LOCATION NIZINA                  AK+WY

Established Series
Rev. MHC/JPM/DLM
05/2022

NIZINA SERIES

Depth class: very deep
Drainage class: somewhat excessively or excessively drained
Parent material: thin layer of loess and/or sandy alluvium overlying stratified sand and gravel
Landform: floodplains, floodplains on alluvial fans, floodplains on mountains, and low stream terraces
Slopes: 0 to 20 percent
Mean annual temperature: about 26 degrees F.
Mean annual precipitation: about 12 inches.

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy-skeletal, mixed Typic Cryorthents

TYPICAL PEDON: Nizina loamy fine sand - on a 2 percent slope under scattered white spruce and balsam poplar at 750 feet elevation. (Colors are for moist soil)

Oi--1 inch to 0; dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) slightly decomposed plant material; abrupt smooth boundary; horizon is intermittent with exposed cobble comprising 20 percent of soil surface. (0 to 3 inches thick)

A--0 to 4 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) loamy fine sand; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; many roots of all sizes; 10 percent cobble and gravel; neutral (pH 7.2); abrupt wavy boundary. (2 to 8 inches thick)

2C1--4 to 14 inches; very dark grayish brown (2.5Y 3/2) extremely gravelly sand with pockets and lenses of sand and fine sand; single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; common very fine and fine roots; 45 percent rounded gravel and 20 percent cobble; neutral (pH 7.2); undersides of coarse fragments weakly calcareous with occasional thin lime coatings; clear wavy boundary. (4 to 15 inches thick)

2C2--14 to 23 inches; variegated extremely cobbly sand with pockets and lenses of fine sand and sand; dominant color is very dark grayish brown (2.5Y 3/2); single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; 30 percent rounded gravel, 35 percent cobble, and 5 percent stones; few very fine and fine roots; undersides of coarse fragments weakly calcareous with occasional thin lime coatings; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8). (8 to 28 inches thick)

2C3--23 to 60 inches; variegated extremely cobbly sand with pockets and lenses of fine sand and sand; dominant color is very dark grayish brown (2.5Y 3/2); single grain; loose, nonsticky and nonplastic; 50 percent well rounded gravel and 30 percent cobble; undersides of coarse fragments weakly calcareous with occasional lime coatings; slightly alkaline (pH 7.8).

TYPE LOCATION: Copper River Area, Alaska; 9 miles east of Kenny Lake at the confluence of the Cheshnina and Copper Rivers; 1300 feet south and 1500 feet east of the NW corner of section 16, T.2S., R.4E., Copper River Meridian.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mean annual soil temperature: 32 to 35 degrees F.
Mean summer soil temperature: 36 to 39 degrees F. (2 to 4 degrees C)
Depth to sand and gravel: 2 to 8 inches
Fine earth portion of the control section: sand and fine sand
Coarse fragment content: variable and stratified in the underlying layers; the composite content ranges from 40 to 75 percent
Reaction: strongly acid to moderately alkaline throughout the profile.

Oi horizon (when present):
Colorhue of 2.5YR to 10YR; value of 2 to 3; chroma of 1 to 4
Textureslightly decomposed plant material
Organic matter content65 to 90 percent
Reactionvery strongly acid to neutral

A horizon:
Color: hue of 7.5YR or 2.5Y; value of 2 or 3; chroma of 1 to 4
Dark colors: are due to the large concentrations of black sand grains
Texture: silt loam, very fine sandy loam or loamy fine sand
Cobbles: are occasionally on the surface in some pedons.
Reaction: very strongly acid to neutral

AC horizon:
Colorhue of 10YR to 5Y; value of 3 to 6; chroma of 1 to 6
Texture: sandy loam
Coarse fragments0 to 5 percent rounded very strongly cemented fine gravel; 0 to 5 percent rounded strongly cemented gravel; 0 to 5 percent rounded very strongly cemented cobbles
Reactionstrongly acid to slightly alkaline

2C or 2CA (where present) horizon:
Color: hue of variegated 10YR, 2.5Y or 5Y; value of 1 to 6; chroma of 1 to 6
Variegated colors: dominantly dark hue due to the high concentration of black sand grains
Texture: dominantly stratified sand and fine sand, loamy sand, coarse sand modified by variable coarse fragment content throughout the horizon but average 40 to 75 percent total coarse fragments; 5 to 30 percent well rounded cobble, 35 to 70 percent well rounded gravel
Coarse fragments: have occasional lime coatings on the undersides.
Reactionslightly acid to moderately alkaline

COMPETING SERIES: These are the Alflack, Canlodore, Castlepeak, Chena, Cryomont, Dagget, Eklutna, Graylock, Nataga, Obscurity, Perfecto, Ragamuffin, Stecum, Studebaker, and Whittell (T) series. Alflack, Canlodore, Castlepeak, Cryomont, Dagget, Graylock, Obscurity, Perfecto, Ragamuffin, Stecum, Studebake, and Whittell soils have mean summer soil temperature greater than 35 degrees F. Chena soils have substantial amounts of mica. Eklutna soils have a presumed warmer mean annual soil temperature. Nataga soils are not stratified in the control section.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: thin layer of loess and/or sandy alluvium overlying stratified sand and gravel
Landform: floodplains, floodplains on alluvial fans, floodplains on mountains, and low stream terraces
Slopes: 0 to 20 percent
Climate: subarctic continental with long, cold winters and short, warm summers
Mean annual temperature: about 26 degrees F.
Mean January temperature: minus 10 degrees F.
Mean July temperature: 56 degrees F.
Mean annual snowfall: 39 to 68 inches
Mean annual precipitation: about 12 inches.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These include the Klutina and Kuslina soils. Klutina soils have over 10 inches of fine sandy loam textures over sand and gravel. Kuslina soils have a thick organic mat and permafrost within the profile and are on higher terrace positions.

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Excessively drained or somewhat excessively drained, low to medium runoff. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high to in the surface horizon and high to very high in the underlying material.

USE AND VEGETATION: The primary vegetation on this soil is white spruce, balsam poplar and quaking aspen. The successional stage of vegetation is directly related to flooding frequency. Used primarily for wildlife habitat.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Copper River Basin, Alaska. The series is of moderate extent.

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Copper River Area, Alaska. 1986.

REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon include:
Sandy-skeletal particle size: 4 to 60 inches;
Temperature regime: cryic.

ADDITIONAL DATA:

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.