LOCATION KEMUK                   AK

Established Series
SAS/TJR/SJN
05/2022

KEMUK SERIES

The Kemuk series consists of very deep, poorly drained soils formed in organic material over loess on talfs of plains. Slopes range from 0 to 4 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 650 millimeters and the mean annual air temperature is about 0.6 degree C.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-silty, mixed, superactive, acid, subgelic Histic Gelaquepts

TYPICAL PEDON: Kemuk mucky peat, located on a plain talf with a slope of 2 percent and elevation of 52 meters; when described on August 2nd, 2006 the soil was saturated throughout (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted)

Oe--0 to 27 cm; mucky peat; many very fine and fine roots, common medium roots, and few coarse roots; very strongly acid (pH 4.8); gradual smooth boundary

Ag--27 to 40 cm; 50 percent very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) and 50 percent very dark gray (10YR 3/1) silt loam; 24 percent sand; 66 percent silt; 10 percent clay; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; few very fine and fine roots, few medium roots, and few coarse roots; strongly acid (pH 5.1); gradual wavy boundary

Cg--40 to 183 cm; 65 percent gray (5Y 5/1) silt loam; 25 percent sand; 67 percent silt; 8 percent clay; massive; friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; few very fine and fine roots, few medium roots, and few coarse roots; 35 percent coarse dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist, masses of reduced iron with diffuse boundaries; strongly acid (pH 5.4)

TYPE LOCATION: Dillingham Census Area, Alaska; 2 kilometers west of the Village of Ekwok; 59.3505556 degrees north latitude and 157.5188889 degrees west longitude.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mean annual soil temperature - About -0.1 degree C (gelic soil temperature regime)
Soil moisture control section - Soil is wet at a shallow depth for much of the growing season in most years (aquic soil moisture regime)
Thickness of histic epipedon - 20 to 36 cm
Depth to aquic conditions - 0 cm
Depth to reduced matrix - 20 to 36 cm

All mineral horizons-
Reaction - 4.6 to 5.4

Particle-size control section-
Clay content - 5 to 10 percent
Rock fragments - 0 percent

Oe horizon
Thickness - 20 to 36 cm

Ag horizon
Hue - 7.5YR or 10YR
Value - 2 or 3
Chroma - 1 or 2
Fine earth texture - Silt loam
Clay content - 5 to 10 percent
Reaction - 4.6 to 5.4
Rock fragments - 0 percent
Thickness - 5 to 72 cm

Cg horizon
Hue - 2.5Y to 5BG
Value - 4 to 6
Chroma - 1 or 2
Fine earth texture - Silt loam or very fine sandy loam
Clay content - 5 to 10 percent
Reaction - 4.8 to 5.4
Rock fragments - 0 percent
Thickness - 88 to 155 cm

COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material - Mossy organic material over coarse-silty loess
Landform - Talfs on plains
Slope - 0 to 4 percent
Elevation - 34 to 117 meters
Climate - Short, cool summers; long, cold winters
Mean annual precipitation - 622 to 881 mm
Mean annual air temperature - 0.2 to 0.6 degrees C
Frost free duration - 85 to 140 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Ekwok - No histic epipedon or aquic conditions present, hills and rises on plains
Klutuk - No histic epipedon or aquic conditions present, hills and rises on plains
Egtuk - No histic epipedon, moderately well drained, similar landform position
Pellernarquq - No histic epipedon present, organic soil, dips and talfs on plains

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: (Ksat)
Drainage class - Poorly drained
Saturation in normal years - Above 36 cm for all months
Flooding - None
Ponding - Frequent and very long
Ksat - Moderately slow to moderately high in the mineral soil material, moderately high to high in the Oe horizon

USE AND VEGETATION:
Use - Wildlife habitat
Potential natural vegetation - Western Maritime tussocks composed of marsh Labrador tea, dwarf birch, tussock cottongrass, water sedge, sphagnum moss, and lichens

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Bristol Bay Lowlands; MLRA 236; small extent

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: WASILLA, ALASKA

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Nushagak-Mulchatna Watershed Soil Survey, Dillingham Census Area, Alaska, 2019

REMARKS:
Particle-size control section - 52 to 127 cm
Histic epipedon
Soil moisture regime - Aquic
Aquic conditions - All horizons
Reduced matrix - Ag and Cg horizons
Lab pedons - S08AK070009; 08SS28404

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.