Soaproot Saddle NEON - United States of America

Basic Information
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Site Name
Soaproot Saddle NEON
Short name
SOAP
Country
United States of America
Web Address
https://www.neonscience.org/field-sites/field-sites-map/SOAP
Site Manager
Jessica Bolis
Site Description
The Soaproot Saddle is a complex terrain of coarse hills, steep slopes and narrow drainages. located in the middle elevations of the Sierra National Forest 35 miles northeast of Fresno, near Auberry, California. With an elevation of 3274 - 4537' this site encompasses 1438 acres of mixed conifer forests that are experiencing high levels of mortality due to native Pine beetles. Targeted research addresses a range of concerns and provides much of the direction in resource management. Wildland fire is of particular concern at SOAP, where foresters use a combination of prescribed fire and mechanical fuel treatment to minimize damage while maintaining a healthy fire regime. At the core of this site stands a 171' tall flux tower that ...
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Last modified
2020-07-27 10:07:36

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General Characteristics and Status
Site Status
Operational
Year Established
2018
Observed properties
atmospheric parameterecosystem parameterbiological parameterchemical parametergenetic parameterlandscape parametersoil parameterairtemperatureheatfluxozoneconcentrationprecipitationintensitylatentheatleafareaindexplantdiversityspeciesabundanceabovegroundbiomasssoilcarbondioxydefluxDNAsequencelandcoversoilmoisturecontent
Affiliation and Network Specific Information
Affiliation
GERI✔This site is a verified "GERI" member.
NEON✔ (SOAP)This site is a verified "NEON" member.
Photos
SOAP Tower
SOAP Tower
Geographic
500 m
2000 ft
View in site map
Centroid/Representative Coordinates

Latitude: 37.03337 Longitude: -119.26219

Size
ca. 582.00ha
Elevation (average)
1160.00msl
Elevation (min)
1044.00msl
Elevation (max)
1373.00msl
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Site information [.json]

Centroid/representative coordinates [.shp] [.kml]
Bounding Box [.shp] [.kml]
Boundaries [.shp] [.kml]
GEO-BON Biome
Terrestrial
Biome
Evergreen Forest
Ecosystem Type
Forest
Evergreen Forest
Air Temperature: Average Annual
10.00°C
Precipitation Annual
1246.00mm
Geology
Granodiorite and quartz monzonite. Mesozoic.
Vegetation
The National Land Cover Database (NLCD) characterizes SOAP as a mix of evergreen forest and shrub scrub vegetation types. Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) and incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens) dominate the overstory, with co-dominant canyon live oak (Quercus chrysolepis) and California black oak (Quercus kelloggii). However, the interaction of long-term drought and warming has exacerbated the outbreak of pine bark beetles, leading to high Ponderosa pine mortality and a potential shift in the forest community. Mariposa manzanita

(Arctostaphylos viscida ssp. mariposa) are interspersed throughout the understory and often form dense thickets in open areas, whereas deerbrush (Ceanothus integerrimus) and poison oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum) are common in the shaded understory. Mountain misery (Chamaebatia foliolosa) provides dense groundcover throughout much of the site. Herbaceous plants include annual and perennial grasses, as well as a range of native forbs.
Soils
Soils are weathered from granite or granodiorite, primarily from the Holland and Chaix series, and to a lesser extent, the Chawankee and Tollhouse series. Soils are moderately deep and well-drained on mountain slopes, with shallower and excessively draine
Site Type
Platform
Design of Experimentation
mainly experimentation
Scale of Experimentation
beyond catchment scale
Design of Observation
mainly observation
Scale of Observation
beyond catchment
Permanent Power Supply
No
Accessible All Year
Yes
Permanent Operation
No