LOCATION ROMANOSE OREstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Medial-skeletal, ferrihydritic, frigid Lithic Hapludands
TYPICAL PEDON: Romanose very gravelly medial sandy loam - woodland, on a southwest-facing slope of 63 percent at an elevation of 2550 feet. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Oi--0 inches to 3; partially decomposed fir needles, leaves, twigs and branches.
A--3 to 7 inches; very dark brown (10YR 2/2) very gravelly medial sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) dry; strong very fine and fine granular structure; soft, very friable, nonsticky and nonplastic; many very fine, fine and medium and common coarse roots; many very fine and fine irregular pores; 40 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles; strongly acid (pH 5.4); clear smooth boundary. (2 to 8 inches thick)
AC--7 to 15 inches; dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) very gravelly medial sandy loam, brown (7.5YR 4/3) dry; weak very fine and fine granular structure; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; many very fine, fine and medium and common coarse roots; many very fine and fine irregular pores; 40 percent gravel and 15 percent cobbles; strongly acid (pH 5.4); clear smooth boundary. (4 to 10 inches thick)
C--15 to 21 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) extremely cobbly medial sandy loam, yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) dry; massive; soft, very friable, slightly sticky and nonplastic; common fine and medium roots; many very fine, fine and medium irregular pores; 25 percent gravel and 50 percent cobbles; very strongly acid (pH 4.8); abrupt smooth boundary. (4 to 8 inches thick)
R--21 inches; hard fractured sandstone overlying basalt.
TYPE LOCATION: Douglas County, Oregon, about 1 mile east of Roman Nose Mountain, 400 feet north and 400 feet east of the southwest corner of section 13, T. 19 S., R. 9 W. W.M. (Latitude 43 degrees, 54 minutes, 57 seconds N, Longitude 123 degrees, 43 minutes, 32 seconds W); Roman Nose Mountain, OR USGS quadrangle; NAD 1927.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The soil is usually moist but is dry for a short period of less than 45 consecutive days between depths of 4 to 12 inches in the four month period following the summer solstice in most years. The mean annual soil temperature is 43 to 47 degrees F., and the mean summer soil temperature is above 47 degrees F. with an O horizon present. Hue is 10YR or 7.5YR. The particle-size control section has moist bulk density of 0.75 to 0.90 g/cubic centimeter. It has greater than 85 percent phosphate retention, 2.0 to 4.0 percent acid-oxalate extractable aluminum plus one-half iron, 2.0 to 10 cmol/kg of KCL-extractable aluminum, and 15 to 30 percent 15-bar moisture (air dried). It is weakly or moderately smeary. The particle-size control section has 10 to 20 percent clay content by field estimates, with 35 to 80 percent rock fragments. The umbric epipedon is 10 to 20 inches thick. Depth to bedrock is 10 to 20 inches. Reaction is strongly acid or very strongly acid.
The A horizon have value of 2 or 3 moist, 3 or 4 dry and chroma of 2 or 3 moist and dry. Texture of the fine-earth fraction is medial loam or medial sandy loam with 10 to 20 percent clay content by field estimate. It has 30 to 50 percent gravel and 0 to 20 percent cobbles. It has 4 to 8 percent organic matter.
The AC horizon has value of 2 or 3 moist, 3 or 4 dry and chroma of 2 or 3 moist and dry. Texture of the fine-earth fraction is medial sandy loam or medial loam with 10 to 20 percent clay content by field estimate. It has 30 to 50 percent gravel and 10 to 30 percent cobbles. It has 4 to 8 percent organic matter.
The C horizon has value of 3 or 4 moist, 4 or 5 dry and chroma of 4 to 6 moist and dry. Texture of the fine-earth fraction is medial loam or medial sandy loam with 10 to 20 percent clay content by field estimate. It has 15 to 45 percent gravel and 20 to 50 percent cobbles. It has 1 to 4 percent organic matter.
COMPETING SERIES: There are the Quinault, Station, Waketickeh, and Walkinshaw series. Quinault and Waketickeh soils are very shallow to bedrock, have a cambic horizon and an ochric epipedon. Quinault soils have a perudic moisture regime. Station and Walkinshaw soils have a cambic horizon, an ochric epipedon, and less than 2 cmol/kg of aluminum (do not meet the criteria for the Alic subgroup).
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Romanose soils occur on shoulder slopes and backslopes of mountains. Elevations are 1,600 to 3,000 feet. Slopes are 30 to 90 percent. The soils formed in loamy colluvium derived from basalt and other igneous and volcanic rock types. The climate is characterized by cool wet winters and warm moist summers. The mean annual temperature is 42 to 46 degrees F. The mean annual precipitation is 90 to 130 inches. The frost free period is 70 to 145 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Caterl, Giveout(T), Laderly, Leopold, and Murtip soils. All of these soils occur on mountains. Giveout, Leopold, and Murtip soils have less than 35 percent rock fragments in the particle-size control section. Giveout, Leopold, and Laderly soils are 20 to 40 inches deep to bedrock. Caterl and Murtip soils are 40 to 60 inches deep to bedrock.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; moderately rapid permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Romanose soils are used for timber production, recreation, wildlife habitat and watersheds. Native vegetation includes Douglas fir and western hemlock with an understory of cascade Oregongrape, red huckleberry, salal, vine maple, western swordfern, Pacific trillium, and Oregon oxalis.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Coast Range of Oregon; MLRA 1. The series is inextensive. The name is taken from Roman Nose Mountain in western Douglas County, Oregon.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Portland, Oregon
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Douglas County, Oregon, 1994.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon include:
Umbric epipedon - from the mineral soil surface to 15 inches. (A and AC horizons)
Medial-skeletal feature - from 3 to 21 inches dominated by andic soil properties - based on the laboratory data from the associated Laderly series and similar soils, and containing greater than 35 percent rock fragments by volume.
Lithic feature - bedrock at 21 inches.
Alic Subgroup criteria is assumed to be met based on data from the Laderly Series which classifies as Alic Hapludands.
Depth to diagnostic horizons and features are measured from the top of the first mineral horizon.
Classification revised 03/01 with the addition of the ferrihydritic mineralogy class.