LOCATION KNAUERS PAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy over sandy or sandy-skeletal, mixed, active, nonacid, mesic Typic Fluvaquents
TYPICAL PEDON: Knauers silt loam, in a pasture. (Colors are for moist soils unless otherwise noted)
A--0 to 8 inches; dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) silt loam; moderate fine and medium granular structure; friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; 5 percent rounded gravel; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (5 to 10 inches).
Bg1--8 to 17 inches; gray (10YR 5/1) silt loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; common fine distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) masses of oxidized iron and many medium and coarse prominent reddish brown (5YR 5/4) iron-manganese masses; 5 percent rounded gravel; strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (8 to 20 inches)
Bg2--17 to 24 inches; gray (10YR 5/1) gravelly sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; common medium prominent reddish brown (5YR 5/4) iron-manganese masses; 20 percent rounded gravel; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
2Cg--24 to 72 inches; gray (10YR 5/1) very gravelly sand; massive; loose, nonsticky, nonplastic; 40 percent rounded gravel; strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Berks County, Pennsylvania, Robeson Township, 3.9 miles south of Mt. Penn, 6100 feet northeast of Green Hills Lake dam, 400 feet south of route 568, 140 feet south of Allegheny Creek, and 300 feet east of the driveway, in the woods. USGS Reading Quadrangle; Lat. 40 degrees 16 minutes 18 seconds N and long. 75 degrees 53 minutes 17 seconds W.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of solum ranges from 20 to 36 inches. Depth to sandy textures is less than 40 inches. Depth to bedrock is greater than 72 inches. Rock fragments range from 0 to 35 percent in the solum and 35 to 70 percent in the substratum. The soil is strongly acid through slightly acid throughout
The A or Ap horizon have hue of 7.5YR to 5YR, value of 3 to 4, and chroma of 1 or 2. It is silt loam or loam in the fine-earth fraction. Structure is weak or moderate granular and consistence is very friable or friable. Reaction ranges from strongly acid through slightly acid.
The B horizon has hue of 5 YR to 10YR, value of 3 to 6, and chroma of 2 or less with redoximorphic concentrations of iron and manganese. It is silt loam, loam, silty clay loam, clay loam or sandy loam in the fine-earth fraction, usually becoming sandier with increasing depth. Structure is subanglular blocky, prismatic, or granular and consistence is very friable or friable. Reaction ranges from strongly acid though slightly acid.
The C horizon has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 or less. It is loamy sand or sand in the fine-earth fraction. It is massive or single grain, and consistence is loose. Reaction ranges from strongly acid through slightly acid.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no other series in the same family. Sunny and Wyalusing are similar soils in related families. Both have less than 18 percent clay in the control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Knauers soils are on poorly drained floodplains in slightly depressional back water positions on the floodplain. They are nearly level.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: The somewhat poorly drained Bowmansville and moderately well drained Rowland soils are on adjacent floodplains. Bowmansville soils do not have dominant chroma of 2 or less directly under the Ap horizon or contrasting materials within 40 inches. Rowland soils do not have B horizons with dominant matrix chromas of 2 or less.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Poorly drained. Runoff is slow to ponded. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high and high in the A and B horizons, and high to very high in the C horizon
USE AND VEGETATION: Approximately 60 percent of the Knauers soils are in pasture. Wooded areas are in mixed hardwood trees.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Pennsylvania. The series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Berks County, Pennsylvania.
Remarks: Some areas were formerly mapped as Bowmansville. This series was established to separate the poorly drained portions of Bowmansville in some surveys and map units that classify as Typic Fluvaquents and have sandy particle size at less than 40 inches.
Diagnostic horizons recognized in this pedon are:
a. Ochric epipedon - the zone from 0 to 8 inches (A horizon)
b. Fluvaquent feature - The organic carbon is greater than .2 percent above the sandy C horizon and the dominant chroma of the B horizon is 2 with mottling.
2/2008 Revision updates pedon description. Prior revision 7/1997- NJC - EAW