LOCATION ERNEST PA+MD OH VA WVEstablished Series
MLRAs: 124 (Western Allegheny Plateau); 126 (Central Allegheny Plateau); 127 (Eastern Allegheny Plateau and Mountains); 128 (Southern Appalachian Ridges and Valleys); 147 (Northern Appalachian Ridges and Valleys)
Depth Class: Very deep
Drainage Class (Agricultural): Moderately well or somewhat poorly drained
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity Class: Moderately low
Landscape: Upland
Parent Material: Colluvium derived from acid shale, siltstone and sandstone
Slope: 0 to 50 percent
Mean Annual Air Temperature (type location): 8.7 degrees C. (48 degrees F.)
Mean Annual Precipitation (type location): 1090 mm (43 inches)
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Aquic Fragiudults
TYPICAL PEDON: Ernest silt loam in a cultivated field. (Colors are for moist soil
unless otherwise indicated.)
Ap-- 0 to 28 cm (0 to 11 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) silt loam; friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; common very fine and fine roots throughout; 5 percent subangular acid shale fragments; neutral (pH 6.6); abrupt smooth boundary. (13 to 30 cm thick)
Bt1-- 28 to 41 cm (11 to 16 inches); light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) silt loam; firm, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few very fine and fine roots throughout; 30 percent prominent clay films on faces of peds and in pores; 5 percent subangular acid shale fragments; slightly acid, (pH 6.2); clear wavy boundary.
Bt2-- 41 to 76 cm (16 to 30 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) silt loam; firm, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few very fine and fine roots throughout; 10 percent prominent manganese or iron-manganese stains on faces of peds and 50 percent prominent clay films on faces of peds and in pores; 10 percent medium distinct irregular brown (7.5YR 5/4) masses of oxidized iron in matrix surrounding redox depletions and 30 percent medium prominent irregular pinkish gray (7.5YR 6/2) masses of reduced iron on faces of peds; 10 percent subangular acid shale fragments; moderately acid, (pH 5.6); clear wavy boundary. (combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 15 to 74 cm)
Btx1-- 76 to 94 cm (30 to 37 inches); yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) channery silt loam; moderate very coarse prismatic structure, and moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few very fine and fine roots between peds; 10 percent prominent manganese or iron-manganese stains on faces of peds and 60 percent prominent clay films on faces of peds and in pores; 10 percent medium distinct irregular strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of oxidized iron in matrix surrounding redox depletions and 25 percent medium prominent irregular light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) masses of reduced iron on faces of peds; 15 percent subangular acid shale fragments; strongly acid, (pH 5.4); clear wavy boundary.
Btx2-- 94 to 160 cm (37 to 63 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) channery silt loam; strong very coarse prismatic structure, and weak medium subangular blocky structure; very firm, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; 5 percent prominent manganese or iron-manganese stains on faces of peds and 25 percent prominent clay films on faces of peds; 10 percent coarse prominent irregular light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) masses of reduced iron on faces of peds and 10 percent coarse distinct irregular brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) masses of oxidized iron in matrix surrounding redox depletions; 20 percent subangular acid shale fragments; strongly acid, (pH 5.4); gradual wavy boundary. (combined thickness of the Btx horizon is 25 to 102 cm)
C-- 160 to 200 cm (63 to 79 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) very channery silt loam; massive; very firm, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; 15 percent prominent clay films on faces of peds; 5 percent coarse distinct irregular brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) masses of oxidized iron throughout and 5 percent coarse prominent irregular light gray (10YR 7/2) masses of reduced iron throughout; 45 percent subangular acid shale fragments; strongly acid, (pH 5.4).
TYPE LOCATION: Armstrong County, PA; about 1/2 mile southwest of Dayton in Wayne Township. Approximately 2750 feet west of the intersection of PA839 and PA1022 and 1200 feet northwest of the intersection of T603 and T805. USGS Plumville, PA topographic quadrangle; latitude 40 degrees 52 minutes 17.8 seconds N. and longitude 79 degrees 14 minutes 45.8 seconds W. NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to the top of the Fragipan: 51 to 91 cm (20 to 36 inches)
Solum Thickness: 91 to 183 cm (36 to 72 inches)
Depth to Bedrock: Greater than 152 cm (60 inches)
Depth to Seasonal High Water Table: 30 to 76 cm (12 to 30 inches), November to April
Rock Fragment content: Fragments of shale, siltstone, or fine-grained sandstone range from 0 to 25 percent in the A horizon; 0 to 30 percent in the BA and individual subhorizons of the Bt horizon; 5 to 45 percent in the Btx horizon; and 5 to 50 percent in the C horizon.
Soil Reaction: Very strongly acid to strongly acid, except where limed
RANGE OF INDIVIDUAL HORIZONS:
Ap horizon:
Color -- hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 through 4
Texture (fine-earth fraction) -- silt loam
A horizon (if it occurs):
Thickness -- 3 to 13 cm (1 to 5 inches)
Color -- hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 or 2
Texture (fine-earth fraction) -- silt loam
E horizon (if it occurs):
Thickness -- 5 to 10 cm (2 to 4 inches)
Color -- hue of 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 through 4
Texture (fine-earth fraction) -- silt loam
Bt horizon:
Color -- hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 through 6, and chroma of 3 through 8
Texture (fine-earth fraction) -- silt loam with less than 20 percent sand or silty clay loam
Redoximorphic features -- iron masses in shade of red, yellow, or brown and iron depletions in shades of brown, yellow, olive, or gray are within the upper 25 cm (10 inches) of the argillic horizon
Structure -- weak or moderate, fine to coarse subangular blocky structure. In some pedons, the argillic horizon has prismatic structure that parts to subangular blocky structure
Btx horizon:
Color -- hue of 7.5YR through 2.5Y, value of 4 through 6, and chroma of 2 through 8
Texture (fine-earth fraction) -- silt loam, loam, clay loam, or silty clay loam
Redoximorphic features -- iron masses in shade of red, yellow, or brown and iron depletions in shades of brown, yellow, olive, or gray are present
Structure -- weak, very coarse prismatic structure parting to subangular blocky or platy structure
C horizon:
Color -- hue of 10YR, 7.5YR, or 2.5Y, value of 4 through 7, and chroma of 2 through 6
Texture (fine-earth fraction) -- silt loam, loam, clay loam, silty clay loam, or silty clay
COMPETING SERIES:
Belvoir soils -- have a Bt horizon with more than 20 percent sand and less silt than is typical for Ernest soils and contain crystalline rock fragments.
Buchanan soils -- have a Bt horizon with more than 20 percent sand and less silt than is typical for Ernest soils.
Calverton soils -- have soft, weathered Triassic-age bedrock at a depth of 102 to 152 cm (40 to 60 inches).
Cookport soils -- have a Bt horizon with more than 20 percent sand and less silt than is typical for Ernest soils.
Glenville soils -- have fragments of schist and quartzite.
Kedron soils -- have a Bt horizon with the hue redder than 5YR.
Raritan soils -- have water-rounded rock fragments and non-conforming parent materials below a depth of 102 cm (40 inches).
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: Uplands
Landform: Hillslope
Hillslope Profile Position: Footslope
Geomorphic Component: Headslope, baseslope
Parent Material: Colluvium derived from acid shale, siltstone and fine-grained sandstone
Slope: 0 to 50 percent
Elevation: 113 to 914 meters (370 to 3000 feet)
Frost-free period: 120 to 180 days
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 8 to 13 degrees C. (47 to 55 degrees F.)
Mean Annual Precipitation: 813 to 1651 mm (32 to 65 inches)
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Berks soils -- have bedrock at depths of 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches) and lack a fragipan
Brinkerton soils -- are in a fine-silty family and have base saturation greater than 35 percent at a depth of 75 cm below the top of the fragipan.
Clymer soils -- lack a fragipan and have more than 20 percent sand in the particle-size control section
Dekalb soils -- have bedrock at depths of 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches) and lack a fragipan
Gilpin soils -- have bedrock at depths of 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches) and lack a fragipan
Rayne soils -- lack a fragipan and low chroma redoximorphic features in the upper 25 cm (10 inches) of the argillic horizon
Shelocta soils -- lack a fragipan and low chroma redoximorphic features in the upper 25 cm (10 inches) of the argillic horizon
Wharton soils -- lack a fragipan
Weikert soils -- have bedrock at depths of 25 to 51 cm (10 to 20 inches) and lack a fragipan
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage Class (Agricultural): Moderately well and somewhat poorly drained
Internal Free Water Occurrence: Very thin or thin (10 to 51 cm thick); shallow to moderately deep (30 to 76 cm from the surface); common (present 3 to 6 months).
Flooding Frequency and Duration: None
Ponding Frequency and Duration: None
Index Surface Runoff Class: Low to high
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity Class: Moderately high to high above the fragipan; moderately low to moderately high in the fragipan and below.
Permeability Class: Moderate above the fragipan; moderately slow to slow in the fragipan and below.
Shrink-swell Potential: Moderate
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: Much of the acreage of Ernest soils is cleared and used for pasture and crops. Some acreage is wooded.
Dominant Vegetation: Where cultivated -- corn, small grains, soybeans, hay. Where wooded -- mixed hardwoods with some white pine and hemlock
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia. MLRAs 124, 126, 127, 128, and 147.
Extent: Large
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Indiana County, Pennsylvania, 1931.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and soil characteristics recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon -- the zone from 0 to 28 cm (Ap horizon)
Argillic horizon -- the zone from 28 to 160 cm (Bt and Btx horizons)
Fragipan -- the zone from 76 to 160 cm
Aquic conditions -- the soil has redox depletions and concentrations within the upper 25 cm of the argillic horizon, with periodic saturation and reduction at some time during the year if precipitation is within normal ranges.
Other soil features identified with this pedon:
Series control section -- the zone from 0 to 160 cm
The 09/2008 revision moves the Type Location and Typical Pedon for the series from Fayette County, West Virginia to Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. It also revises the format, updates the competing and geographically associated soils, adds saturated hydraulic conductivity class, and adds somewhat poorly drained to the agricultural drainage class.
Based on a review of 31 typifying pedon (TP) descriptionsthroughout MO-13, 23 descriptions (74%) had a depth to low chroma redox features of 17 inches or less, while 8 (26%) had a depth of 18 inches or more. Mean depth was 16.7 inches. These data support a somewhat poorly drained (SPD) class as well as amoderately well drained (MWD) class. Given the relatively narrow depths for MWD soils within the Aquic Fragiudults taxonomic subgroup, these landforms generally have SPD and MWD soils intermingled. Additionally, dual drainage classes have been maintained in other soil series such as Buchanan and Calverton, which have the same taxonomic subgroup.
Previous revisions: AWD-WRK-ART 05/1999