What is considered highly erodible land? Highly erodible land (HEL) is cropland, hayland or pasture that can erode at excessive rates. It would contain soils that have an erodibility index of eight or more.
What is non-highly erodible land? Non-Highly Erodible Land:
Land that has an erodibility index of less than eight. NRI, 1997.
What is a HEL determination? A HEL determination identifies fields subject to HEL conservation provisions. The determination consists of Form NRCS-CPA-026 “Highly Erodible Land and Wetland Conservation Determination” which documents the fields and acreage of HEL, along with a map labeling fields HEL or NHEL (non-highly erodible land).
What source of data would you use to determine whether a particular land area is highly erodible land Hel? Soil map units and an erodibility index (EI) are used as the basis for identifying Highly Erodible Land (HEL) for Food Security Act compliance.
What is considered highly erodible land? – Additional Questions
What does UHEL stand for?
• Undetermined Highly Erodible Land (UHEL).
What is conservation compliance?
Conservation compliance prevents soil erosion and protects wetlands, both of which protect overall water quality. • Conservation compliance is not a regulation; it is an eligibility requirement to receive federal subsidies.
What is NHEL land?
This means NRCS staff will determine whether a field is HEL or NHEL (Non-highly erodible land).
What is a 1026 form?
Signature on Form AD-1026 gives representatives of USDA authorization to enter upon and inspect all farms in which the producer in Part A of Form AD-1026 has an interest for the purpose of confirming HELC and WC compliance.
What is hel soil?
What is HEL? HEL is land that can erode at an excessive rate from either water or wind because of soil properties, leading to long-term decreased productivity. HEL is designated by field and based on the proportion of the total acreage that contains highly erodible soils.
What soils are highly erodible?
Soils having a high silt content are the most erodible of all soils. They are easily detached and they tend to crust and produce large amounts and rates of runoff.
What is a HELC and WC?
PROVISIONS. Highly erodible land conservation (HELC) and wetland conservation (WC) provisions (known as “conservation compliance”) aim to reduce soil loss on erosion-prone lands and to protect wetlands for the multiple benefits they provide.
How many acres of the US cropland is highly erodible?
Each red dot represents 25,000 acres of highly erodible cropland. Areas with 95% or more Federal area are shaded gray. There were 105.1 million acres of highly erodible cropland in the U.S. in 1992. For comparison with non-highly erodible cropland, see map m5996.
What are the four types of soils?
OSHA classifies soils into four categories: Solid Rock, Type A, Type B, and Type C. Solid Rock is the most stable, and Type C soil is the least stable. Soils are typed not only by how cohesive they are, but also by the conditions in which they are found.
What is Vertosol soil?
Vertosols are often called cracking clay soils. They have a clay texture throughout the profile; display strong cracking when dry, and shrink and swell considerably during wetting and drying phases.
What is Haplic soil?
HAPLIC: A term used in the Australian Soil Classification (Isbell, 2002) which indicates that the major part of the upper 0.5 m of the soil profile is whole coloured. It is used as the lowest order Subgroup distinction for a number of Soil Orders.
What is Histosols soil?
Histosols (from Greek histos, “tissue”) are soils that are composed mainly of organic materials. They contain at least 20-30 percent organic matter by weight and are more than 40 cm thick.
Are Histosols good for farming?
Histosols are generally very difficult to cultivate because of the poor drainage and often low chemical fertility. However, Histosols formed on very recent glacial lands can often be very productive when drained and produce high-grade pasture for dairying or beef cattle.
Histosol |
Climate |
subarctic, other |
How do you manage Histosols?
To be farmed, most Histosols must be drained. Management of the water table depth is critical to their use. When drained, Histosols oxidize and subside, and require further drainage. The rate of subsidence can be several centimeters per year and is affected most by depth of drainage.
How Histosols are formed?
Histosols are formed under waterlogged conditions typical of peat bogs, moors, and swamps. Under such conditions, the accumulated tissues of dead plants and animals and their decomposition products are preserved, resulting in soils of high organic content.
What are the characteristics of Mollisols?
Mollisols (from Latin mollis, “soft”) are the soils of grassland ecosystems. They are characterized by a thick, dark surface horizon. This fertile surface horizon, known as a mollic epipedon, results from the long-term addition of organic materials derived from plant roots.
What are the characteristics of Aridisols?
Aridisols are characterized by a surface horizon (uppermost layer) that is light in colour with very low humus content, by dry soil conditions for most of the year, and by a significant accumulation of translocated (migrated) layer silicate clay, soluble salts, or sodium ions.