LOCATION MACOVE                  VA+PA WV

Established Series
Rev. EPE
11/2021

MACOVE SERIES


Soils of the Macove series are very deep and well drained. They formed in colluvium from acid shale and fine grain sandstone. They are on nearly level to steep mountain foot slopes and benches. Slopes range from 0 to 65 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 42 inches. Mean annual temperature is about 55 degrees F.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, active, mesic Typic Hapludults

TYPICAL PEDON: Macove gravelly silt loam - Forested. (Colors are for moist soil.)

Oi--0 to 1 inch; loose leaves and twigs

A--1 to 5 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) gravelly silt loam; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many fine and medium roots; 20 percent gravel; strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (1 to 6 inches thick)

E--5 to 8 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) gravelly loam; weak fine granular and subangular blocky structure; very friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; common fine and medium roots; 20 percent gravel; strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (2 to 10 inches thick)

BE--8 to 16 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) very gravelly loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; nonsticky, nonplastic; common fine and medium roots; 35 percent gravel and channers; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)

Bt1--16 to 24 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) very gravelly loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; few fine roots; few faint discontinuous clay films on ped faces; 40 percent gravel and channers; very strongly acid; gradual boundary.

Bt2--24 to 37 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) and yellowish red (5YR 4/6) very gravelly silt loam; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; few very fine roots; few faint discontinuous clay films on ped faces; 50 percent gravel and channers; very strongly acid; gradual smooth boundary.

Bt3--37 to 66 inches; brown (7.5YR 5/4) and yellowish red (5YR 4/6) extremely gravelly silt loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable, nonsticky, non-plastic; few faint discontinuous clay films on ped faces; 60 percent gravel and channers; very strongly acid. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 35 to 60 inches)

TYPE LOCATION: Roanoke County, Virginia, about .5 mile southwest of intersection of VA-622 and 700; 35 feet west of VA-700.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 30 to more than 60 inches. Depth to bedrock is more than 60 inches. Rock fragments range from 10 to 40 percent in the A and E horizons and 15 to 75 percent in the BE and Bt horizons. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid through moderately acid, unless limed.

The A horizon has a hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 2 through 4, and chroma of 2 or 3. It is loam or silt loam in the fine earth fraction.

The E horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 3 through 6. It is loam or silt loam in the fine earth fraction.

The BE horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 3 through 6, and chroma of 4 through 8. It is loam, silt loam, or silty clay loam in the fine earth fraction.

The Bt horizon has hue of 5YR through 10YR, value of 4 through 6, and chroma of 4 through 8. Some pedons may have accumulations of iron masses of high value and chroma. It is loam, silt loam, or silty clay loam in the fine earth fraction.

The C horizon, where present, has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 4 through 6, and chroma of 4 through 8. It is loam or silt loam in the fine-earth fraction.

COMPETING SERIES: These are the tenative Blackthorn, Croom, Elliber, Gainesboro, Hartleton, Irondale, Lew, Mertz, Pattenburg, Trevlac, and Weverton series in the same family. Grimsley, Joppa and Pocono soils are in closely related families. Croom soils are dominated by sand in the fine earth fraction and have a very firm, extremely hard Bt horizon. Elliber and Mertz soils have rock fragments dominated by chert. Gainesboro, Irondale and Lew soils are moderately deep. Grimsley, Joppa ad Pocono soils have siliceous mineralogy. Hartleton soils are formed in glacial till derived from sandstone and shale. Lew soils have rock fragments dominated by greenstone. Pattenburg and Gainesboro soils have redder hues in the Bt horizon. Trevlac soils are deep and formed in residuum weathered from interbedded siltstone, sandstone and shale bedrock. Weverton soils are deep and have rock fragments dominated by quartzite.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Macove soils formed in colluvium derived from shale, siltstone and fine grain sandstone of the adjacent uplands. Slopes range from 0 to 65 percent but are commonly 2 to 15 percent. They are on mountain foot slopes and benches. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 38 to 48 inches. Mean annual temperature ranges from 54 to 57 degrees F.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Berks, Dekalb, Gilpin, Shelocta, and Weikert soils. The Berks, Dekalb, and Gilpin are moderately deep. Shelocta soils have fewer rock fragments in the control section. The Weikert soils are shallow.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Permeability is moderately rapid. Runoff is medium to moderately rapid.

USE AND VEGETATION: Native vegetation is mixed hardwoods and pines. Some areas are use for pasture.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Applachian Ridge and Valley areas of Virginia, West Virginia, and possibly Tennessee. The series is of moderate extent.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Roanoke County, Virginia, 1990.

REMARKS: Macove soils have been included in the Shelocta series in the past.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:

a. Ochric epipedon - 0 to 16 inches. (Oi, A, E, and BE horizons)
b. Argillic horizon - 16 to 66 inches. (Bt horizon)
c. Skeletal feature - More than 35 percent rock fragments in the particle-size control section.

Additional Lab Data: Chemical and physical data available for the typical pedon 88-161-17-(3-6) by Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

SIR = VA0320 MLRA = 128 REVISED 11/2/93, MHC


National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.