A Field Guide to Pedoderm and Pattern Classes Version 1.1

Pedoderm and Pattern Classes (PPCs) describe the spatial arrangement of plants, the soil pedoderm (i.e., the air-soil interface) and soil redistribution. PPCs provide a record of soil surface features and plant patterns that influence ecosystem function and complement snapshot observations of plant community composition and soil profiles. In essence, PPCs provide a simple language to describe soil surface features and plant patterns much in the same way we recognize plant communities or soil types using standardized names.
PPCs have categorical or ordinal values and are designed to be assessed quickly within field plots during inventory, soil survey, or when characterizing site conditions of monitoring plots. The class values provide a record of soil surface features and plant patterns that affect the site's ability to respond to management actions, restoration, and natural drivers. To date, obtaining information about these types of attributes has required highly technical and/or time-intensive procedures, so soil surface and plant pattern data have not been regularly collected. We developed PPCs to help remedy this limitation.
PPCs closely correspond to several of the indicators described in Interpreting Indicators of Rangeland Health (IIRH; Pellant et al., 2005) and Landscape Function Analysis (LFA; Tongway and Hindley 2004). Unlike IIRH, PPCs are not based on deviation from site potential, but rather describe existing conditions. Furthermore, PPCs integrate observations of multiple attributes that are dealt with individually in IIRH and LFA (such as pedestals, water flow patterns, rills and coppicing) to arrive at a single class value. Thus, a trained observer can evaluate a site quickly without rating and interpreting numerous individual indicators. PPCs are especially useful when multiple observations must be gathered quickly over extensive areas.