LOCATION PLAISTED ME+NH
Established Series
Rev. KJL-LRF-NB
02/2015
PLAISTED SERIES
The Plaisted series consists of very deep, well drained soils on drumlins and till ridges. These soils formed in dense till. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high in the solum and commonly moderately low in the dense substratum. Slope ranges from 0 to 45 percent. Mean annual temperature is about 5 degrees C (41 degrees F), and mean annual precipitation is about 1117 m (44 in) at the type location.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, isotic, frigid Oxyaquic Haplorthods
TYPICAL PEDON: Plaisted silt loam, on a 14 percent southeast-facing slope in a very stony wooded area. (Colors are for moist soil.)
Oa--0 to 5 cm (0 to 2 in); dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) highly decomposed plant material; moderate fine and medium granular structure; very friable; many very fine and common medium and coarse roots; very strongly acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 8 cm [0 to 3 in] thick)
E--5 to 8 cm (2 to 3 in); grayish brown (10YR 5/2) silt loam; weak very fine and fine granular structure; very friable; many very fine and common medium and coarse roots; 5 percent gravel and 1 percent cobbles; very strongly acid; abrupt broken boundary. (0 to 10 cm [0 to 4 in] thick)
Bh--8 to 10 cm (3 to 4 in); reddish brown (5YR 4/3) silt loam; weak very fine and fine granular structure; very friable; many very fine and fine, and few medium and coarse roots; 5 percent gravel and 2 percent cobbles; very strongly acid; abrupt broken boundary. (0 to 15 cm [0 to 6 in] thick)
Bs1--10 to 18 cm (4 to 7 in); brown (7.5YR 4/4) silt loam; weak very fine and fine granular structure; very friable; many very fine and fine, and few medium and coarse roots; 5 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bs2--18 to 23 cm (7 to 9 in); strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) silt loam; weak very fine and fine granular structure; friable; common very fine and fine, and few medium and coarse roots; 5 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bs3--23 to 48 cm (9 to 19 in); yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) silt loam; weak very fine and fine granular structure; friable; common very fine and fine, and few medium and coarse roots; 5 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bs horizons is 8 to 38 cm [3 to 15 in])
BC--48 to 71 cm (19 to 28 in); light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4), with yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) faces of peds, gravelly silt loam; weak medium and thick platy structure; friable; few very fine and fine roots; strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) channels from decayed roots; 10 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 13 inches thick)
Cd--71 to 165 cm (28 to 65 in); olive (5Y 4/3), with light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) faces of peds, and olive (5Y 5/3) crushed, gravelly silt loam; weak very coarse prismatic structure parting to moderate medium and thick platy; firm; 15 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles; moderately acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Piscataquis County, Maine; Town of Monson; 1300 feet east of North Pond Brook and 75 feet north of the paved Elliottsville Road; USGS Monson East topographic quadrangle; lat. 45 degrees 20 minutes 43 seconds N. and long. 69 degrees 28 minutes 15 seconds W., NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum and depth to the dense lodgement till ranges from 51 to 76 cm (20 to 30 in). Depth to bedrock is more than 152 cm (60 in). The weighted average of clay in the particle-size control section is less than 10 percent. Texture of the fine-earth fraction in the mineral solum and substratum is silt loam or loam. Rock fragment content ranges from 5 to 30 percent in the mineral solum and from 10 to 35 percent in the substratum. Stones and cobbles range from 0 to 10 percent throughout the profile. Stones and boulders cover 0 to 15 percent of the surface. Reaction ranges from extremely acid to moderately acid in the solum and strongly acid to slightly acid in the substratum.
The Oa horizon has hue of 5YR to 2.5Y, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 or 2.
Some areas have an Ap horizon with hue of 10YR, value of 3 or 4, and chroma of 2 to 4. It has weak or moderate, very fine to medium granular structure. Consistence is very friable or friable.
The E horizon has hue of 10YR, value of 5 to 7, and chroma of 1 or 2. It has weak very fine or fine granular or weak or moderate very thin platy structure. Consistence is very friable or friable.
The Bh horizon has hue of 2.5YR or 5YR, with value and chroma of 2 to 4. The Bhs horizon, where present, has hue of 2.5YR or 5YR, with value and chroma of 2 or 3. The Bs horizon has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 4 to 8. The B horizons have weak very fine or fine granular structure. Consistence is very friable or friable.
The BC horizon has hue of 2.5Y or 5Y, value of 5 or 6, and chroma of 3 or 4. It has weak or moderate, thin to thick platy or weak very fine subangular blocky structure, or it is massive. Consistence is very friable or friable.
The Cd horizon has hue of 2.5Y or 5Y, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 2 to 4. It has weak or moderate, thin to very thick platy, or coarse or very coarse prismatic parting to platy structure or the horizon is massive. All structure in the Cd horizon is considered inherited from the parent material. Consistence is firm or very firm.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Becket,
Marlow and
Mundalite series. Becket soils have greater than 20 percent sandy lenses or strata in the Cd horizon. Marlow soils average less than 50 percent silt content in the particle-size control section. Mundalite soils have redox features within a depth of 100 cm (40 in), have less than 50 percent silt in the particle-size control section and have spodic horizons greater than 46 cm (18 in) thick.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Plaisted soils are on drumlins and till ridges. Slope is commonly 3 to 25 percent, but ranges from 0 to 45 percent. The soils formed in dense glacial till derived mainly from phyllite, slate, metasandstone and some granite. The climate is humid and cool temperate. The mean annual temperature ranges from 3 to 7 degrees C (38 to 44 degrees F), and mean annual precipitation ranges from 914 to 1168 mm (36 to 46 in). The frost-free season ranges from 90 to 130 days. Elevation ranges from 90 to 670 m (300 to 2200 ft) above mean sea level.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Bangor,
Burnham,
Howland,
Monarda and
Thorndike soils on nearby landscapes. Bangor soils are located in similar positions on the landscape but lack dense lodgement till. The Burnham, Howland and Monarda soils are wetter and are in lower positions on the landscape.
Penquis and Thorndike soils are in higher positions on the landscape.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained. Water perches at the densic contact for short preiods. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high in the solum and commonly moderately low in the dense substratum.
USE AND VEGETATION: Mostly forested. Common tree species include sugar maple, yellow birch, paper birch, eastern white pine, red pine, white spruce, red spruce and balsam fir. Areas cleared of trees and stones are used mainly for hay, pasture and cultivated crops.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Central and Northern Maine and New Hampshire; MLRAs 143, 144B and 146. The series is of large extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Aroostook County, Maine, 1960.
REMARKS: Plaisted soils were classified as Typic Haplorthods prior to 1994.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon include:
1. Albic horizon - the zone from 5 to 8 cm (2 to 3 in) (E horizon).
2. Spodic horizon - the zone from 8 to 23 cm (9 in) (Bh, Bs1 and Bs2 horizons).
3. Oxyaquic feature - saturation within 100 cm (40 in) of the mineral soil surface for 20 or more consecutive days or 30 cumulative days in normal years.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Source of data used in establishing taxonomic class and range in characteristics is Technical Bulletin 94, Maine Agricultural Experiment Station, September 1979.
Historical Soil Interpretation Record numbers for the Plaisted series are; Plaisted, ME0007; and Plaisted, stony, ME0008.
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.