Some curious soils described by scientists as “frigid” and “ancient” have been discovered in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park as part of an on-going project by the Natural Resource Conservation Service and the park.

A soil expedition to collect “monoliths” — long cores of soil that are several feet long and show a cross-section of the soil layers — was conducted as part of the project.

“Monoliths are essential to understanding the different processes that create soils in the different environments of the park,” said Keith Langdon, chief of inventory and monitoring for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

“The discovery of deep, extremely rich organic soils under the park’s heath balds by the team a couple years ago is still generating interest in the academic community,” Langdon reported. “These soils are so fibrous and ‘peaty’ that they must use a pruning saw to cut down thru the layers. They will use a saw to collect the monolith as well.”

The project’s aim has been to map all the soil types in the park. In the process, many soil types new to science have been discovered, most at the park’s high elevations.

“Other radically different soils to be collected are the paleo or ‘old’ soils that have weathered in place with little disturbance. These are often bright red from the remaining iron that oxides, and are clayey in consistency,” according to Langdon. “Compared to recently developed soils here, and all soils in the northern, glaciated sections of the United States and Canada, these soils are ancient.”

Soil maps for the entire park are now being digitized. Computer mapping programs will allow park scientists to analyze the relationship between soils and plants and animals found in different areas.

“The soils of the park have had a major influence on forest productivity, locations of rare species, ability to filter acid rain and success or failure of human settlements in the pre-park days,” Langdon surmised.

“The park staff eagerly await their use as an important tool in the understanding and full protection of the national park’s resources.”