Zhu, Lijie2015-11-172015-11-172004-12http://hdl.handle.net/11122/6190Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2004Forests, soils and their relationships were studied along a toposequence over an elevation range from 161 meters to 213 meters near Smith Lake on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus, Fairbanks, Alaska. Forest cover type and understory species composition change along the slope from top to bottom and are related to temperature and moisture. Aspen occurs on the ridge top. Paper birch grows best on the shoulder. White spruce, which has the greatest commercial value, is the only species present on all slope positions; it grows best on shoulder and back slopes. Black spruce dominates on the wet and cold top slope that has a thick organic layer. Organic horizon depth increases, whereas rooting depth decreases, along the toposequence from the shoulder slope to the top slope. Soil textures are mainly silt loam and fine sandy loam with slightly acidic reactions in the surface mineral horizons to calcareous reactions in subsoils. Organic carbon is concentrated in the surface organic horizons and the surface mineral horizons and decreases drastically in the subsurface horizons. This thesis was an exploratory effort; although soil properties along the Smith Lake toposequence cannot be used as quantitative predictors of forest productivity, the qualitative results provide a basis for matching species to site.I. Introduction -- II. Literature review -- 2.1. Climate -- 2.2. Geophysiography -- 2.3. Soils of the Fairbanks area -- 2.4. Vegetation communities -- 2.5. Forest productivity -- 2.6. Site quality -- III. Materials and methods -- IV. Results and discussion -- 4.1. Forest properties along the Smith Lake toposequence -- 4.2. Soil characterization along the toposequence -- 4.3. Relationship between the forest properties and the soil properties -- 4.4. Management implications -- V. Conclusions and recommendations -- VI. Literature cited -- VII. Appendices.en-USThesisDepartment of Plant, Animal, and Soil Sciences