LOCATION BOOKWOOD           VA
Established Series
Rev. MDJ
12/2005

BOOKWOOD SERIES


The Bookwood series consists of moderately deep, well drained soils overlying interbedded limestone and shale. Permeability is moderate. Slopes range from 2 to 45 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 37 inches and mean annual temperature is 53 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, semiactive, mesic Ultic Hapludalfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Bookwood silt loam - Pasture.
(Colors are for moist soil.)

Ap--0 to 6 inches, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) silt loam; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many fine roots; 12 percent coarse fragments up to 2 inches across of strongly weathered olive yellow (2.5Y 6/6) limestone and reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/8) siltstone; medium acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (3 to 8 inches thick)

Bt1--6 to 17 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) gravelly loam; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; thin discontinuous yellowish red (5YR 5/6) clay films; few iron and manganese concretions; 25 percent coarse fragments of olive yellow (2.5Y 6/6) soft strongly weathered limestone and reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/8) siltstone up to 3 inches across; medium acid; gradual wavy boundary. (8 to 13 inches thick)

Bt2--17 to 30 inches; strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) gravelly clay loam; few medium streaks of yellow (10YR 7/6); weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few fine roots; thin discontinuous yellowish red (5YR 5/6) clay films; few manganese stains and concretions; 30 percent coarse fragments of olive yellow (2.5Y 6/6) strongly weathered limestone and reddish yellow (7.5YR 6/8) siltstone up to 3 inches across; medium acid; gradual irregular boundary. (7 to 15 inches thick)

BC--30 to 36 inches; yellowish red (5YR 5/6) very gravelly silty clay loam; moderate very fine subangular blocky structure; firm; thin yellowish red (5YR 5/6) clay films; 60 percent coarse fragments of limestone and siltstone up to 3 inches across; medium acid; gradual irregular boundary. (2 to 7 inches thick)

Cr--36 to 41 inches; yellowish red (5YR 5/8) strongly weathered limestone and siltstone, medium acid. (3 to 10 inches thick)

R--41 inches; hard limestone and siltstone.

TYPE LOCATION: Augusta County, Virginia; one half mile northwest of the junction of highways 701 and 604, 600 feet northeast of highway 701.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 20 to 40 inches. Depth to bedrock ranges from 40 to 60 inches or more. Coarse fragments, mostly siliceous limestone, siltstone and shale, range from 0 to 20 percent in the A horizon, 5 to 35 percent in the Bt horizons, and 40 to 70 percent in the BC horizons and C horizons where present. Cr horizons occur in some pedons. Reaction throughout the solum commonly ranges from medium acid to slightly acid, but includes individual subhorizons of strongly acid.

Ap horizons have hue of 10YR, values of 4 to 6, and chromas of 4 to 6. Uncultivated areas have a thin A horizon of 10YR hue with values of 2 or 3, and chromas of 2 or 3; and an E horizon with values of 5 or 6, and chromas of 3 or 4.

The BA horizon, where present, has hues of 10YR or 7.5YR, values of 5 or 6, and chromas of 4 to 8. It commonly is silt loam, but includes silty clay loam. BA horizons are less than 6 inches thick.

Bt horizons have hues commonly of 10YR or 7.5YR, rarely of 5YR, values of 5 or 6, and chromas of 4 to 8. Bt horizons are heavy silt loam, light clay loam, or gravelly, channery, of shaly analogues.

BC horizons have 5YR or 2.5YR hue with value of 4 or 5, and chromas of 6 or 8. The texture is very gravelly or very channery silty clay loam or very channery silty clay. C horizons, where present, are similar to BC horizons except they lack clay films. Cr horizons, where present, are highly variable and unpredictable depending on local conditions.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Bolton, Carpenter, Renox, Ryder, Washington. Bolton, Carpenter and Renox soils have a solum thickness greater than 40 inches. Ryder soils have bedrock between 20 and 40 inches. Washington soils have rock fragments dominated by granitic pebbles.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Bookwood soils formed in residuum weathered from siliceous limestone and interbedded calcareous shale and siltstone on gently sloping to steep uplands of the Limestone Valley. Slopes are commonly between 7 and 25 percent, but range from 2 to 45 percent. Mean annual air temperature near the type location averages about 53 degrees F, and mean annual precipitation is about 37 inches.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Christian, Endcav, Frederick, and Timberville series. Christian and Frederick soils occur on similar landscape. They have thicker sola, have less than 35 percent base saturation, and more than 35 percent clay in the control section. Endcav soils are on the smoother slopes. They have a thicker sola and more than 60 percent clay in the control section. Timberville soils occur along the small streams and drainageways. They have less than 35 percent base saturation.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; medium to rapid runoff; moderate permeability.

USE AND VEGETATION: Cleared areas are used for crops, hay, or pasture. Forest consists mainly of black locust, oak, hickory, maple, and dogwood.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Virginia; possibly West Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky. The series is of small extent.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Augusta County, Virginia, 1977.

REMARKS: These soils were formerly included with the Frankstown series. Data taken from several sites indicates base saturation of these soils is between 35 and 60 percent.

The 12/2005 revision updates this soil to the 9th Edition of the Keys to Soil Taxonomy (2003). The CEC activity class placement is based on NASIS data from Augusta County, Virginia. Class placement may be revised in the future when laboratory data are reviewed or become available. In addition, horizon nomenclature and competing series were updated with this revision.

Previous revision JRH-RLG 2/85

ADDITIONAL DATA: Chemical data from typical pedon (Lab No. 72-045, 72-046, 72-047, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Soil Survey Lab).


National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.