LOCATION RAGMUFF ME
Established Series
ABJ-MJK-ANA
02/2012
RAGMUFF SERIES
The Ragmuff series consists of moderately deep to bedrock, moderately deep to densic contact, moderately well drained soils formed in glacial till on till plains, hills, ridges, and mountains. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high to high in the mineral solum, and moderately high to moderately low in the substratum. Slope ranges from 0 to 15 percent. Mean annual air temperature is about 3.8 degrees C, and mean annual precipitation is about 1000 mm at the type location.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, isotic, frigid Aquic Haplorthods
TYPICAL PEDON: Ragmuff silt loam, on a 3 percent south-facing slope in a very stony wooded area. (Colors are for moist soil.)
Oi -- 0 to 1 cm; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) slightly decomposed leaves and twigs; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many very fine to very coarse roots; strongly acid (pH 5.1); clear wavy boundary.
Oe -- 1 to 3 cm; dark brown (7.5YR 3/3) moderately decomposed plant material; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many very fine to very coarse roots; very strongly acid (pH 4.7); clear wavy boundary.
Oa -- 3 to 5 cm; black (7.5YR 2.5/1) highly decomposed plant material; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many very fine to very coarse roots; extremely acid (pH 4.4), abrupt wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of O horizons is 2 to 15 cm.)
E -- 5 to 10 cm; pinkish gray (7.5YR 6/2) broken face silt loam; weak thin platy structure; very friable; many very fine to very coarse roots; 5 percent gravel; extremely acid (pH 3.9); abrupt irregular boundary. (3 to 15 cm thick)
Bs1 -- 10 to 14 cm; dark brown (7.5YR 3/4) crushed and smoothed silt loam; weak fine and medium granular structure; very friable; many very fine to very coarse roots; 5 percent gravel; extremely acid (pH 4.0); clear wavy boundary.
Bs2 -- 14 to 28 cm; brown (7.5YR 4/4) crushed and smoothed silt loam; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; many very fine and fine roots; 5 percent gravel; very strongly acid (pH 4.8); gradual wavy boundary.
Bs3 -- 28 to 48 cm; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) crushed and smoothed silt loam; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; common very fine and fine roots; 5 percent channers and 5 percent gravel; very strongly acid (pH 4.9); gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of Bs horizons is 20 to 50 cm.)
BC -- 48 to 68 cm; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/3) broken face gravelly loam; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; few (1 percent) fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation, and few (1 percent) fine faint grayish brown (10YR 5/2) iron depletions; 5 percent channers, 10 percent gravel, and 5 percent cobbles; strongly acid (pH 5.2); clear wavy boundary. (0 to 30 cm thick)
Cd -- 68 to 85 cm; olive (5Y 4/3) broken face channery silt loam; massive; common (3 percent) fine prominent dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) iron-manganese concentrations, few (1 percent) fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation, and few (1 percent) fine distinct grayish brown (10YR 5/2) iron depletions; firm; 10 percent channers, 5 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles; strongly acid (pH 5.1); abrupt irregular boundary. (5 to 30 cm thick)
R -- 85 cm; metasedimentary rock
TYPE LOCATION: Piscataquis County, Maine; (T 5 R15 WELS); 0.473 miles north of the Bean Pot Pond Road, 1.106 miles west of the Ragmuff Road; USGS Ragmuff Stream, ME topographic quadrangle; Latitude 46 degrees, 3 minutes, 32.30 seconds N. and Longitude 69 degrees, 33 minutes, 57.80 seconds W., NAD 1983.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum ranges from 40 to 115 cm. Depth to bedrock ranges from 50 to 100 cm from the mineral soil surface. Depth to densic contact is greater than 50 cm from the mineral soil surface. Texture is silt loam, loam, fine sandy loam, sandy loam, or very fine sandy loam in the fine-earth fraction. The weighted average of clay in the particle-size control section is 3 to 18 percent. Rock fragment content ranges from 5 to 35 percent by volume in the particle size control section, and may range to 50 percent in some Cd horizons. Stones and boulders cover from 0 to 15 percent of the surface. Reaction ranges from extremely acid to strongly acid in the solum and from very strongly acid to moderately acid in the substratum.
The Oi, Oa, and Oe horizons, where present, have hues of 5YR to 10YR, values of 2.5 to 4, and chromas of 1 to 4.
The E horizon has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 7, and chroma of 1 to 3.
The Bh horizon, when present, has hue of 2.5YR to 10YR, value of 2 to 3, and chroma of 1 to 3.
The Bhs horizon, where present, has hue of 2.5YR or 5YR, with value of 2.5 or 3, and chroma of 2 or 3.
The Bs horizon has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 4 to 8.
The BC horizon, where present, has hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 3 to 6.
Some pedons have a friable C layer with hue of 2.5Y or 5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 4.
The Cd layer has hue of 2.5Y or 5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 4. It has weak or moderate, thin to thick plates considered to be inherited from the parent material, or the horizon is massive.
The bedrock is generally slate, or strongly to weakly metamorphosed shale or sandstone, or less commonly granite or diorite.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the
Chesuncook,
Crary,
Dixfield,
Dixmont,
Howland,
Peru,
Skerry,
Sunapee, and
Worden series. These series are all greater than 152 cm to bedrock.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Ragmuff soils are on till plains, hills, ridges and mountains. Slope is dominantly 0 to 15 percent. The soils formed in a moderately deep mantle of till derived primarily from slate and other metasediments, phyllite, or schist, and less commonly from granite and diorite. The climate is humid and cool temperate. The mean annual temperature ranges from 3 to 6 degrees C, and mean annual precipitation ranges from 860 to 1170 mm. The frost-free season ranges from 80 to 130 days. Elevation ranges from 91 to 762 meters above mean sea level.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the very deep
Chesuncook,
Monarda and
Telos soils, the moderately deep
Elliottsville soils, and the shallow
Monson soils. Monarda and Telos soils are wetter soils occupying lower positions on the landscape. Elliottsville soils are well drained and are found on steeper slopes. Monson soils are on convex positions adjacent to Ragmuff soils.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Moderately well drained. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high to high in the mineral solum and moderately high to moderately low in the substratum.
USE AND VEGETATION: Mainly forest. Common tree species include American beech, yellow birch, red spruce, white spruce, balsam fir, red maple and sugar maple.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern Maine. MLRAs 143 and 144B. The series is anticipated to be of moderate extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Northern Piscataquis and Northern Somerset County Area, Maine Soil Survey, 2011.
REMARKS:
1. Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Albic horizon - the zone from 5 to 10 cm (E horizon).
Spodic horizon - the zone from 10 to 28 cm (Bs1 and Bs2 horizons).
Cambic horizon - the zone from 28 to 68 cm (Bs3 and BC horizons).
Aquic conditions - redoximorphic features at 48 centimeters.
Densic contact - firm lodgment till at 68 centimeters (Cd layer).
Lithic contact - metasedimentary rock at 85 centimeters (R layer).
Other features - frigid temperature regime and udic moisture regime.
2. This series was proposed for use primarily in areas previously mapped as Elliottsville in the north woods of Maine that have seasonally perched water tables over thin layers of densic material.
3. The series name is taken from Ragmuff Stream, which flows into the West Branch of the Penobscot River in the north woods of Maine.
ADDITIONAL DATA: This pedon is characterized by the National Soil Survey Laboratory in Lincoln Nebraska, reference pedon 08NO120. Climate data from Telos dam TAPS station.
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.