LOCATION NAUKATI AK
Established Series
Rev. TDG/JPM
05/2022
NAUKATI SERIES
The Naukati series consists of shallow, moderately well and well drained soils formed in residuum from red sedimentary rock and underlain by bedrock at less than 20 inches. These soils occur on gently sloping to sloping lowland rolling hills. The mean annual precipitation is in excess of 100 inches and the mean annual temperature is about 45 degrees F. Slopes range from 5 to 10 percent.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive Lithic Humicryods
TYPICAL PEDON: Naukati silt loam - on a west facing slope of 5 percent under western hemlock and Sitka spruce at an elevation of 50 feet. (All colors are for moist soil).
Oi--5 to 3 inches; peat consisting of living mosses and undecomposed twigs, needles, and cones. (1 to 3 inches thick)
Oe--3 to 0 inches; reddish black (10YR 2/1) mucky peat; friable; many very fine, fine, medium and coarse roots; extremely acid (pH 3.5); abrupt smooth boundary (1 to 12 inches thick)
E--0 to 2 inches; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silt loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; 5 percent gravel; few very fine roots; very strongly acid (pH 4.5); abrupt broken boundary. (1 to 3 inches thick)
Bhs--2 to 3 inches; dusky red (2.5YR 3/2) very gravelly silt loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; very friable; 45 percent gravel by volume; few fine and medium roots; very strongly acid (pH 4.5); clear wavy boundary (1 to 13 inches thick).
Bs--3 to 5 inches; dusky red (2.5YR 3/2) extremely gravelly silt loam; weak moderate subangular blocky structure; very friable; 80 percent gravel by volume; strongly acid (pH 5.0); clear smooth boundary. (2 to 7 inches thick).
C--5 to 16 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) extremely gravelly silt loam; massive; 80 percent gravel by volume; strongly acid (pH 5.0); gradual wavy boundary. (2 to 11 inches thick).
R--16 inches; reddish brown, highly fractured mudstone bedrock.
TYPE LOCATION: Gutchi Creek area, east of Naukati Bay, Prince of Wales Island, Alaska. NW 1/4, NE 1/4, section 22, T.69S., R.80E., Copper River meridian.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The thickness of the solum ranges from 4 to 14 inches. The depth to bedrock ranges from 8 to 20 inches. Coarse fragment content in the particle size control section ranges from 35 to 80 percent and is dominantly gravel. Reaction is moderately acid to extremely acid.
The E horizon has a hue from 10R through 10YR, value moist of 4 or 5, and chroma moist from 2 to 4. The coarse fragment content ranges from 0 to 15 percent. The E horizon is absent in some pedons.
The Bhs horizon has hue of 2.5YR or 5YR, value moist of 3 or 4, and chroma moist of 2 to 4. The coarse fragment content ranges from 15 to 80 percent. Reaction ranges from moderately acid to very strongly acid.
The Bs horizon has hue of 10R or 2.5YR, value moist of 3 or 4, and chroma moist from 2 to 6. The coarse fragment content ranges from 10 to 40 percent. Reaction ranges from moderately acid to very strongly acid.
The C horizon has hue from 2.5YR to 7.5YR, value moist of 3 or 4, and chroma moist from 3 to 6. The coarse fragment content ranges from 30 to 80 percent with 30 to 70 percent gravel and 0 to 10 percent cobbles. Reaction is moderately acid to very strongly acid. The C horizon is absent in some pedons.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Tolstoi and
Mosman series in the same family. Tolstoi soils have hue yellower than 5YR in the subsoil. The Mosman soils do not have C horizons.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Naukati soils occur on nearly level to gently sloping lowlands of wide valleys. The climate is humid maritime with a mean annual precipitation in excess of 100 inches. The mean annual air temperature is about 45 degrees F and the mean summer air temperature is about 55 degrees F. Dominant slope gradients range from 5 to 10 percent. Elevation ranges from sea level to 100 feet.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These include the
Kaikli,
Kina,
Kogish,
Maybeso and
Staney series. The Kaikli series are forested, poorly drained organic soils which occur on flat to gently sloping lowlands. The Kina soils are very deep, very poorly drained organic soils which are mostly non-forested. The Kogish soils are non-forested, very poorly drained organic soils derived mainly from sphagnum mosses. The Maybeso series are forested, poorly drained organic soils which developed over glacial till. The Staney series are very poorly drained sedge soils which occur along streams and rivers.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: M0moderately well and well drained. Moderately rapid permeability. Slow runoff.
USE AND VEGETATION: The Naukati soils are used for timber production, watershed protection, wildlife habitat, and recreation. Overstory vegetation includes western hemlock and Sitka spruce with smaller amounts of Alaska yellow-cedar and western redcedar. The understory is dominantly blue berry, rusty menziesia, bunchberry dogwood, five-leaf bramble, ferns and mosses.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southeast Alaska. The series is of minor extent.
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: WASILLA, ALASKA
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Ketchikan Area, Alaska. 1994.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this soil include: a spodic horizon from 2 ot 5 inches; assumed organic carbon content greater than 6 percent in the upper 4 inches of the spodic horizon; loamy-skeletal material within the particle size control section; a lithic contact at less than 20 inches; a cryic temperature regime.
The Naukati series was formerly classified as thixotropic-skeletal. Field data does not support thixotropic. The particle size of the control section has a significant relation to the physical and chemical properties of the soil.
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.