Detailed Soil Survey of the Mount Revelstoke Summit Area.

51compounds thus inhibiting percolation and forming a potential erosionsurface at the top of the B horizon .Vegetation cover is very important in preventing and checkingsoil erosion .The alpine vegetation of the Summit area, especially theCarex species, often form a densely rooted fibrous turf covering on thesoils which effectively protects the soil surface from splash and rillerosion .Tree cover in the forested areas intercepts rainfall before itcan cause splash erosion and the roots of the trees and understoryvegetation effectively hold the soils together to check erosion .Vegetationcover must be maintained as much as possible in order to keepsoil erosion to a minimum .As long as the soils remain undisturbed,with vegetation intact, they are quite resistant toerosion under prevailingclimatic conditions . However, if vegetation is removed and the soilsurface exposed, all soils in the Summit area rate as being moderatelyhighly susceptible to erosion .In order to evaluate inherent soil erodibility it must beassumed that the vegetation has been removed . Due to the common propertiesof many of the soils in this study area,the most important variable toconsider in ranking the soil map unit separations as to erodibility isgradient of slope .As slope increases, the amount and velocity of runoffincreases and the erosive ability of the water is increased .The ratingof soil susceptibility to erosion is based largely on topography withmodifications for texture, drainage conditions, and soil horizonation .For this report the soils ofthis area have been divided into three groupson the basis of moderate, high, and very high susceptibility to erosion .However, when considered in a broader continental sense all of these soilsrate as being highly erodible .