Site Inventory - Physical Attributes Flashcards
Site Reconnaissance
- identifies site assets and liabilities
- includes aerial inspection, oblique aerial photos of the site which can provide contextual information.
Site Attributes
- Vegetation on Slope, are unevenly distributed over the landscape
- Average seasonal temperatures & precipitation, show little spatial variation at site scale
- Temporal variation may influence the site from season to season.
- Site inventory maps documents the spatial distribution of a particular attribute at more than one time of year.
Housing Density
of dwelling units allowed per unit area (acre or hectare)
3 Keys Attribute Maps
Elevation, Slope and Aspect
*three fundamental landform components
Elevation Map
typically portrayed as contour lines on topographic maps, effective way to visualize topographic relief is creating a chloropleth map.
Chloropleth Map
a map that uses differences in shading, coloring, or the placing of symbols within predefined areas to indicate the average values of a property or quantity in those areas.
Slope Map
Landforms and slopes are the result of constructional process (deposition) and destructional process (erosion) acting on geologic structures.
Aspect Map
A slopes orientation/aspect is the direction the slope faces. (downhill slope of the terrain)
Surficial Geology
is concerned with structure, composition and in some locations - at the earths surface. *attribute: depth to bedrock
Bedrock Geology
has a persistent effect on landforms, due to different rates of weathering that occurs on the soil parent materials.
Natural processes that involve rock fragmentation and weathering:
Soil formation, soil erosion, and soil deposition
Hydrology
The upper surface of a saturated area, the water table, generally mirrors the surface terrain.
Without mitigation, urban development can have significant impacts on local and regional hydrology, including:
- Increased volumes and rates of runoff discharge
- Reduced time needed for runoff to reach surface waters
- Increased frequency and severity of flooding
- Reduced streamflow during prolonged periods of dry weather.
Hydrology Attributes
Water management, infiltration, storage and discharge
Soil Physical Factors
Climate, Parent Material, Landform Position
Soil Biological Factors
Growth, Death, Decomposition of vegetation, Microorganisms
Soil Atttributes
- Acidity/ Alkalinity (pH)
- Permeability
- Erosion Potential
- Depth to Seasonally high water table
- Depth to Bedrock
Climate Attributes
Precipitation, air temperature, solar incidence, wind direction, wind speed
Natural Hazards include:
atmospheric, hydrologic, geologic and wildlife events because of their location, severity/frequency impacts
Fen
a wetland that receives nutrients from groundwater and has non-acidic peats
Meadow
is periodically inundated wetland that may or may not have water present
Mangrove
a wetland associated with saltwater.
Riparian Forested Wetland
associated with a river or stream
Chlorosis
plant condition caused by iron deficiency and causes leaves to turn yellow. Iron could be either be missing from the soil or not available to the plants roots. Magnesium deficiency also causes leaves to yellow while the veins remain green.
Mildew
fungal problem characterized by white powdery growth on the tops and sometimes bottoms of leaves.
Leaf Spot
appearance of brown spots on leaves in concentric zones of discoloration
Fasciation
is a disorder that causes single stem to appear as if it were several stems fused together. It is caused by frost, insect or physical damage to a stem early in its development
Plasticity
is the ability of a soil to become deformed without breaking apart.
Elasticity
is the ability of a soil to return to its original shape after being subjected to a load condition.
Liquid Limit
the minimum moisture content at which a soil will flow under its own weight.
Permeability
the ability of a soil to transfer water, a measure of the ability of a material (such as rocks) to transmit fluids
