Soil Organic Carbon in Northeastern U.S. Tidal Wetlands at 3-Meter Resolution

1998-2018 data provides estimates of soil organic carbon stocks in tidal wetlands across the northeastern United States. The dataset harmonizes point measurements from multiple government agencies and studies, predicting carbon at four soil depths for eight regional zones using Random Forest and Quantile Regression Forest models. Predictions and uncertainties are mapped at a 3-meter resolution for wetland cover types.

Use Cases

• Modeling blue carbon storage and sequestration potential in northeastern U.S. coastal wetlands using predicted SOC stocks at 0-5, 0-30, 0 100, and 0-200 cm depths.
• Assessing spatial variability of soil carbon for wetland conservation planning, leveraging the 3-meter resolution predictions across eight regional zones.
• Comparing carbon estimation methods (Random Forest Ranger vs. Quantile Regression Forest) for tidal wetland cover types mapped by Correll et al. (2019).
• Integrating harmonized point data from USDA-NRCS, NCSS, RaCA, and EPA-NWCA sources into regional carbon budget analyses.

Strengths

• Provides predictions at a high 3-meter spatial resolution for detailed landscape analysis.
• Covers a 20-year time range (1998-2018) for temporal assessment of carbon stocks.
• Uses two advanced machine learning methods (Random Forest and Quantile Regression Forest) for model estimation and uncertainty quantification.
• Harmonizes data from multiple authoritative sources including USDA-NRCS, EPA-NWCA, and published studies.

Limitations

• Conflicting last updated dates exist between platforms (2018-12-31 and 2026-03-12), creating uncertainty about data currency.
• Specific row counts, file sizes, and complete column names are not provided by any source, limiting precise technical assessment.
• License is ambiguously noted as 'other-license-specified' or 'None', requiring user verification for reuse.

Provenance

Source

ORNL_CLOUD; data harmonized from U.S. Department of Agriculture - Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS), National Cooperative Soil Survey (NCSS), USDA-NRCS Rapid Carbon Assessment (RaCA), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency National Wetland Condition and Assessment (EPA-NWCA), and published studies.

Collection Method

Point data for carbon stocks were used to predict SOC for four soil depths across eight regional zones using regression models driven by environmental covariates, with parameters estimated via Random Forest (RF) Ranger and Quantile Regression Forest (QRF) methods.

Time Range

1998-2018

Freshness

2026-03-12 21:38:43.533654

Geography

Tidal wetlands and bordering areas in the northeastern United States.