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Soil Information for All Uses <br /> Suitabilities and Limitations for Use <br /> The Suitabilities and Limitations for Use section includes various soil interpretations <br /> displayed as thematic maps with a summary table for the soil map units in the selected <br /> area of interest.A single value or rating for each map unit is generated by aggregating <br /> the interpretive ratings of individual map unit components. This aggregation process <br /> is defined for each interpretation. <br /> Vegetative Productivity <br /> Vegetative productivity includes estimates of potential vegetative production for a <br /> variety of land uses, including cropland,forestland, hayland, pastureland, horticulture <br /> and rangeland. In the underlying database, some states maintain crop yield data by <br /> individual map unit component. Other states maintain the data at the map unit level. <br /> Attributes are included for both, although only one or the other is likely to contain data <br /> for any given geographic area. For other land uses, productivity data is shown only at <br /> the map unit component level. Examples include potential crop yields under irrigated <br /> and nonirrigated conditions, forest productivity, forest site index, and total rangeland <br /> production under of normal, favorable and unfavorable conditions. <br /> Range Production (Unfavorable Year) <br /> Total range production is the amount of vegetation that can be expected to grow <br /> annually in a well managed area that is supporting the potential natural plant <br /> community. It includes all vegetation,whether or not it is palatable to grazing animals. <br /> It includes the current year's growth of leaves,twigs,and fruits of woody plants. It does <br /> not include the increase in stem diameter of trees and shrubs.It is expressed in pounds <br /> per acre of air-dry vegetation. In an unfavorable year, growing conditions are well <br /> below average, generally because of low available soil moisture. Yields are adjusted <br /> to a common percent of air-dry moisture content. <br /> In areas that have similar climate and topography, differences in the kind and amount <br /> of vegetation produced on rangeland are closely related to the kind of soil. Effective <br /> management is based on the relationship between the soils and vegetation and water. <br /> 41 <br />