LOCATION PARSIPPANY NJEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, mixed, active, mesic Aeric Endoaqualfs
TYPICAL PEDON: Parsippany silt loam - in woodland at an elevation of about 235 feet. (Colors are for moist soil.)
A--0 to 2 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) silt loam; weak very fine granular structure; friable, slightly sticky, nonplastic; many fibrous and few medium and coarse roots; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (1 to 7 inches thick)
ABg--2 to 4 inches; dark gray (10YR 4/1) silt loam; moderate medium and fine subangular blocky structure; friable, slightly sticky, nonplastic; common fine and medium roots; many silt and sand grains stained with very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2); very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 6 inches thick)
Bg--4 to 9 inches; gray (10YR 6/1) silty clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm, slightly sticky, plastic; many medium and fine roots; few vertically oriented gray streaks; sand and silt grains stained or coated; many coarse prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation and common fine faint dark gray (10YR 4/1) iron depletions; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)
Btg1--9 to 18 inches; gray (5YR 5/1) silty clay; moderate medium subangular blocky structure and moderate fine angular blocky structure; firm, slightly sticky, very plastic; few fine roots; few vertically oriented gray streaks; many prominent clay films in channels and on faces of peds; many brown (7.5YR 4/4) masses of iron accumulation and many brown (7.5YR 5/2) iron depletions on faces of peds and interiors of peds; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary. (3 to 40 inches thick)
Btg2--18 to 29 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) silty clay; moderate coarse subangular blocky structure; very firm, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few fine roots; few prominent reddish brown (5YR 4/3) clay films and few black (N 2/ ) stains on faces of peds; few vertically oriented gray streaks; 3 percent fine gravel composed mostly of granitic gneiss and shale; moderately acid; many coarse distinct strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation and common coarse prominent grayish brown (10YR 5/2) iron depletions; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 20 inches thick)
BC--29 to 50 inches; nearly equal portions of brown (7.5YR 5/4) and strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) silty clay loam; weak thick platy structure to massive in the lower part; very firm, sticky, plastic, few roots mostly in or near vertically oriented streaks; very few prominent clay films in voids and along some vertical streaks; few vertically oriented reddish brown (5YR 4/3) and brown (7.5YR 5/2) streaks; cut mass sprinkled with black or rust colored dots; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 21 inches thick)
C--50 to 70 inches; reddish brown (5YR 4/3) varved silt loam with few 1/2 to 1 inch lamellae of very fine sand and silt; massive; firm; neutral.
TYPE LOCATION: Somerset County, New Jersey; 250 feet east of Dead River Road, 100 feet south of Dead River at edge of a woodlot. USGS Bernardsville quadrangle; latitude 40 degrees, 39 minutes, 4 seconds N. and longitude 74 degrees, 32 minutes, 45 seconds W., NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 30 to 60 inches with a lower boundary that ranges from clear to diffuse. Depth to bedrock is more than 6 feet. Coarse fragments are generally lacking but range to 5 percent in subhorizons within the solum and to 20 percent in the C horizon. Unless limed, the reaction is very strongly or strongly acid near the surface and increases with depth to slightly acid to mildly alkaline in the C horizon. Lamellae or varves are evident within the series control section.
The O horizon, where present, has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 2, and chroma of 1 or 2. In lieu texture is slightly, moderately, or highly decomposed plant material.
The A horizon has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 2 to 4, and chroma 1 to 3. Ap horizons have hues of 5YR to 10YR, values of 3 to 5 moist and 6 or 7 dry, and chroma of 1 or 2. Texture is silt loam or silty clay loam. The A horizons have weak or moderate medium or fine granular or subangular blocky structure and are friable or very friable. Some pedons have strong fine granular structure.
The B horizons have hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 1 to 6, with low chroma dominant in the upper part. Also, hues of 10YR are only in the upper part. Redoximorphic features are common or many, medium or coarse throughout the B horizon or the horizon is variegated with nearly equal proportions of two or three colors. Texture in individual subhorizons ranges from silt loam to clay but the weighted average clay content in the textural control section is more than 35 percent.
The C horizon has hue of 2.5YR to 7.5YR, value of 3 to 6, and chroma of 3 to 6. Redoximorphic features range from few to many and faint to distinct. Texture ranges from clay to sandy loam above 40 inches and loamy sand to silty clay below.
COMPETING SERIES: Savona is the only series currently in the same family. Savona soils have carbonates within a depth of 36 inches.
The Aden, Crosby, Jeddo, Library, McGary, Pyrmont, and Randolph series are in related families. Aden soils lack lamella in the control section. Crosby soils have carbonates within a depth of 36 inches. Jeddo and Library soils lack stratification within the series control section. McGary soils have hues of 10YR throughout the soil. Pyrmont soils have carbonates within depths of 18 inches. Randolph soils have bedrock within depths of 40 inches.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Parsippany soils are nearly level to gently sloping and generally within large basins. Slope is 0 to 8 percent. These soils formed in silty and clayey sediments containing a high proportion of fines derived from weathered basalt, shale and granitic materials. The climate is humid temperate. Average annual precipitation is 40 to 48 inches and the growing season is about 140 to 170 days. Mean annual temperature is about 45 to 50 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are Preakness and Whippany soils on nearby landscapes. Preakness soils are moderately coarse or coarse textured throughout the soil and Whippany soils are the moderately well and somewhat poorly drained members of the drainage sequence that includes Parsippany.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Poorly drained. Surface runoff is negligible to high. Permeability is moderate in the surface horizons, slow or very slow in the subsoil and moderately rapid to very slow in the substratum. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately low to high in the surface horizons and low to moderately high in the subsoil and low to high in the substratum. The water level is at or near the surface throughout the winter and early spring and following periods of heavy rainfall. Flooding is none to frequent and occurs in most areas of Parsippany soils but particularly adjacent to major streams.
USE AND VEGETATION: A small portion is used for crops, hay and pasture, but most Parsippany soils are in woodland. Originally swamp white oak, elm, ash, and swamp maple grew on these soils.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: New Jersey Triassic lowlands, possibly in Pennsylvania and southern New York, mainly found in glaciated and periglacial areas; MLRAs 144A and 148. This series is of moderate extent with a total of about 32,000 acres.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Morris County, New Jersey, 1971.
REMARKS: Limited data is inconclusive but suggests that these soils have mixed clay mineralogy. Cation exchange activity class determined from a review of similar soils.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon include:
1. Ochric epipedon - the zone between 0 and 9 inches (A, ABg, and Bg horizons)
2. Argillic horizon - the zone between 9 and 29 inches (Btg1 and Btg2 horizons) with a clay average of more than 35 percent (fine)
3. Aquic moisture regime - redoximorphic features with chroma of 2 or less immediately below the dark A horizon at 4 to 9 inches (Bg horizon) and dominant chroma of 1 or less in the argillic horizon of 9 to 29 inches (Btg1 and Btg2 horizons)
4. Aeric Subgroup - the hue is 5 or less and the chroma is 2 or more within 75 cm of the surface in the zone of 18 to 29 inches (Btg2 horizon).