LOCATION SUNAPEE NH+NY VT
Established Series
Rev. HRM-SALP-CAW-RGD
05/2016
SUNAPEE SERIES
The Sunapee series consists of very deep, moderately well drained soils formed in loamy melt-out till on hills and mountains in glaciated uplands. Estimated saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high or high in the mineral solum and moderately high to very high in the substratum. Slope ranges from 0 to 60 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 1180 mm and mean annual temperature is about 6 degrees C.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, isotic, frigid Aquic Haplorthods
TYPICAL PEDON: Sunapee gravelly fine sandy loam on a 4 percent southeast facing slope in a very stony, forested area. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted.)
Oe -- 0 to 5 cm; moderately decomposed plant material. (0 to 13 cm thick)
A -- 5 to 8 cm; black (10YR 2/1) gravelly fine sandy loam; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many fine and common medium roots; 20 percent rock fragments of gravel, cobbles, and stones; extremely acid (pH 4.4); abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 10 cm thick)
E -- 8 to 13 cm; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) gravelly fine sandy loam; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many fine, common medium, and few coarse roots; 20 percent rock fragments of gravel, cobbles, and stones; extremely acid (pH 4.4); abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 10 cm thick)
Bhs -- 13 to 15 cm; dusky red (2.5YR 3/2) and dark reddish brown (2.5YR 3/4) gravelly fine sandy loam; weak medium granular structure; friable; many fine, common medium, and few coarse roots; 20 percent rock fragments of gravel, cobbles, and stones; very strongly acid (pH 4.5); abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 10 cm thick)
Bs1 -- 15 to 20 cm; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) and yellowish red (5YR 5/8) gravelly fine sandy loam; weak fine and medium granular structure; friable; many fine, common medium and few coarse roots; 20 percent rock fragments of gravel, cobbles, and stones; very strongly acid (pH 4.8); clear smooth boundary.
Bs2 -- 20 to 43 cm; strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) and yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) gravelly fine sandy loam; weak fine and medium granular structure; friable; common fine and medium roots; 20 percent rock fragments of gravel, cobbles, and stones; very strongly acid (pH 4.8); clear smooth boundary.
Bs3 -- 43 to 66 cm; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) gravelly fine sandy loam; weak fine and medium granular structure; friable; common fine and medium roots; common fine and medium prominent reddish brown (5YR 5/4) and yellowish red (5YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation and light olive gray (5Y 6/2) areas of iron depletion; 20 percent rock fragments of gravel, cobbles, and stones; very strongly acid (pH 4.8); clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bs horizons is 13 to 71 cm thick)
C1 -- 66 to 96 cm; grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) and light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) gravelly sandy loam; massive; friable; few fine roots; common fine, medium and coarse, prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) masses of iron accumulation and faint light olive gray (5Y 6/2) areas of iron depletion; 30 percent rock fragments of gravel, cobbles, and stones; very strongly acid (pH 5.0); clear wavy boundary.
C2 -- 96 to 165 cm; pale olive (5Y 6/3) and light olive gray (5Y 6/2) gravelly sandy loam; massive; friable; common fine, medium and coarse, prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) and prominent and distinct light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) masses of iron accumulation, and faint light gray (5Y 7/2) areas of iron depletion; 30 percent rock fragments of gravel, cobbles, and stones; very strongly acid (pH 5.0).
TYPE LOCATION: Sullivan County, New Hampshire, Town of Washington, 3,600 feet west southwest of the village of East Washington and 1500 feet north of the Hillsboro County line; USGS Lovewell Mountain, NH topographic quadrangle; Latitude 43 degrees, 11 minutes, 15.28 seconds N. and Longitude 72 degrees, 01 minutes, 54.30 seconds W., NAD 1983.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 46 to 100 cm. Rock fragments range from 5 to 35 percent in the solum and 5 to 55 percent in the substratum. Unless limed, the solum ranges from extremely acid through strongly acid and the C horizon from extremely acid to moderately acid.
The O horizon, where present, is neutral or has hue of 2.5YR through 10YR, value of 2 through 3 and chroma of 0 through 2. It consists of slightly, intermediately, and/or highly decomposed organic material.
The A horizon has hue 5YR to 10YR, value of 2 through 3, and chroma of 1 or 2. Texture of the fine-earth fraction of the A horizon is fine sandy loam or loam.
Some pedons have an Ap horizon that has hue of 10YR, with value and chroma of 2 to 4. Texture of the fine-earth fraction of the Ap horizon is fine sandy loam or loam.
The E horizon has hue 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 through 7, and chroma of 1 or 2. Texture of the fine-earth fraction of the E horizon is fine sandy loam, sandy loam, or loam.
The Bhs horizon has hue 2.5YR to 7.5YR and value and chroma of 3 or less. Texture of the fine-earth fraction of the Bhs horizon is fine sandy loam, sandy loam, or very fine sandy loam.
The Bs horizon has hue 5YR to 2.5Y, value 3 to 5, and chroma 3 to 6. Texture of the fine-earth fraction of the Bs horizon is fine sandy loam or sandy loam. Consistence is friable or very friable when moist, but ranges from soft to hard when dry.
Some pedons have a BC horizon that has hue 7.5YR to 5Y, value 4 to 6 and chroma 2 to 6. Texture of the fine-earth fraction of the BC horizon is fine sandy loam or sandy loam. Consistence is friable or very friable when moist, but ranges from soft to hard when dry.
The C horizon has hue 10YR to 5Y, value 4 to 6, and chroma 2 to 4. Texture of the fine-earth fraction of the C horizon is fine sandy loam or sandy loam. The horizon is massive or has weak plates of geogenic origin. Consistence is very friable or friable when moist, but ranges from loose through hard when dry.
Some pedons have loamy sand or loamy fine sand below a depth of 71 cm.
Some pedons have a Cd horizon below 40 inches with a hue 10YR to 5Y, value 4 to 6, and chroma 1 to 4. Texture of the fine-earth fraction of the Cd horizon is fine sandy loam, sandy loam, loamy sand, or loamy fine sand. The horizon is massive, with or without plate-like divisions. Consistence is firm or very firm.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Chesuncook,
Crary,
Dixfield,
Dixmont,
Howland,
Peru,
Ragmuff,
Skerry, and
Worden series. All of these soils except Dixmont are underlain by lodgment till within 100 cm. Dixmont soils have more than 50 percent silt in the series control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Sunapee soils are nearly level to very steep soils of the glaciated uplands, typically on backslopes and footslopes. Slope ranges from 0 to 60 percent, but is dominantly 3 to 15 percent. The soils formed in loamy melt-out till of Wisconsin age derived mainly from gneiss and schist. The climate is humid and cool. The mean annual precipitation is 790 to 1640 mm, and the mean annual temperature is 2 to 7 degrees C. The frost-free period ranges from 90 to 140 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: Sunapee soils are the moderately well drained member of a drainage sequence that includes, the well drained
Berkshire and
Monadnock soils and the poorly drained
Lyme soils. Common associates are the well drained
Becket soils and the moderately well drained
Skerry soils that formed in coarser textured lodgment till.
Colton,
Adams, and
Croghan soils are on nearby landscapes and developed in water sorted sands and gravel.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Moderately well drained. The potential for runoff is low or moderate. Estimated saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high or high in the mineral solum and moderately high to very high in the substratum.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most of this soil is forested. Common species include northern red oak, sugar maple, eastern white pine, red spruce, white spruce, and balsam fir. Areas cleared of surface stones are used primarily for hay or pasture.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York. MLRAs 143, 144A, and 144B. The series is of a moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Sullivan County, New Hampshire, 1980.
REMARKS: The use of the Sunapee series in 144A is in question. Sunapee has a frigid temperature regime which should not occur 144A.
Diagnostic horizons and features in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from the organic soil surface to a depth of 13 cm. (O, A, and E horizons).
Albic horizon - the zone from 8 to 13 cm (E horizon).
Spodic horizon - the zone from 13 to 43 cm (Bhs, Bs1, and Bs2 horizons).
Aquic subgroup - redoximorphic features within a depth of 75 cm of the mineral soil surface (Bs3 and C1).
Other features include a udic moisture regime, a frigid soil temperature regime, and a coarse-loamy particle-size control section (30-105 cm).
ADDITIONAL DATA: Characterization data for Sunapee and similar soils is available through the National Cooperative Soil Survey Soil Characterization Database: http://ncsslabdatamart.sc.egov.usda.gov/
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.