LOCATION CUTCOMB                 NE+SD

Established Series
Rev. JFB, DAV, RRH
10/2011

CUTCOMB SERIES

The Cutcomb series consists of very deep, very poorly drained, moderately permeable soils formed in organic material on fens on interdunes on sandhills of the Nebraska Sandhills (MLRA 65). Slopes typically are less than 2 percent. Mean annual air temperature is about 9 degrees C. (48 degrees F.) and mean annual precipitation is about 48 centimeters (19 inches).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Euic, mesic Typic Haplohemists

TYPICAL PEDON: Cutcomb mucky peat on a slope of less than 1 percent in a native meadow. When described, the soil was moist throughout. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Oe1--0 to 36 centimeters (0 to 14 inches); dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) unrubbed mucky peat, very dark brown (10YR 2/2) rubbed; about 50 percent fiber, 20 percent rubbed; weak medium granular structure; very friable; many very fine and fine roots; herbaceous fibers; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary. (18 to 53 centimeters (7 to 21 inches) thick)

Oe2--36 58 centimeters (14 to 23 inches); very dark brown (10YR 2/2) mucky peat; about 65 percent fiber, 10 percent rubbed; weak thick platy structure; very friable; few very fine and fine roots; herbaceous fibers; moderately acid; clear smooth boundary.

Oe3--58 to 74 centimeters (23 to 29 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) unrubbed mucky peat, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) rubbed; about 60 percent fiber, 25 percent rubbed; weak thick platy structure; very friable; few very fine and fine roots; few thin (less than 1/2 inch) discontinuous lenses of dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) fine sand; herbaceous fibers; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary.

Oe4--74 to 102 centimeters (29 to 40 inches); very dark brown (10YR 2/2) mucky peat; about 65 percent fiber, 25 percent rubbed; weak thick platy structure; very friable; few very fine and fine roots; herbaceous fibers; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary.

Oe5--102 to 132 centimeters (40 to 52 inches); black (10YR 2/1) mucky peat; about 60 percent fiber, 20 percent rubbed; weak thick platy structure; very friable; herbaceous fibers; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Oe horizon is 76 to 112 centimeters (30 to 44 inches) thick.)

Oa--132 to 200 centimeters (52 to 79 inches); black (N 2.5/0) muck; about 10 percent fiber, a trace rubbed; weak thick platy structure; very friable; thin (2 to 3 inch) strata of brown (7.5YR 5/4) hemic material; herbaceous fibers; slightly acid.

TYPE LOCATION: Cherry County, Nebraska; about 20.8 kilometers (13 miles) west of the Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest Headquarters; 671 meters (2,200 feet) north and 91 meters (300 feet) west of the southeast corner of section 35, T. 32 N., R. 35 W. Medicine Lake topographic quadrangle; latitude 42 degrees, 42 minutes, 26 seconds North and longitude 101 degrees, 23 minutes, 35 seconds West.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Moisture regime: aquic
Depth to redoximorphic features: 0 to 46 centimeters (0 to 18 inches)
Endosaturation depth: 0 to 46 centimeters (0 to 18 inches)
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral
Thickness of organic layers: 130 centimeters (51 inches)
Some pedons are underlain with mineral soils below 130 centimeters (51 inches).
Some pedons have layers (3 to 25 centimeters (1 to 10 inches) thick) of sapric or fibric materials above 130 centimeters (51 inches)

Oe:
Hue: 2.5Y, 10YR, 7.5YR
Value: 2 or 3
Chroma: 0 to 2
Structure: granular, massive
Some pedons have a few thin mineral layers.

Oa:
Hue: 7.5YR, 10YR
Value: 2 to 5
Chroma: 0 to 4
Structure: platy, subangular blocky, massive

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Boots and McMurray series.
The Boots soils contain more woody material within the profile.
McMurray soils contain more woody material within the profile.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent materials: herbaceous organic materials
Landscape: sandhills
Landform: fens on interdunes
Slopes: 0 to 2 percent
Mean annual precipitation: 43 to 61 centimeters (17 to 24 inches)
Mean annual temperature: 8 to 10 degrees C. (46 to 50 degrees F.)

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Elsmere, Gannett, Gus, Loup, Marlake and Valentine soils.
These are all mineral soils.
Elsmere soils are on higher swales on interdunes and are somewhat poorly drained having a seasonal zone of saturation or aquic conditions beginning at 46 centimeters (18 inches).
Gannett, Gus and Loup soils are on similar swales on interdunes.
Marlake soils are in lower depressions on interdunes and are very poorly drained having a seasonal zone of saturation or aquic conditions beginning at the surface and having ponding up to 61 centimeters (24 inches).
Valentine soils are on dunes and are excessively drained having no seasonal zone of saturation or aquic conditions.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage: very poorly drained
Runoff: negligible
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: high
Ponding frequency: frequent
Ponding duration: long with a depth of up to15 centimeters (6 inches)

USE AND VEGETATION: The major uses are livestock grazing, haying and habitat for wildlife. The rangeland native plant community for the wetland ecological site (R065XY022NE) is mostly prairie cordgrass, northern reedgrass, marsh muhly, sedge, and rush. Some areas have been seeded to reed canarygrass.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Nearly all in the Sandhills of Nebraska and South Dakota (LRR G, MLRA 65). The series is of small extent.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Denver, Colorado

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Cherry County, Nebraska, 1995.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Surface tier: hemic soil material, 0 to 30 centimeters (12 inches), approximately the Oe1 horizon
Subsurface tier: hemic soil material, 30 to 91 centimeters (12 to 36 inches), approximately the Oe2, Oe3, and Oe4 horizons
Bottom tier: hemic soil material, (91 to 130 centimeters (36 to 51 inches), approximately the Oe5 horizon
Aquic soil conditions: 25 to 200 centimeters (10 to 79 inches) (Oe1, Oe2, Oe3, Oe4, Oe5, and Oa horizons)
Cutcomb soils were formerly mapped as Muck or Peat in Cherry County.
JCW 2005: Changed taxonomic class to Euic, mesic Typic Haplohemists as to changes in Soil Taxonomy
RRH 8/2007: Introductory paragraph: revised landform and landscape; Typical Pedon: revised introductory paragraph, Oe horizons: changed hemic materials to mucky peat, Oa: change sapric materials to muck; Range in Characteristics: Oe1 horizon: reaction: changed from slightly acid to moderately acid to agree with SSL data; Competing Series to Additional Data: revised
RRH 3/2009: Introductory paragraph and Geographic Setting: Changed swale to fen.

ADDITIONAL DATA: Data is available from the National Soil Survey Center, Soil Survey Laboratory for Pedon IDs 86NE031094, 86NE031095 and 87NE031105. Pedon ID 83NE031095 represents the Typical Pedon.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.