LOCATION TSALI NC+GA
Established Series
Rev. JDV:DJT:AG:MKC
01/2022
TSALI SERIES
The Tsali series consists of shallow, well drained, moderately permeable soils on ridges and side slopes of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. They formed in residuum that is affected by soil creep in the upper part, and is weathered from metasedimentary rocks, such as phyllite, slate, and thinly bedded metasandstone. Mean annual temperature is 56 degrees F., and mean annual precipitation is about 48 inches near the type location. Slope ranges from 5 to 95 percent.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, subactive, mesic, shallow Typic Hapludults
TYPICAL PEDON: Tsali channery loam on a 24 percent northwest facing mountain side slope--forested. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
A--0 to 8 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) channery loam, light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) dry color; weak fine granular structure; very friable; common fine and medium roots; few fine flakes of mica; 20 percent metasandstone channers by volume; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (1 to 10 inches thick)
Bt1--8 to 13 inches; yellowish red (5YR 5/8) channery loam; few fine distinct reddish brown (5YR 5/3) mottles; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few medium and coarse roots; few faint clay films on faces of peds; few fine flakes of mica; 16 percent metasandstone channers by volume; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bt2--13 to 18 inches; yellowish red (5YR 5/6) channery clay loam; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few coarse roots; few faint clay films on faces of peds; few fine flakes of mica; common pockets of dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) saprolite that have a sandy loam texture; 16 percent metasandstone channers by volume; extremely acid; clear irregular boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bt horizons is 10 to 16 inches.)
Cr--18 to 60 inches; multicolored weathered, fractured, thinly bedded metasandstone; few moderately thin seams of yellowish red (5YR 5/6) loam; partially consolidated but can be dug with difficulty with a spade.
TYPE LOCATION: Graham County, North Carolina; west from Bryson City on U.S. 19 to NC 28; north on NC 28 to Tsali Campground (Swain and Graham County line); one mile north on trail and 150 feet east of trail.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 10 to 20 inches over a paralithic contact with soft bedrock (Cr horizon). Depth to hard bedrock is more than 30 inches. Rock fragments of channer to flagstone size range to as much as 35 percent in all horizons. The soil is extremely acid to moderately acid throughout. Content of mica flakes ranges from none to common.
The A horizon has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 3 to 8. A horizons that have value and chroma of 3 are less than 6 inches thick. Texture is loam or fine sandy loam in the fine-earth fraction.
The AB or BA horizon, where present, has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 to 6. Texture is fine sandy loam or loam in the fine- earth fraction.
The Bt horizon has hue of 2.5YR to 10YR, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 4 to 8. It is loam, sandy clay loam, or clay loam in the fine-earth fraction. Some pedons have a thin BA or BC horizon with colors similar to the Bt horizon, and texture of loam or fine sandy loam.
The Cr horizon is multicolored weathered, fractured metasedimentary rocks, such as phyllite, slate, and thinly bedded metasandstone. It is partially consolidated but can be dug with difficulty with a spade.
COMPETING SERIES: The only series in the same family is
Saluda. Those in closely related families are the
Cataska and
Sylco series. The Cataska and Sylco soils have more than 35 percent rock fragments in the control section and have a cambic horizon. Also, Sylco soils are 20 to 40 inches deep to a paralithic contact (Cr horizon). Saluda soils formed in residuum weathered from felsic crystalline rocks such as granite, gneiss, and schist, and contain fragments of those rocks.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Tsali soils are on strongly sloping to very steep ridges and side slopes of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. The landscape is characterized by sharp V shaped ridges and valleys. The side slopes are highly dissected with intermittent drainageways. Elevation ranges from 1200 to 3500 feet. This soil is on landforms with ridges of nearly equal elevations which dominate intermountain areas. Slope is commonly between 30 to 80 percent but ranges from 5 to 95 percent. Side slopes are the dominant landscape position with minor areas of narrow ridge top units. Tsali soils formed in residuum weathered from metasedimentary rocks, such as phyllite, slate, and thinly bedded metasandstone. The dip and strike of the underlying rock causes the depth to the paralithic contact to vary sharply over distance. The broken landscape with many micro-areas of deposition and severe erosion further adds to the variation. Therefore, this soil typically occurs intermixed with soils deeper to bedrock. Mean annual temperature is 56 degrees F., and mean annual precipitation is about 48 inches near the type location.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: In addition to the competing
Cataska, and
Sylco soils, these include the
Brasstown,
Cheoah,
Junaluska,
Nantahala,
Santeetlah,
Soco,
Spivey, and
Stecoah soils. All except Santeetlah and Spivey soils are on ridges and side slopes. Brasstown, Nantahala, and Stecoah soils are greater than 40 inches deep to a paralithic contact. Cheoah soils are deeper than 40 inches to a paralithic contact and have an umbric epipedon. Junaluska and Soco soils are 20 to 40 inches deep to a paralithic contact (Cr horizon). Santeetlah and Spivey soils are in coves and have an umbric epipedon and a cambic horizon. Spivey soils have a loamy-skeletal control section. Tsali soils are usually mapped in complex with Junaluska soils or rock outcrop.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; very little runoff where forest litter has not been disturbed. Medium to very rapid runoff where litter has been removed; moderate permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most of these soils are in Oak-Pine forest. Common trees are chestnut oak, scarlet oak, black oak, and hickory with some areas dominated by shortleaf pine, Virginia pine, and pitch pine. The understory, commonly very sparse, includes flowering dogwood, rhododendron, mountain laurel, sourwood, buffalo nut, and blueberry. A few areas are cleared and used for pasture.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: North Carolina, and possibly Tennessee, and Virginia. The series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Clay County, North Carolina; 1991. The name is from Tsali Campground in Graham County, North Carolina.
REMARKS: Formerly this soil was included with the Cataska series. However, this soil is loamy instead of loamy-skeletal in the control section and has an argillic horizon. Tsali soil does not occur in consociation mapping units. It occurs in spots, streaks, or patches within undifferentiated units or complexes. Factors which affect where this soil occurs within units include the dip, and strike of the underlying rock, landscape position, and past erosion. Slippage is a problem on the steep and very steep mountain side slopes. The 6/99 revision updates the classification to the 8th Edition of Keys to Soil Taxonomy. This soil is placed in the subactive CEC activity class based upon NSSL data from the geographically associated Brasstown and Junaluska series.
Tsali soil has the following diagnostic horizons and features:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface of the soil to a depth of 8 inches.
Argillic horizon - the zone from approximately 8 to 18 inches below the surface.
Paralithic contact - the occurrence of soft bedrock at 18 inches (the upper boundary of the Cr horizon).
Revised: 1/2022 The Oi layer was removed from the typical pedon description because /freshly fallen, or undecomposed leaf litter or simlar undeceomposed material should not be included as a surface layer in the soil description. The typical pedon originally had a top layer described as undecomposed leaf material or similar undecomposed material. This layer was removed from the typical pedon description because freshly fallen, or undecomposed leaf litter or similar undecomposed material should not be included as a layer in a soil description. WJN
MLRA = 130 SIR = NC0179
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.