LOCATION DIXMONT ME+NY VTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, isotic, frigid Aquic Haplorthods
TYPICAL PEDON: Dixmont silt loam - on a 6 percent slope in a very stony wooded area. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 2 inches, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) silt loam, light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) dry; weak fine granular structure; friable; many fine and few coarse roots; 10 percent rock fragments; very strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary.
Bs1--2 to 8 inches, brown (7.5YR 4/4) silt loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure parting to weak medium granular; friable; many fine roots; 10 percent rock fragments; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bs2--8 to 13 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) gravelly silt loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure parting to weak medium granular; friable; few fine roots; 15 percent rock fragments; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bs3--13 to 20 inches; olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) silt loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure parting to weak fine and medium granular; friable; few fine roots; 10 percent rock fragments; many coarse prominent yellowish red (5YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation and many distinct grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) iron depletions; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (The combined thickness of the Bs horizon is 2 to 10 inches)
BC--20 to 26 inches, light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) silt loam; weak medium and thick platy structure; firm in place, friable when removed; 10 percent rock fragments; many coarse prominent light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) iron depletions; many fine prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) and coarse distinct light olive brown (2.5Y 5/6) masses of iron accumulation; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. (3 to 10 inches thick)
C--26 to 65 inches, olive (5Y 5/3) silt loam, strong very coarse prismatic structure parting to moderate medium and thick platy; firm; 10 percent rock fragments; many coarse prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation; moderately acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Waldo County, Maine; Town of Winterport; 0.75 mile from Whites Corner Road on Perkins Road, 150 feet south of Perkins Road.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum ranges from 18 to 28 inches. Depth to bedrock is more than 60 inches. Distinct to prominent redox features are below 7 inches from the mineral surface but within 30 inches. Rock fragments range from 5 to 35 percent by volume throughout the soil, with the gravel size predominating. Surface stoniness ranges from 0 to 10 percent. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to moderately acid in the solum and from strongly acid to neutral in the substratum.
The A, or Ap horizon where present, has hue of 10YR, value of 3 or 4, and chroma of 1 to 4. The Ap horizon is 4 to 9 inches thick. It has weak to moderate, fine to medium granular structure. It is silt loam, loam, very fine sandy loam, or their gravelly analogs. Consistence is very friable or friable.
The E horizon, where present, is neutral or has hue of 10YR, value of 5 to 7, and chroma of 0 or 1. It has weak fine granular or weak thin platy structure. It is silt loam, loam, very fine sandy loam, or their gravelly analogs. Consistence is very friable or friable.
The upper part of the Bs horizon has hue of 2.5YR to 10YR, value of 2 to 5 and chroma of 3 to 8. It has weak or moderate, fine or medium granular or subangular blocky structure. The lower part of the Bs horizon has hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y with value and chroma of 3 to 6. It has weak or moderate, fine to coarse subangular blocky, weak thin to thick platy or weak fine or medium granular structure. The B horizons are silt loam, loam, very fine sandy loam, or their gravelly analogs.
The BC horizon has hue of 2.5Y or 5Y, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 2 to 6. It has weak or moderate, thin to thick platy or moderate or strong, coarse or very coarse prismatic structure. Consistence ranges from friable to firm.
The C horizon has hue of 2.5Y or 5Y, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 2 to 4. It is silt loam, loam or their gravelly analogs. It ranges from moderate or strong very coarse prismatic, parting to weak to strong, medium or thick platy, or fine or medium subangular blocky structure, or the C horizon is massive. Consistence is friable or firm. It has few to many films on faces of peds.
COMPETING SERIES: The Chesuncook, Colonel, Crary, Dixfield, Mundal, Peru, Skerry, Sunapee, Telos, and Worden series are in the same family. All these soils have dense basal till substratums except Sunapee. Sunapee soils have coarser textures with less than 50 percent silt in the particle-size control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Dixmont soils are on till plains and ridges. Slope ranges from 0 to 25 percent, but is dominantly between 3 and 15 percent. The soils formed in glacial till derived mainly from slate, shale, and phyllite with small amounts of granite, fine grained quartzite, and sandstone. The mean annual air temperature ranges from 41 to 46 degrees F, and the mean annual precipitation ranges from 34 to 46 inches. The frost-free season ranges from 100 to 150 days. Elevation ranges from 10 to 1000 feet above mean sea level.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Bangor, Burnham, Monarda, and Thorndike soils. Bangor soils are well drained, and are in higher positions on the landscape. Burnham soils are very poorly drained, and are in the lowest positions on the landscape. Monarda soils are poorly drained, and are in lower positions on the landscape. Thorndike soils are somewhat excessively drained, have bedrock within 20 inches of the surface, and are in higher positions on the landscape.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well and somewhat poorly drained. Permeability is moderate in the A and upper part of the B horizons, and moderately slow or slow in the lower B and C horizons.
USE AND VEGETATION: Mostly forested. Common tree species include white pine, northern hardwoods, spruce, and fir. A few small areas have been cleared of trees and stones, and are used for growing forage crops.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central and northern Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont; MLRAs 143 and 144B. The soil is of large extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Waldo County, Maine, 1940.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
a. Ochric epipedon - the zone from 0 to 2 inches (A horizon)
b. Spodic horizon - the zone from 2 to 8 inches (Bs1 horizon)
c. Aquic feature - redox features within a depth of 30 inches.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Source of data used in establishing taxonomic class and range in characteristics is Tech Bulletin 75, Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station, June 1975.
Soil Interpretation Record numbers for the Dixmont series are: Dixmont, ME0036; and Dixmont, stony, ME0037.