Soil Data Explorer - BALSAM

Official Series Description

Lab Data Summary

Aggregate lab data for the BALSAM soil series. This aggregation is based on all pedons with a current taxon name of BALSAM, and applied along 1-cm thick depth slices. Solid lines are the slice-wise median, bounded on either side by the interval defined by the slice-wise 5th and 95th percentiles. The median is the value that splits the data in half. Five percent of the data are less than the 5th percentile, and five percent of the data are greater than the 95th percentile. Values along the right hand side y-axis describe the proportion of pedon data that contribute to aggregate values at this depth. For example, a value of "90%" at 25cm means that 90% of the pedons correlated to BALSAM were used in the calculation. Source: KSSL snapshot (updated 2020-03-13). Methods used to assemble the KSSL snapshot used by SoilWeb / SDE

Pedons used in the lab summary:

MLRA	Lab ID	Pedon ID	Taxonname	CI	NSSL / NASIS Reports	Link To SoilWeb GMap
130B	88P0876	88NC121002	Balsam	6	Primary | Supplementary | Taxonomy | Pedon | Water Retention | Correlation | Andic Soil Properties	36.0875015,-82.1324997
130B	88P0877	88NC121002A	Balsam	6	Primary | Supplementary | Taxonomy | Pedon | Water Retention | Correlation | Andic Soil Properties	36.0875015,-82.1324997
130B	88P0963	88NC199015	Balsam	5	Primary | Supplementary | Taxonomy | Pedon | Water Retention | Correlation | Andic Soil Properties	35.7591667,-82.2672195
130B	88P0964	88NC199016	Balsam	6	Primary | Supplementary | Taxonomy | Pedon | Water Retention | Correlation | Andic Soil Properties	35.7594452,-82.2677765

Water Balance

Monthly water balance estimated using a leaky-bucket style model for the BALSAM soil series. Monthly precipitation (PPT) and potential evapotranspiration (PET) have been estimated from the 50th percentile of gridded values (PRISM 1981-2010) overlapping with the extent of SSURGO map units containing each series as a major component. Monthly PET values were estimated using the method of Thornthwaite (1948). These (and other) climatic parameters are calculated with each SSURGO refresh and provided by the fetchOSD function of the soilDB package. Representative water storage values (“AWC” in the figures) were derived from SSURGO by taking the 50th percentile of profile-total water storage (sum[awc_r * horizon thickness]) for each soil series. Note that this representation of “water storage” is based on the average ability of most plants to extract soil water between 15 bar (“permanent wilting point”) and 1/3 bar (“field capacity”) matric potential. Soil moisture state can be roughly interpreted as “dry” when storage is depleted, “moist” when storage is between 0mm and AWC, and “wet” when there is a surplus. Clearly there are a lot of assumptions baked into this kind of monthly water balance. This is still a work in progress.

Sibling Summary

Siblings are those soil series that occur together in map units, in this case with the BALSAM series. Sketches are arranged according to their subgroup-level taxonomic structure. Source: SSURGO snapshot (updated 2024-02-21), parsed OSD records (updated 2023-10-02) and snapshot of SC database (updated 2023-10-02).

Select annual climate data summaries for the BALSAM series and siblings. Series are sorted according to hierarchical clustering of median values. Source: SSURGO map unit geometry and 1981-2010, 800m PRISM data (updated 2023-10-09).

Geomorphic description summaries for the BALSAM series and siblings. Series are sorted according to hierarchical clustering of proportions and relative hydrologic position within an idealized landform (e.g. top to bottom). Most soil series (SSURGO components) are associated with a hillslope position and one or more landform-specific positions: hills, mountain slopes, terraces, and/or flats. Proportions can be interpreted as an aggregate representation of geomorphic membership. The values printed to the left (number of component records) and right (Shannon entropy) of stacked bars can be used to judge the reliability of trends. Small Shannon entropy values suggest relatively consistent geomorphic association, while larger values suggest lack thereof. Source: SSURGO component records (updated 2023-10-04).

There are insufficient data to create the 3D terrace figure.

There are insufficient data to create the 3D flats position figure.

Competing Series

Soil series competing with BALSAM share the same family level classification in Soil Taxonomy. Source: parsed OSD records (updated 2023-10-02) and snapshot of the SC database (updated 2023-10-02).

Select annual climate data summaries for the BALSAM series and competing. Series are sorted according to hierarchical clustering of median values. Source: SSURGO map unit geometry and 1981-2010, 800m PRISM data (updated 2023-10-09).

Geomorphic description summaries for the BALSAM series and competing. Series are sorted according to hierarchical clustering of proportions and relative hydrologic position within an idealized landform (e.g. top to bottom). Proportions can be interpreted as an aggregate representation of geomorphic membership. Most soil series (SSURGO components) are associated with a hillslope position and one or more landform-specific positions: hills, mountain slopes, terraces, and/or flats. The values printed to the left (number of component records) and right (Shannon entropy) of stacked bars can be used to judge the reliability of trends. Shannon entropy values close to 0 represent soil series with relatively consistent geomorphic association, while values close to 1 suggest lack thereof. Source: SSURGO component records (updated 2023-10-04).

There are insufficient data to create the 3D terrace figure.

There are insufficient data to create the 3D flats position figure.

Soil series sharing subgroup-level classification with BALSAM, arranged according to family differentiae. Hovering over a series name will print full classification and a small sketch from the OSD. Source: snapshot of SC database (updated 2023-10-02).

Block Diagrams

No block diagrams are available.

Map Units

Map units containing BALSAM as a major component. Limited to 250 records.

Map Unit Name	Symbol	Map Unit Area (ac)	Map Unit Key	National Map Unit Symbol	Soil Survey Area	Publication Date	Map Scale
Balsam very cobbly loam, windswept, 30 to 50 percent slopes, extremely bouldery	BaE	2131	548029	ld8c	nc011	1997	1:12000
Balsam-Rubble land complex, windswept, 30 to 50 percent slopes	BcE	1300	548030	ld8d	nc011	1997	1:12000
Balsam very cobbly loam, windswept, 15 to 30 percent slopes, extremely bouldery	BaD	844	548028	ld8b	nc011	1997	1:12000
Balsam-Rubble land complex, windswept, 50 to 95 percent slopes	BcF	210	548031	ld8f	nc011	1997	1:12000
Balsam-Tanasee complex, 30 to 50 percent slopes, extremely bouldery	BaE	1356	1671931	1t3s8	nc021	2006	1:12000
Balsam-Tanasee complex, 15 to 30 percent slopes, extremely bouldery	BaD	221	1671930	1t3s7	nc021	2006	1:12000
Balsam very cobbly loam, windswept, 30 to 50 percent slopes, extremely bouldery	BaE	139	2679193	2r91n	nc027	2012	1:12000
Balsam very cobbly loam, windswept, 30 to 50 percent slopes, extremely bouldery	166E	4	2509232	2p7pg	nc089	1974	1:20000
Tanasee-Balsam complex, 30 to 50 percent slopes, stony	TaE	1079	547112	lc9s	nc099	1991	1:12000
Tanasee-Balsam complex, 15 to 30 percent slopes, stony	TaD	506	547111	lc9r	nc099	1991	1:12000
Tanasee-Balsam complex, 8 to 15 percent slopes, stony	TaC	33	547110	lc9q	nc099	1991	1:12000
Tanasee-Balsam complex, 30 to 50 percent slopes, very bouldery	TbE	2108	547594	lctb	nc121	1997	1:12000
Balsam sandy loam, 30 to 50 percent slopes, extremely bouldery	BaE	1096	547537	lcrh	nc121	1997	1:12000
Balsam sandy loam, 15 to 30 percent slopes, extremely bouldery	BaD	569	547536	lcrg	nc121	1997	1:12000
Tanasee-Balsam complex, 15 to 30 percent slopes, very bouldery	TbD	201	547593	lct9	nc121	1997	1:12000
Balsam-Tanasee complex, 30 to 50 percent slopes, very bouldery	199E	252	2501868	2q8lz	nc175	1968	1:12000
Balsam very cobbly loam, windswept, 30 to 50 percent slopes, extremely bouldery	166E	52	2501807	2q8lr	nc175	1968	1:12000
Balsam-Tanasee complex, windswept, 30 to 50 percent slopes, very bouldery	192E	24	2501913	2q8m4	nc175	1968	1:12000
Balsam-Tanasee complex, windswept, 15 to 30 percent slopes, very bouldery	192D	8	2501912	2q8m3	nc175	1968	1:12000
Balsam very cobbly loam, windswept, 30 to 50 percent slopes, extremely bouldery	BaE	1325	529753	ks7t	nc189	2001	1:12000
Balsam very cobbly loam, windswept, 15 to 30 percent slopes, extremely bouldery	BaD	433	529752	ks7s	nc189	2001	1:12000
Balsam very cobbly loam, windswept, 8 to 15 percent slopes, extremely bouldery	BaC	181	529751	ks7r	nc189	2001	1:12000
Balsam-Tanasee complex, 30 to 50 percent slopes, extremely bouldery	BcE	2960	547811	ld1b	nc199	1997	1:12000
Balsam cobbly loam, 50 to 95 percent slopes, rubbly	BbF	1097	547809	ld18	nc199	1997	1:12000
Balsam-Tanasee complex, 15 to 30 percent slopes, extremely bouldery	BcD	466	547810	ld19	nc199	1997	1:12000
Tanasee-Balsam complex, 30 to 50 percent slopes, very stony	TaE	22	556329	lnx3	nc605	2007	1:12000
Tanasee-Balsam complex, 30 to 50 percent slopes, very stony	TcE	822	546810	lc01	nc606	1991	1:12000
Tanasee-Balsam complex, 15 to 30 percent slopes, eroded, stony	TeD2	640	546812	lc03	nc606	1991	1:12000
Tanasee-Balsam complex, 15 to 30 percent slopes, very stony	TcD	489	546809	lc00	nc606	1991	1:12000
Tanasee-Balsam complex, 8 to 15 percent slopes, eroded, stony	TeC2	277	546811	lc02	nc606	1991	1:12000
Tanasee-Balsam complex, 8 to 15 percent slopes, stony	TaC	112	546808	lbzz	nc606	1991	1:12000
Balsam-Tanasee complex, windswept, 15 to 30 percent slopes, very bouldery	192D	59	2509122	2q1wl	nc606	1991	1:12000
Tanasee-Balsam complex, windswept, 8 to 15 percent slopes, stony	190C	24	2509124	2pf89	nc606	1991	1:12000
Balsam very cobbly loam, windswept, 30 to 50 percent slopes, extremely bouldery	166E	14	2509034	2q1vs	nc606	1991	1:12000
Balsam-Tanasee complex, windswept, 30 to 50 percent slopes, very bouldery	192E	13	2509123	2q1wm	nc606	1991	1:12000
Tanasee-Balsam complex, windswept, 2 to 8 percent slopes, stony	190B	2	2509125	2pf8b	nc606	1991	1:12000
Balsam very cobbly loam, windswept, 30 to 50 percent slopes, extremely stony	BaF	522	526414	kns3	tn019	2000	1:24000
Balsam cobbly loam, 35 to 55 percent slopes, very bouldery	1E	650	1670562	1t2c3	va077	2006	1:24000
Balsam cobbly loam, 15 to 35 percent slopes, very bouldery	1D	340	516784	kbrg	va077	2006	1:24000
Balsam-Nopan complex, 15 to 35 percent slopes, very bouldery	2D	173	1612535	1r3z8	va077	2006	1:24000
Balsam-Nopan complex, 35 to 55 percent slopes, very bouldery	2E	142	1670554	1t2bv	va077	2006	1:24000
Balsam cobbly loam, 2 to 15 percent slopes, very bouldery	1C	71	516783	kbrf	va077	2006	1:24000
Balsam-Nopan complex, 15 to 35 percent slopes, very bouldery	18M	2884	2401005	2llfs	va606		1:24000
Balsam-Nopan complex, 35 to 60 percent slopes, very bouldery	19	1027	2401004	2llfr	va606		1:24000
Balsam cobbly loam, 35 to 60 percent slopes, very bouldery	35	300	2401280	2llqn	va606		1:24000
Balsam cobbly loam, 15 to 35 percent slopes, very bouldery	34	236	2401279	2llqm	va606		1:24000
Balsam cobbly loam, 3 to 15 percent slopes, very bouldery	33	88	2401278	2llql	va606		1:24000

Map of Series Extent

Approximate geographic distribution of the BALSAM soil series. To learn more about how this distribution was mapped, or to compare this soil series extent to others, use the Series Extent Explorer (SEE) application. Source: generalization of SSURGO geometry (updated 2023-10-04).