LOCATION HICKORYKNOB VAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, subactive, mesic Typic Hapludults
TYPICAL PEDON: Hickoryknob loam, on a 35 percent slope, in mixed hardwood and pine woodland (Colors are for moist soil, unless otherwise indicated.)
Oe--0 to 1 inch; intermediately decomposed organic materials; abrupt smooth boundary.
A--1 to 4 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) loam; weak very fine granular structure; very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine and fine roots; 5 percent subangular quartz gravels; extremely acid (pH 4.3); clear smooth boundary. (2 to 8 inches thick)
Bt1--4 to 13 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) channery loam; weak very fine and fine subangular blocky structure; friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; few very fine through coarse roots; many faint clay films on faces of peds; few fine and common very fine flakes of mica; 15 percent subangular mica schist channers; extremely acid (pH 4.4); clear smooth boundary.
Bt2--13 to 23 inches; yellowish red (5YR 4/6) channery clay loam; moderate very fine and fine subangular blocky structure; friable, slightly sticky and slightly plastic; few very fine through medium roots; many distinct clay films on faces of peds; few fine and common very fine flakes of mica; 25 percent mica schist channers; very strongly acid (pH 4.7); clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 15 to 35 inches.)
Cr--23 to 36 inches; soft, mica schist; moderately cemented; moderate excavation difficulty; abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 20 inches thick)
R--36 inches; hard, mica schist; very strongly cemented; very high excavation difficulty.
TYPE LOCATION: Franklin County, Virginia; located 7200 feet north 58 degrees east of the intersection of State Route 619 and 854; in woodland; USGS Gladehill, VA topographic quadrangle; lat. 36 degrees 54 minutes 09.20 seconds N. and long. 79 degrees 45 minutes 51.70 seconds W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to top of the Argillic horizon: 2 to 10 inches
Depth to the base of the Argillic horizon: 15 to 40 inches
Depth to Bedrock: 20 to 40 inches to soft and hard bedrock
Thickness of Argillic horizon: 10 to 35 inches
Depth to Seasonal High Water Table: Greater than 72 inches
Soil Reaction: Extremely acid to strongly acid, except where limed
Rock and Pararock Fragment Content: 0 to 35 percent, by volume
Organic Matter Content: 2 to 8 percent in the A horizon, 0.0 to 0.5 percent in the B and C horizons
(Effective) Cation Exchange Capacity: 2 to 15 milliequivalents per 100 grams of soil in the A horizon; 1 to 7 in B horizon; and 1 to 6 in the C horizon
Shrink-swell potential: Low
Mica content: 0 to 20 percent, by volume mica flakes in the A horizon, 2 to more than 20 percent in the B and C horizons
RANGE OF INDIVIDUAL HORIZONS:
A or Ap horizon:
Color--hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 or 5, chroma of 3 through 6
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--fine sandy loam or loam
Clay content--12 to 27 percent
BA or BAt horizon (where present):
Color--hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 or 5, chroma of 4 through 8
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--fine sandy loam or loam
Clay content--12 to 27 percent
Bt horizon:
Color--hue of 2.5YR through 10YR, value of 4 or 5, chroma of 4 through 8
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--loam or clay loam
Clay content--18 to 35 percent
BC or BCt horizon (where present):
Color--hue of 2.5YR through 10YR, value of 4 or 5, chroma of 4 through 8
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--fine sandy loam, loam or clay loam
Clay content--12 to 35 percent
C horizon (where present):
Color--hue of 2.5YR to 10YR, value of 4 or 5, chroma of 6 or 8
Texture (fine-earth fraction)--fine sandy loam or loam
Clay content--12 to 27 percent
COMPETING SERIES:
Lauada soils--are not underlain by hard bedrock and are in the Southern Blue
Ridge MLRA
Watauga soils--are very deep to bedrock and are in the Southern Blue Ridge MLRA
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: Piedmont
Landform: Ridges, hillslopes
Geomorphic Component: Interfluves, side slopes, head slopes
Hillslope Profile Position: Summits, shoulders, back slopes
Elevation Range: 800 to 1600 feet
Frost Free Period: 175 to 205 days
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 52 to 57 degrees F.
Mean Annual Precipitation: 40 to 65 inches
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Fairview soils--are fine-textured and very deep to bedrock
Rhodhiss soils--are very deep to bedrock
Stott Knob soils--are moderately deep to soft bedrock
Westfield soils--are fine-textured and deep to soft bedrock
Woolwine soils--are fine textured and moderately deep to soft bedrock and deep to hard bedrock
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY:
Agricultural Drainage Class: Well drained
Permeability: 0.6 to 6.0 inches per hour in the A horizon and 0.6 to 2.0 in the B and C horizon
Internal Free Water Occurrence: Very deep
Index Surface Runoff: Low to high
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: Woodland, small acreage in pasture, lawns, and gardens
Dominant Vegetation: Where wooded--scarlet oak, chestnut oak, eastern white pine, Virginia pine, and white oak.
Understory--mountain laurel, flowering dogwood, sourwood, and red maple
Where cultivated--corn, tobacco, small grain, and hay.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
Distribution: Virginia and possibly North Carolina
Extent: Moderate
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Raleigh, North Carolina.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Franklin County, Virginia, 2004.
REMARKS: Hickoryknob soils were previously mapped as Cowee soils. These soils are currently classified with mixed mineralogy, but have a grain count of more than 45 percent mica minerals in the mineralogy control section. It is anticipated once the 2008 taxonomy proposals are approved, Hickoryknob soils will be officially reclassified with micaceous mineralogy. A revision in the OSD will be issued once the change is incorporated in the next version of the Keys to Soil Taxonomy.
Diagnostic horizons and soil characteristics recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon--the zone from 1 to 4 inches (A horizon)
Argillic horizon--the zone from 4 to 23 inches (Bt horizon)
Paralithic contact--contact at 23 inches (Cr layer)
Lithic contact--contact at 36 inches (R layer)
Series control section--the zone from 0 to 33 inches
ADDITIONAL DATA:
Laboratory Data--Characterization data are available from NRCS-Soil Survey Laboratory, Lincoln, NE (Lab Pedon Number: 99P0264; User Pedon ID: 99VA067001)
Database Information: Data Mapunit ID: 103873