LOCATION BEECH                   WV+KY

Established Series
RDJ, SLH/Rev. MDJ
10/2014

BEECH SERIES

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Oxyaquic Hapludalfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Beech loam on a 20 percent southeast-facing slope in a mixed hardwood and shortleaf pine wooded area at a 201 meter (660 feet) elevation. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise indicated.)

Oi--0 to 2 cm (0 to 1 inch); partially decomposed leaf litter, twigs and pine needles.

A--2 to 18 cm (1 to 7 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) loam; moderate fine and medium granular structure; very friable; many fine and medium roots; 10 percent rock fragments; strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (8 to 23 cm thick)

BA--18 to 25 cm (7 to 10 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) channery loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; many fine and medium roots; 15 percent rock fragments; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 15 cm thick)

Bt1--25 to 56 cm (10 to 22 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) channery loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable; many fine and medium roots; common distinct clay films on faces of peds; 20 percent rock fragments; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.

Bt2--56 to 91 cm (22 to 36 inches); strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) channery clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common fine and medium roots; common fine and medium prominent light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) redoximorphic depletions; common to many distinct clay films on faces of peds; common fine and medium iron and manganese concretions; 20 percent rock fragments; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.

Bt3--91 to 114 cm (36 to 45 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) very channery loam; weak medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; few medium roots; common fine and medium prominent light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) redoximorphic depletions; common distinct clay films on faces of peds; common fine and medium iron and manganese concretions; 35 percent rock fragments; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 76 to 127 cm.)

BC--114 to 132 cm (45 to 52 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) very channery loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; few medium roots; many medium prominent light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) redoximorphic depletions; few faint clay films on faces of peds; common fine and medium iron and manganese concretions; 40 percent rock fragments; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 36 cm thick)

C--132 to 168 cm (52 to 66 inches); strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) and light gray (10YR 7/1) very channery loam; massive; friable; common manganese and iron concretions; 55 percent rock fragments; strongly acid. (25 to 64 cm thick)

TYPE LOCATION:
County: Wayne
State: West Virginia
USGS Quadrangle: Winslow, West Virginia
Latitude (Decimal Degrees, NAD 83): 38.3033
Longitude (Decimal Degrees, NAD83): -82.3272
Directions to the pedon: Approximately 457 meters (500 yards) east of the junction of Long Branch Road and Butler Branch and about 914 meters (1000 yards) southeast of the Cabell County line

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to the top of the Argillic: 8 to 38 cm (3 to 15 inches)
Depth to the base of the Argillic: 76 to 127 cm (30 to 50 inches)
Solum Thickness: 102 to 152 cm (40 to 60 inches)
Depth to Bedrock: Greater than 152 cm (60 inches)
Depth Class: Very deep
Depth to Seasonal High Water Table: 56 to 79 cm (22 to 31 inches)
Rock Fragment Content: 10 to 30 percent, by volume, in the A and BA horizon and 10 to 60 percent, by volume, in the Bt, BC, and C horizon.
Soil Reaction: Very strongly acid through moderately acid throughout, except where limed

Range of Individual Horizons:
Ap or A horizon:
Color--hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 2 through 5, and chroma of 2 through 4
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--loam or silt loam

BA horizon:
Color--hue of 2.5Y through 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 through 4
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--loam or silt loam

Bt horizon:
Color--hue of 2.5Y through 7.5YR, value of 4 through 6, and chroma of 2 through 8
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--loam or clay loam
Redoximorphic features--The depth to redoximorphic depletions with chroma 2 or less ranges from 56 to 79 cm (22 to 31 inches), and they are below the upper 25 cm (10 inches) of the top of the argillic horizon

BC horizon:
Color--2.5Y through 7.5YR, value of 5 through 7, and chroma 2 through 8
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--loam or clay loam
Redoximorphic features--Redoximorphic depletions with chroma 2 or less, black manganese stains and concretions, and strong brown masses of oxidized iron typically occur in this horizon

C horizon:
Color--2.5Y through 7.5YR, value of 4 through 6, and chroma of 2 through 8
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--loam, silt loam, or clay loam
Redoximorphic features--Redoximorphic depletions with chroma 2 or less, black manganese stains and concretions, and strong brown masses of oxidized iron typically occur in this horizon

COMPETING SERIES:
Adamstown soils--formed in colluvium or alluvium over limestone residuum
Blakeslee soils--formed in glaciolacustrine sediments and in the underlying stratified glaciofluvial deposits on outwash plains and terraces
Cazenovia soils--formed in loamy glacial till
El Dara soils--formed in stratified loamy and sandy Cretaceous age materials and have less than 15 percent, by volume, rock fragments in the particle size control section
Funkstown soils--formed in colluvium or alluvium over limestone residuum
Hilton soils--formed in Wisconsin age glacial till derived from sandstone and limestone
Kidami soils--formed in silty material and loamy glacial till
Miami soils--formed in dense glacial till
Pevely soils--formed in residuum weathered from sandstone and are less than 102 cm (40 inches) to bedrock
Rainsville soils--formed in loess or other silty materials over loamy outwash and glacial till
Rawson soils--formed in loamy sediments and glacial till
Richland soils--have chroma 2 iron depletions below 36 inches of the surface
Royerton soils--formed in loamy outwash and glacial till
Shawtown soils--formed in glaciolacustrine or water-sorted sediments overlying dense till
Summitville soils--have hues 5YR or redder throughout
Vaughnsville soils--formed in loamy glaciolacustrine material and in the underlying till

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
MLRA(s) using this series: 124, 125, 126
Landscape: Uplands
Landform: Hill and hillslope
Geomorphic Component: Base slope
Hillslope Profile Position: Footslope
Parent Material Origin: Weathered, interbedded siltstone, sandstone, and shale
Parent Material Kind: Colluvium
Slope: 3 to 35 percent
Elevation: 157 to 325 meters (515 to 1066 feet)
Frost-free period: 190 to 207 days
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 10.5 to 12.7 degrees C. (51 to 56 degrees F.)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 1066 to 1168 mm (42 to 46 inches)

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Cotaco soils--occur on stream terraces
Dekalb soils--occur on upland hillsides and ridgetops where bedrock is moderately deep
Dormont soils--occur on upland benches and side slopes
Gilpin soils--occur on upland hillsides and ridgetops where bedrock is moderately deep
Latham soils--occur on upland hillsides and ridgetops where bedrock is moderately deep
Sensabaugh soils--occur on adjacent narrow floodplains and alluvial fans
Upshur soils--occur on upland hillsides and ridgetops

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage Class (Agricultural): Moderately well drained
Internal Free Water Occurrence: Moderately deep (50-100 cm) and common (present 3-6 months)
Index Surface Runoff: Low to high
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity Class: Moderately high or high
Permeability Class (obsolete): Moderate or moderately slow
Shrink-Swell Class: Low
Flooding Frequency and Duration: None
Ponding Frequency and Duration: None

USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: Woodland, hayland, pasture
Dominant Vegetation: Where cultivated--Grass-legume hay. Where wooded--Mixed hardwoods-dominated by oaks, yellow-poplar, and shortleaf pine

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: West Virginia and Kentucky
Extent: Moderate, approximately 34,000 acres at the time of this revision

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Wayne County, West Virginia, 1993.

REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon--the zone from 2 to 25 cm (A and BA horizons)
Argillic horizon--the zone from 25 to 114 cm (Bt horizons)
Series control section--the zone from 0 to 150 cm

This edit updates the previous format to semi-tabular using the March 22, 2013, template, and updates the Range of Individual Horizons, RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS, GEOGRAPHIC SETTING, GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS, USE AND VEGETATION, DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT, DRAINAGE AND SATURATED CONDUCTIVITY, and REMARKS sections.

Previous revisions: 10/1994-CPC, ART, WFH; 08/2005-MDJ, DHK

ADDITIONAL DATA:
There is no laboratory data for the Beech series at this time.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.