LOCATION CHANDLER NC+GA MD SC TNEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, micaceous, mesic Typic Dystrudepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Chandler loam--forested. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Oe--0 to 1 inch; mat of moderately decomposed organic material. (0 to 2 inches thick)
A1--1 to 2 inch; very dark brown (10YR 2/2) loam; weak fine and medium granular structure; very friable; many fine roots; few fine flakes of mica; very strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary.
A2--2 to 5 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) loam; weak fine and medium granular structure; very friable; many fine roots; common fine and medium flakes of mica; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the A horizon is 4 to 10 inches)
Bw--5 to 24 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; common fine roots; many fine and medium flakes of mica; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (16 to 33 inches thick)
C--24 to 67 inches; multicolored loam saprolite weathered from mica gneiss; massive, very friable; few fine roots; many fine and medium flakes of mica; very strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Transylvania County, North Carolina; 9 miles west of Rosman; 1.5 miles south of U.S. 64 on Sapphire Road.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 20 to 40 inches. Depth to bedrock is more than 60 inches . Content of rock fragments ranges from 0 to 35 percent in the A horizon and 0 to 25 percent in the Bw horizon. Fragments are dominantly gravel in most pedons, but cobbles or stones are dominant in some pedons. Reaction is extremely acid to moderately acid. Flakes of mica range from few to many in the surface layer and are many in the Bw and C horizons.
The A1 or Ap horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 2 to 5, and chroma of 0 to 4. Where value is 3 or less, this horizon is less than 7 inches thick. Some pedons have A2 horizons that have slightly higher value and chroma than the A1 or Ap horizon. The A horizon is loam, fine sandy loam, sandy loam, or silt loam in the fine-earth fraction.
The Bw horizon has hue of 7.5YR, 10YR, or 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 3 to 8. Mottles, if they occur, are in shades of red, brown, or yellow. Texture is loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or silt loam in the fine-earth fraction.
The C horizon is multicolored or similar in color to the Bw horizon. It is saprolite weathered from high-grade metamorphic rocks high in mica content such as mica gneiss, mica schist, and pegmatite. . Texture is commonly loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loamy sand, loamy fine sand, or silt loam. In some pedons, the C horizon is sand, coarse sand, or coarse sandy loam.
COMPETING SERIES: The Manor and Micaville series are the only other known series in this family. The Brownwood, Cashiers, Fannin, Mt. Airy, and Watauga series are in closely related families. Manor soils have hue of 7.5YR or redder and formed from mica schist in the Northern Piedmont. Micaville soils have a paralithic contact at depths of 40 to 60 inches. Brownwood soils have a paralithic contact at depths of 20 to 40 inches. Cashiers soils have an A horizon with value of 3 or less that is 7 to 10 inches thick. Fannin and Watauga soils have argillic horizons. Mt. Airy soils formed from micaceous rocks in the Northern Piedmont and are in a loamy-skeletal particle-size class.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Chandler soils are on gently sloping to very steep ridges and side slopes in the Blue Ridge (MLRA 130). Slopes range from 2 to 95 percent. Elevation ranges from about 1,400 to 4,800 feet. Chandler soils formed in residuum that is affected by soil creep in the upper part, and is weathered from high-grade metamorphic rocks that are high in mica content such as mica schist, mica gneiss, and pegmatite. Mean annual air temperature ranges from 46 to 57 degrees F., and mean annual precipitation from 40 to 80 inches, including 10 to 25 inches of snow per year.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: In addition to the competing Brownwood, Buladean, Cashiers, Fannin, Micaville, and Watauga soils, these are Chestnut, Edneyville, Tate, Toecane, and Tusquitee soils. Buladean, Chestnut, Edneyville, Tate, Toecane, and Tusquitee soils are in a mixed mineralogy family and contain less mica than the Chandler soils. Buladean, Brownwood, Cashiers, Chestnut, Edneyville, Fannin, Micaville, and Watauga soils are on the same landscape position as Chandler soils. Tate, Toecane, and Tusquitee soils are on benches, foot slopes, and fans.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Somewhat excessively drained. Runoff is slow under forest cover and internal drainage is medium to rapid. Permeability is moderately rapid.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are in forest. Common trees include chestnut oak, white oak, scarlet oak, hickory, eastern white pine, Virginia pine, and pitch pine. Yellow poplar and northern red oak are common in the northern portions of MLRA 130. The understory includes flowering dogwood, mountain-laurel, rhododendron and sourwood. Some small areas are in pasture, hayland, or cultivated crops. The major crops grown are corn, small grain, native ornamentals, Christmas trees, and truck crops.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Blue Ridge (MLRA 130) of North Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, Maryland, and Tennessee. The series is of large extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Talladega County, Alabama; 1907.
REMARKS: This soil was formerly classified as a Lithosol. The 6/99 revision updates classification to the 8th Edition of Keys to Soil Taxonomy.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface to a depth of 5 inches (Oe, A1, and A2 horizons)
Cambic horizon - the zone between 5 and 24 inches (Bw horizon)
MLRA = 130, 147 SIR's = NC0017, NC0263 (Stony)