LOCATION PAUGNA                  AK

Established Series
SAS/MPS
02/2022

PAUGNA SERIES

Landscape--hills, mountains
Landform--hillslopes, mountain slopes
Slope--5 to 80 percent
Parent material--gravelly colluvium
Mean annual precipitation--about 475 mm
Mean annual air temperature--about -3.5 degrees C
Depth class--very deep
Drainage class--well drained
Soil moisture regime--udic
Soil temperature regime--gelic
Soil moisture subclass--typic

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, nonacid, subgelic Typic Humigelepts

TYPICAL PEDON: Paugna silt loam on an east southeast facing linear, convex backslope, on a slope of 51 percent at an elevation of 367 m (The soil was moist to 62 cm, wet nonsatiated from 62 to 73 cm, and moist from 73 to 150 cm when described on June 23, 2018.)

Oa--0 to 4 cm; highly decomposed plant material, dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry, black (10YR 2/1) moist; many very fine roots and common fine, medium, and coarse roots; 5 percent cobbles; strongly acid (pH 5.3); clear irregular boundary

A/Bw --4 to 20 cm; silt loam, 85 percent dark gray (7.5YR 4/1) and 15 percent grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) dry, 85 percent black (7.5YR 2.5/1) and 15 percent very dark grayish brown (2.5Y 3/2) moist; weak medium granular structure; friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; common very fine and fine roots; many very fine irregular pores; 10 percent gravel; moderately acid (pH 5.6); abrupt irregular boundary

Bw1--20 to 36 cm; gravelly loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; weak fine granular structure; friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; common very fine and fine roots; common very fine irregular pores; 3 percent coarse prominent irregular dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) masses of oxidized iron with clear boundaries in matrix and 3 percent coarse distinct irregular dark gray (5Y 4/1) distinct mottles in matrix; 20 percent gravel; slightly acid (pH 6.2); gradual smooth boundary

Bw2--36 to 62 cm; gravelly loam, brown (10YR 5/3) dry, dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak medium granular structure; friable, slightly sticky, nonplastic; common very fine and fine roots; common very fine irregular pores; 32 percent gravel; slightly acid (pH 6.1); clear smooth boundary

2Bw3--62 to 73 cm; very gravelly silt loam, 60 percent yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) and 40 percent brown (10YR 5/3) dry, 60 percent dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) and 40 percent dark brown (10YR 3/3) moist; weak coarse granular structure; friable, nonsticky, slightly plastic; common very fine roots; 45 percent gravel; slightly acid (pH 6.3); clear smooth boundary

3C--73 to 150 cm; very gravelly silt loam, light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) dry, dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) moist; massive; friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; 40 percent gravel; slightly acid (pH 6.2)

TYPE LOCATION: Nome Census Area, Alaska, latitude 63.1723231 longitude -161.2971608 degrees, datum WGS84 (Coordinates determined with a GPS unit)

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mean annual soil temperature-- -2 to 0 degrees C
Soil moisture control section--dry less than 45 consecutive days in June through October
Thickness of umbric epipedon--18 to 58 cm

Particle Size Control Section:
*Clay--8 to 13 percent
*Total fragments--35 to 65 percent gravels, cobbles, channers

Oa horizon
Thickness--2 to 5 cm

A/Bw horizon
Hue--7.5YR, 10YR, or 2.5Y
Value--2 to 3 moist, 4 or 5 dry
Chroma-1 to 3
Fine-earth texture--silt loam, silt
Clay--5 to 12 percent
Sand--10 to 35 percent
Organic carbon--3 to 5 percent
Total rock fragment content--0 to 20 percent gravel
Reaction--4.7 to 5.7
Thickness--10 to 25 cm

Bw1 horizon
Value--2 to 4 moist, 4 to 6 dry
Chroma--2 to 4
Fine-earth texture--silt loam, loam
Clay--7 to 15 percent
Sand--15 to 50 percent
Organic carbon--2 to 3 percent
Total rock fragment content--10 to 35 percent
Total gravel content--0 to 35 percent
Total cobble content--0 to 10 percent
Reaction--4.9 to 6.2
Thickness--5 to 20 cm

Bw2 horizon
Value--3 to 5 moist, 5 to 7 dry
Chroma--3 to 5
Fine-earth texture--silt loam, loam
Clay--7 to 15 percent
Sand--20 to 50 percent
Organic carbon--2 to 3 percent
Total rock fragment content--15 to 45 percent
Total gravel content--0 to 40 percent
Total channer content--0 to 45 percent
Total cobble content--0 to 10 percent
Reaction--4.9 to 6.2
Thickness--10 to 30 cm

2Bw3 horizon
Hue--10YR or 2.5Y
Value--3 or 4 moist, 5 or 6 dry
Chroma--3 or 4
Fine-earth texture--silt loam, loam
Clay--8 to 15 percent
Sand--20 to 50 percent
Organic carbon--1 to 3 percent
Total rock fragment content--35 to 65 percent
Total gravel content--5 to 65 percent
Total channer content--0 to 40 percent
Reaction--5.2 to 6.3
Thickness--10 to 25cm

3C horizon
Hue--2.5Y or 5Y
Value--3 to 5 moist, 5 to 7 dry
Chroma--2 to 4
Fine-earth texture--silt loam, loam, sandy loam
Clay--5 to 16 percent
Sand--35 to 75 percent
Organic carbon--0.5 to 2 percent
Total rock fragment content--35 to 65 percent
Total gravel content--25 to 50 percent
Total cobble content--0 to 25 percent
Total channer content--0 to 30 percent
Reaction--5.4 to 6.5

COMPETING SERIES: none

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
*Elevation--200 to 700 m
*Climate--warm, moist summers; cold, dry winters
*Mean annual precipitation--350 to 600 mm
*Mean annual air temperature-- -6 to -1 degrees C
*Frost-free period--45 to 80 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
* Cuyaqsak--cryic soil temperature regime, aquic conditions between 50 to 80cm; swales on mountains and hills
* Kanguq--cryic soil temperature regime, moderately deep to paralithic contact; hillslopes and mountain slopes
* Nulatohills--cryic soil temperature regime, andic soil properties present; hillslopes and mountain slopes
* Bonasila--thickness of organic layer ranges to 14 cm, organic layer is hemic, organic carbon content in umbric epipedon ranges above 5 percent; saddles and shoulders on mountain slopes
*MountMcDonald--cryic soil temperature regime, shallow to lithic contact; mountain shoulders and summits
* Oliverhill--cryic soil temperature regime, no umbric epipedon; summits and shoulders on mountain slopes
* Myoukchuk--cryic soil temperature regime, fragmental substitute particle size class; north facing headslopes of mountains
* Peke--cryic soil temperature regime, ochric epipedon, aquic conditions present; swales and broad headslopes of mountains and hills

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
*Drainage class--well drained
*Saturation during normal years--saturated in the Bw1 horizons for a period of about two weeks in June
*Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat)--very high in the surface organic layer, very high to moderately high throughout the rest of the profile

USE AND VEGETATION:
Use--wildlife habitat, recreation, subsistence
Potential native vegetation--meadow bistort, star reindeer lichen, reindeer lichen, cetraria lichen, cup lichen, smallawned sedge, alpine sweetgrass, marsh Labrador tea, dwarf birch, black crowberry, Siberian alder, bog blueberry, lingonberry, beaverd spirea, white spruce, stiff clubmoss, greygreen reindeer lichen, Schreber's big red stem moss, moss, littletooth sedge, snow arnica, narcissus anemone, alpine bearberry, alpine azalea, eightpetal mountain-avens, skeletonleaf willow, tealeaf willow, splendid feather moss, Ross avens', nakedstem wallflower, netleaf willow, white arctic mountain heather, ptilium moss, resin birch, island cetraria lichen, polytrichum moss

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Nulato Hills-Southern Seward Peninsula Highlands, Alaska; MLRA 240; moderate extent

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Nulato Hills BLM area, Nome Census Area, Alaska; 2021
REMARKS:
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon
*Particle-size control section--zone from 29 to 104 cm
*Umbric epipedon--zone from 4 to 62 cm
*Redox concentrations--zone from 20 to 36 cm

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.