ABSTRACT
This article details
how forest soil moisture content (MC) and subsequent resistances to cone
penetration (referred below as Cone Index, CI) vary by daily weather, season,
topography, site and soil properties across eleven harvest blocks in
northwestern New Brunswick. The MC- and CI-affecting soil variables refer to density,
texture, organic matter content, coarse fragment content, and topographic
position (i.e., elevation, and the seasonally affected cartographic
depth-to-water (DTW) pattern). The harvest blocks were transect-sampled inside
and outside their wood-forwarding tracks at varying times throughout the year.
In detail, 61% of the pore-filled moisture content (MCPS)
determinations inside and outside the tracks could be related to topographic
position, coarse fragments, bulk density, and forest cover type specifications.
In addition, 40% of the CI variations could be related to soil depth, MCPS,
and block-specific cover type. Actual versus model-projected uncertainties
amounted to ΔMCPS ≤ ± 15% and ΔCI ≤ ± 0.5 MPa, 8 times out of 10.
Block-centered MC and CI projections were obtained through: 1) daily
hydrological modelling using daily precipitation and air temperature
weather-station records nearest each block, and 2) digitally mapped variations
in soil properties, elevation, DTW and forest cover type, done at 10 m
resolution.