LOCATION ACTON NHEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy-skeletal, mixed, mesic Oxyaquic Udorthents
TYPICAL PEDON: Action fine sandy loam - cultivated.
(Colors are for moist soil)
Ap--0 to 6 inches, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) fine sandy loam; weak fine granular structure; friable; many fine roots; 5 percent gravel; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (5 to 9 inches thick)
Bw1--6 to 13 inches, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) loamy sand; weak fine granular structure; very friable; common roots; 5 percent gravel; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bw2--13 to 17 inches, light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) cobbly loamy sand; weak fine granular structure; very friable; few roots; 10 percent gravel, 20 percent cobbles and stones; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bw3--17 to 21 inches, yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) cobbly loamy sand; massive; very friable; few roots; 10 percent gravel, 25 percent cobbles and stones; common, medium, prominent yellowish red (5YR 4/8) masses of iron accumulation; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bw horizon is 10 to 20 inches).
BC--21 to 23 inches, light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) very cobbly loamy sand; massive, very friable; 15 percent gravel, 25 percent cobbles and stones; many, medium, prominent red (2.5YR 4/8) masses of iron accumulation; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 5 inches thick).
C--23 to 60 inches, grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) very cobbly loamy coarse sand; massive; very friable; 20 percent gravel, 30 percent cobbles and stones; few fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) masses of iron accumulation; moderately acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Strafford County, New Hampshire, Town of Middleton. Site located 3/4 mile southwest of Middleton Corners in a cultivated field. USGS Alton Quadrangle; latitude 43 degrees 28 minutes 13 seconds N and longitude 71 degrees 3 minutes 51 seconds W., NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum ranges from 15 to 34 inches. Rock fragments range from 10 to 55 percent in the solum and 20 to 65 percent in the substratum. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to moderately acid. Depth to redoximorphic features ranges from 15 to 30 inches.
The Ap horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 2 to 4, and chroma of 2 or 3. Some pedons have an A horizon that has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 to 3. The A or Ap horizons are fine sandy loam, sandy loam, coarse sandy loam, loamy fine sand, loamy sand, or their gravelly or very gravelly analogues. Structure is weak or moderate, fine or medium granular.
In undisturbed areas, a discontinuous E horizon occurs in some pedons. It is neutral or has hue of 7.5YR to 5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 1 or 2. Texture is similar to the A horizons.
The Bw horizon has hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 3 to 8. Texture ranges from fine sandy loam to loamy coarse sand with loamy textures restricted to depths shallower than 10 inches from the mineral soil surface. Textures also include gravelly, very gravelly, cobbly, or very cobbly analogues. Structure is massive or weak or moderate, fine or medium granular. Consistence is typically loose, very friable or friable, but may contain thin subhorizons with firm consistence.
The C horizon has hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 1 to 4. Texture ranges from loamy sand to coarse sand and includes cobbly and gravelly analogues. Structure is massive or single grain. Consistence ranges from loose to firm in place, but is friable on removal. Rock fragments commonly have silt coatings on their upper surfaces.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no other series in the same family. Essex, Gloucester, Millis, Newfields, Scituate, Sudbury, Sutton, and Waumbek soils are in related families. Essex, Millis and Scituate soils formed in compact glacial till. Gloucester soils lack redoximorphic features in the B horizon. Newfields, Sudbury, and Sutton soils have less than 35 percent rock fragments in the particle-size control section. Waumbek soils have a frigid soil temperature regime.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Acton soils are nearly level to steep soils on glaciated uplands. Slope ranges from 0 to 25 percent. The soils formed in stony sandy glacial till derived mostly from granite gneiss and schistose rocks. The mean annual temperature ranges from 45 to 50 degrees F. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 30 to 50 inches, and the frost-free season from 110 to 180 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Canton, Charlton, Deerfield, Essex, Gloucester, Hinckley, Hollis, Leicester, Montauk, Newfields, Scituate, and Windsor soils. Canton, Charlton, and Gloucester soils are on higher positions on the landscape and don't have redoximorphic features in the Bw and C horizons. Deerfield, Hinckley, and Windsor soils are on outwash landforms and formed in water sorted sand and gravel. Essex, Montauk, and Scituate soils are smooth sideslopes and formed in compact, loamy glacial till. Hollis soils are on bedrock controlled landforms and are shallow to bedrock. Leicester soils are on lower positions on the landscape and have redoximorphic features in the upper part of the solum. Newfields soils occupy similar landscape positions and have loamy textures in the solum.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained. Medium to rapid runoff depending on slopes. Permeability is moderately rapid in the surface layer and moderately rapid to rapid in the subsoil and substratum.
USE AND VEGETATION: Use and Vegetation: Mainly used for forestry. Principal species are northern red oak, eastern white pine, red pine, white spruce, sugar maple, red maple, and paper birch. Areas cleared of surface stones are used mostly for hay and pasture.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTEND: Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New York (MLRA 144A and 144B). The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Waldo County, Maine, 1940.
REMARKS: 1. The classification is updated to the 7th edition of the Keys to Soil Taxonomy with this revision. The previous classification was sandy-skeletal, mixed, mesic Aquic Udorthents.
2. Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
a. Ochric epipedon - the zone from 0 to 6 inches (Ap horizon).
b. Lack of a cambic horizon due to sandy textures.