Stefanie CarterProject Manager, SAERI

February 2020

2020D+083 Soil Mapping Project

Fieldwork Report 3

BackgroundThe South Atlantic Environmental Research Institute (SAERI) is leading the multi-

partner project ‘Soil map and online database as climate change mitigation tools’

(hereafter soil mapping project), which is funded by the UK Government’s Darwin Plus

funding scheme. The project partners are the Falkland Islands Government, UK

Falkland Islands Trust, Natural History Museum (NHM), The James Hutton Institute,

Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and the University of Magallanes. The aims of the

soil mapping project are to create a soil map for the Falkland Islands that will also act

as an interactive tool for farmers and to establish a baseline for peat, carbon and soil

erosion. In order to achieve this, several fieldwork campaigns were required to visit soil

survey points which were selected by a computer model (methodology available here).

This report covers the third fieldwork campaign.

Fieldwork AreasThe third fieldwork campaign for the Darwin Plus project took place between 03

November and 20 December 2019; additional fieldwork was carried out on 5 April 2019

on Stanley Common, on 12 and 13 October 2019 at Gibraltar Station, between 16 and

19 January 2020 on Weddell Island, on 17 February 2020 at Fox Bay and on 29

February 2020 at Stanley Common. During this campaign 81 scheduled survey points

across the Falklands Islands were covered as well as 3 additional points (Figure 1;

Table 1). The full details for each fieldwork day are available in Annex 1.

Figure 1: Soil survey points visited during the third fieldwork campaign.

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Table 1: Farm name and point numbers covered in the third fieldwork campaign. Farm Point Number Number of PointsStanley Common 223, Extra 2Gibraltar Station 183, 209, 210, 216 4Bluff Cove 185 1Riverview 175, 178, 179,180, 186 5Goose Green 153 1Fitzroy 182 1Philomel 45, 54, 56, 57 4Narrows 32 1Lake Sullivan 40, 41, 46, 50 4Coast Ridge 75, 90, 205 3Crooked Inlet 18, 23 2Dunbar 14, 16, 21 3Port North 28 1West Lagoons 70 1Main Point 207 1Teal River 53, 59 2Mt Shingly 60, 68, 69 3Mt Adam Reserve 52, 55 2Chartres 58, 76, 81 3Fitzroy River 177 1No Mans Land 154, 155, 168, 169, 172, 173 6Dougherty’s Farm 145, 164, 165, 166 4Port Howard 79, 80, 82, 100, 106, 208 6Harps 74 1Rat Castle 72, 73 2Doyle 34, 36 2Pickthorne 12 1Westley 22 1Kingsford Valley 136, 138, 211 2Head of the Bay 118 1North Arm 103 1Mount Usborne 151 1Blue Beach 125 1Corriedale 148 1Smylies 124 1Hope Cottage 174, 176 2Weddell Island 1, 201, 202, 203, Extra 5Lake Sullivan & Rincon Ridge

Extra 1

Total 84

Methodology

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The methodology applied in this second fieldwork campaign corresponds to that from

the first campaign. Previous fieldwork campaigns highlighted that the fieldwork was

slowing down as points became more distant and difficult to reach. The final fieldwork

campaign included some of the most challenging points and many of these would only

be reached by walking long distances in mountainous areas as driving would be

impossible. It was anticipated that not all of the remaining scheduled points could be

completed and these were therefore categorised into high, medium and low priority

(Table 2), which was determined through soil model requirements. The fieldwork

itinerary was planned to focus on high priority and medium priority points (Table 2).

Table 2: Showing all points remaining for the third fieldwork categorised into high, medium and low priority. Priority All remaining points

September 2019Points completed between October 2019 and February 2020

High 57 56Medium 29 18Low 29 7Total 115 81

Fieldwork Summary

Logistics

The off-road challenges mentioned in previous reports (bridge building, car getting

bogged, lack of established tracks) were encountered again (Figure 2); however, at the

same time the team also became faster at laying out bridges and recovering the car

from bogged situations. This fieldwork campaign also included three trips to West

Falklands, which always require a significant amount of time for planning and

preparations.

As anticipated, lots of walking was involved in reaching the numerous points in

mountainous areas beyond vehicle access, which includes carrying ca. 15 kg of

equipment for each team member. Examples include a day (21st November 2019) on

the Wickham Heights, East Falkland, that involved a 13 km hike up to 520 m altitude

(Figure 3) and a day (15th November 2019) on Mount Adam, West Falkland hiking a

roundtrip of 10 km up to 510 m altitude (Figure 4).

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Figure 2: Examples of the vehicle getting bogged.

Figure 3: Fieldwork hiking on the Wickham Heights, East Falkland.

Figure 4: Hiking up to Mount Adam in the fog.

Further fieldwork obstacles included:

- Cancellation of ferry from East to West Falkland on 7th November 2019, which

delayed fieldwork on West Falkland by one day

- Strong gales on 20th November 2019; only one point could be completed on that

day even though three were scheduled

- Heavy rain on 26th November 2019 (Figure 5), which made fieldwork impossible

on the following day: all points either involved crossing a river, which was

impossible, or hiking long distances on steep slopes, which would have been

unsafe

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Figure 5: Examples of landscape change due to heavy rain on 26th November 2019: a mountain stream (left) and a normally dry stone run (right) were turned into rivers at Port Howard.

At the same time, the fieldwork teams also received a great deal of help from

landowners to get to numerous points, which could not have been completed without

their help. Examples of the amazing support and hospitality the field work team

received are presented in Figures 6, 7 and 8.

Figure 6: Nick and Annie Pitaluga provided accommodation, lunches and wind breaks at Gibraltar Station.

Figure 7: Gavin Marsh took the team out in his own vehicle at Philomel (left); Kevin Marsh took the team out to several points at Harps and Rat Castle (right).

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Figure 8: Myles Lee took the team out to very remote points at Port Howard (left) and Lewis Clifton provided accommodation and transport through Byron Marine Ltd. for fieldwork on Weddell (right).

Soil profiles

The soil profiles encountered in this fieldwork campaign were similar to the ones from

the previous fieldwork. Noteworthy profiles include an usual habitat and a first for the

fieldwork: a Sphagnum peat bog at Kingsford Valley with a peat depth of approx. 200

cm, half of which was just undecomposed Sphagnum moss (Figure 9). The deepest

peat (over 300 cm) in this campaign was encountered at Smylies near the coast

(Figure 9.

At the end of this fieldwork campaign, it was noted that Arenosols might be

underrepresented amongst the survey points; two locations for these were therefore

added and completed in February 2020.

Figure 9: Sphagnum peat bog at Kingsford Valley (left); deep peat at Smylies farm (right).

Volunteers

The fieldwork was supported by a range of volunteers and could not have been

completed without their dedicated help. In chronological order these are: Hamish

McKee, Marina Costa, Erin Shankie, Stacey Felgate and Sammy Hirtle.

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ConclusionDespite being presented with several challenges along the way, the fieldwork teams

completed a considerable number of survey points in this final fieldwork campaign. A

total of 194 points out of the 228 scheduled points are completed now. The aim has

always been to complete approximately 200 points; the fieldwork seasons can

therefore be considered a very successful part of the project.

AcknowledgmentsThis project is grant aided by the Darwin Initiative through UK Government funding. We

would like to thank all the landowners and land managers across the Falkland Islands

for permission to access their land and for their help throughout this fieldwork

campaign.

During this fieldwork campaign in particular we received a tremendous amount of help

from many land owners to reach the survey points. The soil mapping fieldwork finished

with a huge success only made possible with the local support we received. We would

like to recognize:

Keith Alazia (farm manager, Goose Green)

Darren Bagley (owner, Riverview)

Simon Bonner (owner, Pickthorne)

Gilberto Castro and Suzi Clarke (farm managers, Fitzroy)

Heidi Clifton and James McGhie (owners, Smylies)

Lewis and Stephen Clifton (owners, Weddell Island)

Hugues and Marie-Paul Delignieres (owners, Dunbar)

Steven Dickson (farm manager, North Arm)

Duane and Leigh Evans (owners, Doyle)

David and Carol Eynon (owners, Narrows)

Sian Ferguson and Karl Nightingale (owners, West Lagoons)

Kenton Goodwin, (owner, Corriedale)

Hew Grierson (owner, Blue Beach)

Susie Hansen (owner, Main Point)

Tex Hobman and Penni McKay(owner, Westley)

John and Michelle Jones (owners, Dougherty’s Farm)

Ted and Sheila Jones (owners, Head of the Bay)

Kevin and Hattie Kilmartin (owners, Bluff Cove)

Keith and Nuala Knight (owners, Coast Ridge)

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Myles and Christopher Lee (owners, Port Howard)

Chris and Natalie Lloyd, (owners, Crooked Inlet)

Bill Luxton (owner, Chartres)

Gavin and Deidre Marsh (owners, Philomel)

Kevin Marsh and Lisa Newman (owners, Harps)

Leon and Helen Marsh (owners, Lake Sullivan)

Sammy Marsh (owner Lake Sullivan & Rincon Ridge)

Matthew McMullen (owner, Kingsford Valley)

Roy and Jodie McGhie (owners, Port North)

Fraser McKay (owner, Teal River)

Paul and Shula Philips (owners, Hope Cottage)

Nick and Annie Pitaluga, Gibraltar Station

Neil Rowlands (owner, Fitzroy River)

Byron Marine Ltd

Hill Cove Co-operation

Falklands Landholdings Corporation (owner, Goose Green, North Arm)

Falkland Island Government (owner, Stanley Common).

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ANNEX 1 – Itinerary Third Soil Campaign

Table A1: Overview of each fieldwork day.Date Itinerary Field team

05.04.2019 Point 223, Stanley CommonStefanie Carter, Hamish McKee (work experience student)

12.10.2019 Points 209 and 216, Gibraltar StationStefanie Carter, Marina Costa (volunteer), Nick Pitaluga (landowner)

13.10.2019 Points 183 and 210, Gibraltar StationStefanie Carter, Marina Costa (volunteer), Nick Pitaluga (landowner)

03.11.2019 Point 185 Bluff CoveStefanie Carter, Roberto Jara Langhaus, Erin Shankie (volunteer)

04.11.2019 Points 178 and 180, RiverviewStefanie Carter, Roberto Jara Langhaus, Erin Shankie

05.11.2019 Point 153, Goose GreenStefanie Carter, Roberto Jara Langhaus, Erin Shankie

06.11.2019 Point 182, Fitzroy

Stefanie Carter, Roberto Jara Langhaus, Erin Shankie, Suzi Clarke and Gilberto Castro (land managers)

07.11.2019 Point 186, RiverviewRoberto Jara Langhaus, Erin Shankie

08.11.2019Travel to Fox Bay, West Falkland; Point 32, Narrows; Point 45, Philomel

Roberto Jara Langhaus, Erin Shankie

09.11.2019 Points 40 and 41, Lake SullivanRoberto Jara Langhaus, Erin Shankie

10.11.2019 Points 54, 56 and 57, PhilomelRoberto Jara Langhaus, Erin Shankie, Gavin Marsh (land owner)

11.11.2019Travel to Roy Cove, West Falkland (SC and CE); Point 18, Crooked Inlet; Points 75, 90 205, Coast Ridge

Roberto Jara Langhaus, Erin Shankie, Stefanie Carter, Chris Evans (project partner), Keith Knight (land owner Coast Ridge)

12.11.2019

Travel to Hill Cove, West Falkland (RJL and ES); Travel to Roy Cove, West Falkland (SF); Point 23, Crooked Inlet; Point 21, Dunbar; Point 28, Port North

Roberto Jara Langhaus, Erin Shankie, Stefanie Carter, Chris Evans, Stacey Felgate (project partner’s PhD student)

13.11.2019Point 61, Chartres; Points 14 and 16, Dunbar

Roberto Jara Langhaus, Erin Shankie, Stefanie Carter, Chris Evans, Stacey Felgate

14.11.2019 Point 70, West Lagoons; Point 207, Roberto Jara Langhaus, Erin

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Main Point; Point 53, Teal RiverShankie, Stefanie Carter, Chris Evans, Stacey Felgate

15.11.2019Travel to Stanley, East Falkland (SC, CE, SF); Points 52 and 55, Mount Adam

Roberto Jara Langhaus, Erin Shankie, Stefanie Carter, Chris Evans, Stacey Felgate

16.11.2019Point 59, Teal River; Point 60, Mount Shingly

Roberto Jara Langhaus, Erin Shankie

17.11.2019Point 58, Chartres; Travel to Stanley, East Falkland

Roberto Jara Langhaus, Erin Shankie

18.11.2019 Planning and preparationsStefanie Carter, Roberto Jara Langhaus

19.11.2019Travel to Fitzroy, East Falkland; Point 172, No Mans Land; Point 175, Riverview; Point 177, Fitzroy River

Stefanie Carter, Roberto Jara Langhaus

20.11.2019 Point 179, RiverviewStefanie Carter, Roberto Jara Langhaus

21.11.2019Points 168, 169 and 173, No Mans Land

Stefanie Carter, Roberto Jara Langhaus

22.11.2019Points 164, 165 166, Dougherty’s; Travel to Stanley, East Falkland

Stefanie Carter, Roberto Jara Langhaus

23.11.2019 Time off24.11.2019 Time off

25.11.2019 Planning and preparationsStefanie Carter, Roberto Jara Langhaus

26.11.2019Travel to Port Howard, West Falkland; Points 100 and 106; Port Howard

Stefanie Carter, Roberto Jara Langhaus

27.11.2019 Field conditions too wet for fieldworkStefanie Carter, Roberto Jara Langhaus

28.11.2019 Points 76, 81; Port HowardStefanie Carter, Roberto Jara Langhaus, Myles Lee (land owner)

29.11.2019 Point 208; Port HowardStefanie Carter, Roberto Jara Langhaus, Myles Lee (land owner)

30.11.2019 Points 79, 80 and 82, Port HowardStefanie Carter, Roberto Jara Langhaus

01.12.2019Points 72 and 73, Rat Castle; Point 74, Harps

Stefanie Carter, Roberto Jara Langhaus; Kevin Marsh (land owner, Harps)

02.12.2019Travel to Fox Bay, West Falkland; Points 46 and 50, Lake Sullivan;

Stefanie Carter, Roberto Jara Langhaus

03.12.2019 Points 34 and 36, DoyleStefanie Carter, Roberto Jara Langhaus

04.12.2019 Point 68, Mount ShingleyStefanie Carter, Roberto Jara Langhaus

05.12.2019 Point 12, Pickthorne; Point 22, Stefanie Carter, Roberto Jara

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Westley Langhaus

06.12.2019 Travel to Stanley, East FalklandStefanie Carter, Roberto Jara Langhaus

07.12.2019 Time off08.12.2019 Time off

09.12.2019 Point 136, Kingsford ValleyStefanie Carter, Roberto Jara Langhaus

10.12.2019Travel to Trout Court, East Falkland; Point 118, Head of the Bay

Stefanie Carter, Roberto Jara Langhaus

11.12.2019 Point 103, North Arm; Point 211 Kingsford Valley

Stefanie Carter, Roberto Jara Langhaus

12.12.2019 Point 145, Dougherty’s; Point 151, Mount Usborne

Stefanie Carter, Roberto Jara Langhaus

13.12.2019 Travel to Stanley, East Falkland

14.12.2019 Travel to Trout Court, East FalklandRoberto Jara Langhaus, Sergio Radic Schilling (project partner)

15.12.2019 Point 125, Blue Beach; Point 148, Corriedale

Roberto Jara Langhaus, Sergio Radic Schilling

16.12.2019 Point 138, Kingsford Valley Roberto Jara Langhaus, Sergio Radic Schilling

17.12.2019 Point 124, Smylies Roberto Jara Langhaus, Sergio Radic Schilling

18.12.2019 Points 154 and 155, No Mans Land Roberto Jara Langhaus, Sergio Radic Schilling

19.12.2019 Points 174 and 176, Hope Cottage; Travel to Stanley, East Falkland

Roberto Jara Langhaus, Sergio Radic Schilling

17.01.2020 Travel to Weddell Island, Point 201, Weddell Island

Stefanie Carter, Sammy Hirtle (volunteer)

18.01.2020 Points 1 and 203, Weddell Island Stefanie Carter, Sammy Hirtle19.01.2020 Point 202, Weddell Island Stefanie Carter, Sammy Hirtle20.01.2020 Travel to Stanley, East Falkland Stefanie Carter, Sammy Hirtle

17.02.2020 Extra Point, Lake Sullivan & Rincon Ridge

Stefanie Carter, Jim McAdam (project partner), Matthew McNee (project partner)

29.02.2020 Extra Point, Stanley Common Stefanie Carter, David Carter (volunteer)

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