discuss annual flooding cycles of floodplain forest. The focus will be on understanding the soils and geomorphology associated with active floodplain forests with less emphasis on field indicators of hydric soils, since clear indicators are often not present in recent river sediments.
What will be provided: Augers, sharp shooters, and backpacks containing color books, tape measures, clipboards, soil profile description forms and other miscellaneous equipment.
What you should bring: Be prepared for field work. If you have your own Munsell Soil Color book, you might want to bring it. Bring an open mind and questions. Also, please bring along a face mask.
Speaker: Dr. Jay Bell, University of Minnesota
Dr. Bell is originally from southwestern Virginia where he obtained his BS and MS degrees in Agronomy from Virginia Tech. He worked for four years on surface mine reclamation research for Virginia Tech before completing his Ph.D. at Penn State University in 1990. Dr. Bell joined the faculty in the Department of Soil, Water, and Climate at the University of Minnesota in 1991. Dr. Bell’s research and teaching programs focus on pedology, genesis and morphology of wetland soils, soil mapping, and application of GIS and allied technologies as tools for land resource assessment. He has authored numerous book chapters and published 50+ scientific articles. Dr. Bell worked with a national research group in the 1990’s on morphological indicators of soil wetness and that led to the development of many of the field indicators of hydric soils. He has worked internationally in Australia, Tanzania, Costa Rico, and Morocco and served as Editor-in-Chief of Geoderma, the international journal of soil science. He teaches courses in Basic Soil Science, Wetland Soils, Wetlands, Field Study of Soils and a course on the History of the Mississippi River. He has received numerous teaching awards and served as Associate Dean of Academic Programs for the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences from 2007 to 2015 where he led numerous efforts at curriculum enhancement focusing on community engagement and experiential learning. He has returned to the faculty of the Department of Soil, Water and Climate where he is focusing on teaching.
MWPCP Credits: 4.0 in-person credit hours