LOCATION RICKER VT ME NH NY
Established Series
Rev. DLY-SHG-SWF
03/2011
RICKER SERIES
The Ricker series consists of very shallow and shallow, well drained to excessively drained organic soils on mountains and hills. They formed in thin organic deposits underlain in most places by a very thin mineral horizon over bedrock. Estimated saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high to very high in the organic layers and moderately high or high in the mineral horizon. Slope ranges from 3 to 80 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 50 inches and mean annual temperature is about 40 degrees F.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Dysic Lithic Cryofolists
TYPICAL PEDON: Ricker peat, 15 to 80 percent slopes, in a very rocky wooded area. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted.)
Oi -- 0 to 2 inches; dark reddish brown (2.5YR 2/4) broken face peat (fibric material), dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) crushed and rubbed; about 90 percent fiber, 75 percent rubbed; massive; loose; many roots; 5 percent twigs; extremely acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 6 inches thick.)
Oe -- 2 to 4 inches; black (N2/0) broken, crushed and rubbed mucky peat (hemic material); about 60 percent fiber, 20 percent rubbed; weak thin platy structure; friable; many roots; extremely acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick.)
Oa -- 4 to 7 inches; black (N2/0) broken, crushed and rubbed muck (sapric material); about 30 percent fiber, 15 percent rubbed; massive; friable; common roots; extremely acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick.)
E -- 7 to 9 inches; dark bluish gray (5B 4/1) very channery silt loam; massive; friable; common roots; 50 percent schist fragments; extremely acid; abrupt irregular boundary. (0 to 4 inches thick.)
R -- 9 inches; micaceous schist.
TYPE LOCATION: Lamoille County, Vermont; Town of Stowe, Mt. Mansfield, 100 yards down Butler Lodge Trail from TV access road; 30 feet to the south. Mt. Mansfield topographic quadrangle; Latitude 44 degrees, 31 minutes, 33 seconds N. and Longitude 72 degrees, 49 minutes, 00 seconds W., NAD 1927.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The depth to bedrock ranges from 1 to 20 inches. Very thin mineral layers are at the bedrock interface in most pedons. Rock fragments range from 0 to 50 percent throughout. The organic material is ultra acid or extremely acid and the mineral layers are extremely or very strongly acid.
The Oi horizon is neutral or has hue of 2.5YR to 10YR, value of 2 to 4, and chroma of 0 to 4. It is slightly decomposed leaves, needles, twigs, and moss (fibric material).
The Oe horizon is neutral or has hue of 2.5YR to 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 0 to 6. It is moderately decomposed organic matter (hemic material).
The Oa horizon is neutral or has hue of 2.5YR to 10YR, value of 2 to 5, and chroma of 0 to 2. It is highly decomposed organic matter (sapric material).
The mineral horizons have hue of 5YR to 5B, value of 2 to 7, and chroma of 1 to 3. They are E, Bh, Bhs, or C horizons. They are coarse sand, sand, loamy sand, loamy fine sand, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, loam, or silt loam in the fine-earth.
COMPETING SERIES: The
Mcgilvery series is the only series in the same family. McGilvery soils are from outside of region R. They receive more than 100 inches of annual precipitation.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Ricker soils are gently sloping to very steep soils at elevations of 5 to 5,300 feet in uplands and along the coast. They are on the tops and side slopes of knolls, hills, and mountains. Slope ranges from 3 to 80 percent. The soils formed in organic deposits underlain by very thin mineral horizon over bedrock. Bedrock is granite, gneiss, phyllite, schist, slate, metasandstone or anorthosite. The mean annual precipitation ranges from 35 to 80 inches and mean annual temperature ranges from 30 to 43 degrees Fahrenheit. The frost-free season ranges from about 30 to 150 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Chesuncook,
Elliottsville,
Glebe,
Howland,
Londonderry,
Lyman,
Mahoosuc,
Marlow,
Monarda,
Monson,
Plaisted,
Saddleback,
Stratton and
Telos soils. All of these are mineral soils. The well drained Howland, Marlow, and Plaisted soils, moderately well drained Chesuncook, and somewhat poorly drained Telos soils are on smooth landforms. They are very deep soils that have spodic horizons. The somewhat excessively drained Monson and Lyman soils and well drained Elliotsville soils are on similar bedrock controlled landforms at elevations below 2000 feet and have spodic horizons. Lyman and Monson are shallow soils that have spodic horizons. The somewhat excessively drained Mahoosuc soils and well drained Glebe, Londonderry, Saddleback and Stratton soils are on similar bedrock controlled landforms at elevations above 2000 feet. Londonderry soils have mineral soil layers above bedrock more than 4 inches thick or more than 1/2 the thickness of overlying organic soil layers. Mahoosuc soils have thin organic materials overlying fragmental materials. Glebe, Saddleback, and Stratton soils have spodic horizons.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained to excessively drained. Estimated saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high to very high in the organic layers and moderately high or very high in the mineral horizon. These soils are saturated during periods of heavy rainfall or snow melt.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are wooded. Most nonforested areas have a ground cover of alpine grass and shrubs. Areas of Ricker soils are used for watershed protection, recreation, wildlife habitat, and forestry. Common trees are Balsam fir, red spruce, and mountain birch, paper birch, and mountain ash. Sphagnum moss is common ground cover.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, and New York. MLRA 143 and 144B. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Lamoille County, Vermont, 1978.
REMARKS: 1. The classification is updated to Dysic Lithic Cryofolists. The former classification was Dysic Lithic Borofolists. The definition of the cryic temperature regime for organic soils has been revised in the 8th edition of the Keys to Soil Taxonomy.
2. The diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
a. Histosol Order - The organic soil materials constitute two-thirds of the total thickness of the soil to a lithic contact and the mineral horizons have a total thickness of 10 cm (4 inches) or less.
b. Lithic Subgroup - Lithic contact at 9 inches.
ADDITIONAL DATA: NSSL laboratory data is available for the following pedon: S77VT-15-2. Soil Taxonomy (1975) Page 218, has a Ricker description.
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.