Initial Assessment of the Soil and Vegetation of the Illinois National Guard Sparta Training Area
Abstract
The Illinois National Guard (ILNG) is acquiring a new 2800-acre training area near Sparta, Illinois. This acquisition is important in that it allows the National Guard units in southern Illinois a readily available place to train, which will increase training effectiveness and save time and money through decreased travel costs associated with using the existing training area in the northern part of the state. The recent acquisition of the Sparta training area represents a unique opportunity to gather baseline data before any training takes place. This data will be valuable in that it gives the Army the unique opportunity to learn about the conditions before and after training as well as strengthening any future empirically collected research data. This represents a fundamental knowledge gap in much of the current research on Army lands and represents a high priority, high payoff area of research. The initial plant and soil data were collected using a grid-based sampling protocol to allow uniform and unbiased cover. The specific sampling protocols for each type of data follows in the vegetation and soils sections and the data are included in the appendices.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2003
- Accession Number
- ADA416295
Entities
People
- Jeffrey S. Fehmi
- Jonathan L. Casebeer
- Robert L. Mcleese
Organizations
- Engineer Research and Development Center