LOCATION LYME NH+ME NY VT
Established Series
Rev. SALP-HRM-RGD
05/2016
LYME SERIES
The Lyme series consists of very deep, poorly drained soils that formed in loamy melt-out till on hills and mountains in glaciated uplands. Estimated saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high or high in the mineral solum and moderately high to very high in the substratum. Slope ranges from 0 to 15 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 1180 mm, and the mean annual temperature is about 6 degrees C.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, active, acid, frigid Aeric Endoaquepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Lyme stony loam, on a 1 percent southeast facing slope in a forested upland drainageway. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted.)
Oe--0 to 3 cm; black (10YR 2/1); moderately decomposed plant material. (0 to 18 cm thick)
A--3 to 20 cm; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) stony loam; light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; weak medium granular structure; very friable; many fine, common medium, and few coarse roots; 5 percent gravel, 5 percent cobbles, and 10 percent stones; very strongly acid (pH 4.8); abrupt smooth boundary. (8 to 28 cm thick)
Bg1--20 to 33 cm; grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) cobbly sandy loam; weak fine and weak medium granular structure; very friable; few fine roots; many fine and many medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation and faint gray (5Y 5/1) and grayish brown (10YR 5/2) iron depletions; 10 percent gravel, 10 percent cobbles, and 5 percent stones; very strongly acid (pH 5.0); clear smooth boundary.
Bg2--33 to 66 cm; gray (5Y 5/1) cobbly sandy loam; massive; friable; many fine and many medium distinct olive (5Y 5/3) and common fine prominent dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) and brown (7.5YR 4/4) masses of iron accumulation; 15 percent gravel, 10 percent cobbles, and 5 percent stones; very strongly acid (pH 5.0); clear smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bg horizon is 13 to 64 cm.)
BC--66 to 79 cm; olive (5Y 5/3) cobbly sandy loam; massive; friable; common fine prominent brown (7.5YR 4/4) and many medium faint light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) masses of iron accumulation, and olive gray (5Y 5/2) iron depletions; 15 percent gravel, 10 percent cobbles, and 5 percent stones; strongly acid (pH 5.2); clear smooth boundary. (0 to 20 cm thick)
Cg--79 to 107 cm; gray (5Y 5/1) gravelly sandy loam; massive; friable; many coarse prominent dark red (2.5YR 3/6), red (2.5YR 5/6) and yellowish red (5YR 5/8) masses of iron accumulation; 12 percent gravel, 5 percent cobbles, and 2 percent stones; strongly acid (pH 5.2); abrupt smooth boundary.
C--107 to 165 cm; olive (5Y 5/3) gravelly sandy loam; massive; friable; few fine prominent light olive brown (2.5Y 5/6) masses of iron accumulation and few fine faint pale olive (5Y 6/3) iron depletions; 12 percent gravel, 5 percent cobbles, and 2 percent stones; strongly acid (pH 5.4).
TYPE LOCATION: Sullivan County, New Hampshire; Town of Lempster, 2092 feet northeast of the intersection of Huntley road and Sand Pond road, and 1390 feet northwest of the intersection of South road and Kempton road. USGS East Lempster, NH topographic quadrangle; Latitude 43 degrees, 11 minutes, 11.19 seconds N., and Longitude 72 degrees, 11 minutes, 3.51 seconds W., WGS 1984.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum ranges from 38 to 91 cm. Depth to bedrock is greater than 165 cm. Texture of the fine earth fraction of the mineral solum is loam, sandy loam, or fine sandy loam. Texture of the fine earth fraction of the mineral substratum is sandy loam or fine sandy loam. Some pedons have loamy sand or loamy coarse sand textures below 75 cm. Rock fragments range from 5 to 30 percent of the mineral solum and from 10 to 35 percent in the substratum. Unless limed, reaction is very strongly acid or strongly acid throughout. Consistence is very friable or friable when moist.
The O horizon, where present, is neutral or has hue of 2.5YR to 10YR, value of 2 to 3 and chroma of 0 to 2, and consists of slightly, intermediately, and/or highly decomposed organic material.
The A or Ap horizon has hue of 5YR to 2.5Y, value of 2 to 3, and chroma of 1 or 2. Dry value is 5 or 6.
Some pedons have a Bw horizon that has hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 3 or 4.
The Bg horizon is neutral or has hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma 0 to 2.
The BC horizon, where present, is neutral or has hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 4.
The C horizon has hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma 1 to 4.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no other series in the same family.
The
Pillsbury,
Suny, and
Brayton series are in related families. They have substrata of densic material. Suny soils also have episaturation.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Lyme soils are on nearly level to strongly sloping areas in slightly concave areas and shallow drainageways of glaciated uplands. The soils formed in late, Wisconsin aged melt-out till derived mainly from granite, gneiss, and schist. Slopes range from 0 to 15 percent. The Mean annual precipitation ranges from 790 to 1640 mm, and the mean annual soil temperature is 2 to 7 degrees C. The frost-free season ranges from 90 to 140 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Berkshire,
Marlow,
Monadnock,
Peru,
Skerry, and
Sunapee soils. The Lyme soils are in a drainage sequence with the moderately well drained Sunapee soils and the well drained Monadnock and Berkshire soils. the well drained Marlow soils and the moderately well drained Peru and Skerry soils formed in lodgment till. The excessively drained
Colton, well drained
Adams, moderately well drained
Croghan, and somewhat poorly to poorly drained
Moosilauke and
Naumburg soils are nearby soils that formed in water sorted sands and gravel.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Poorly drained. Estimated saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high or high in the mineral solum and moderately high to very high in the substratum. The water table is at or near the surface for 7 to 9 months in most years.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are forested with water tolerant trees. Common species include balsam fir, red maple, eastern white pine, and red spruce. Areas cleared of surface stones are used primarily for hay or pasture.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Maine, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont; MLRAs 143 and 144B. The series is of large extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Sullivan County, New Hampshire, 1981.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from 0 to 20 cm (Oe and A horizon).
Cambic horizon - the zone from 20 to 79 cm (Bg1, Bg2, and BC horizons).
Aquepts feature - horizons at a depth less than 50 cm that have matrix chroma of 2 or less with redox concentrations (Bg1 and Bg2 horizons).
Aeric feature - horizon within the upper 75 cm that has chroma greater than 2 (BC horizon).
ADDITIONAL DATA: Characterization data for Lyme and similar soils is available through the National Cooperative Soil Survey Soil Characterization Database: http://ncsslabdatamart.sc.egov.usda.gov/
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.