LOCATION WALLFACE NYEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Medial, amorphic Andic Humicryods
TYPICAL PEDON: Wallface loamy sand, very bouldery, on a 22 percent southwest facing slope, in a forested area. (Colors are for moist soil.)
Oe-- 0 to 4 inches, dark reddish brown (5YR 2.5/2) moderately decomposed (hemic) plant material; weak fine granular structure; friable; many fine and medium, and common coarse roots; 2 percent gravels and 1 percent stones; extremely acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Oa-- 4 to 9 inches, black (5YR 2.5/1) highly decomposed (sapric) plant material; weak fine granular structure; friable; many fine and medium, and common coarse roots; 3 percent gravels and 1 percent stones; extremely acid, clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the O horizons is 6 to 20 inches.)
E-- 9 to 10 inches; dark reddish gray (2.5YR 4/1) loamy sand; weak fine granular structure; friable; common fine and few medium roots; 3 percent gravels and 2 percent stones; extremely acid; clear wavy boundary. (1 to 5 inches thick)
Bhs1-- 10 to 18 inches; reddish black (2.5YR 2.5/1) loam; weak fine and medium granular structure; friable; common fine and few medium roots; 3 percent gravels and 2 percent stones; extremely acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bhs2-- 18 to 25 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 2.5/2) sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; 5 percent gravels and 4 percent stones; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bhs3-- 25 to 35 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 3/2) gravelly sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; 24 percent gravels and 4 percent stones; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bhs horizons is 10 to 25 inches.)
BC-- 35 to 38 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) fine sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; 10 percent gravels and 4 percent stones; very strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)
R-- 38 inches; Marcy anorthosite bedrock.
TYPE LOCATION: Essex County, New York; Town of North Elba; approximately 3,150 feet in elevation on a southwest aspect, about .4 miles due east of Scott Pond, at end of pass; USGS Santanoni 15 minute topographic quadrangle; Latitude 44 degrees, 09 minutes, 02 seconds N. and Longitude 74 degrees, 01 minutes, 46 seconds W., NAD 1927.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum ranges from 20 to 39 inches from the mineral surface. Rock fragment content ranges from 5 to 35 percent by volume throughout the soil. Stones and boulders cover from .01 to 15 percent of the surface. Reaction ranges from ultra acid to very strongly acid in the surface and subsurface horizons, and from extremely acid to strongly acid in the subsoil.
The O horizons have hue of 10R to 10YR or are neutral, with value and chroma of 3 or less. It is fibric, hemic, or sapric material. It has weak or moderate, fine or medium granular or subangular blocky structure. Consistence is very friable or friable.
The A horizon (where present), has hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 2 to 3, and chroma of 1 or 2. It is fine sandy loam, sandy loam, or coarse sandy loam in the fine-earth fraction. It has weak or moderate, fine or medium granular structure. Consistence is very friable or friable.
The E horizon has hue of 2.5YR to 10YR, value of 3 to 6, and chroma of 1 or 2. It is fine sandy loam, sandy loam, coarse sandy loam, loamy fine sand, or loamy sand in the fine-earth fraction. It has weak fine or medium granular or subangular blocky structure. Consistence is very friable or friable.
The Bhs horizons and Bh horizons (where present), have hue of 10R to 7.5YR, with value and chroma of 3 or less. The Bhs and Bh horizons are loam, fine sandy loam, sandy loam, and coarse sandy loam. Ortstein is present in less than 50 percent of some horizons. They have weak or moderate, fine, medium, or coarse granular or subangular blocky structure, and some pedons have weak platy structure. Consistence is very friable to firm. It is moderately or strongly smeary.
The Bs (where present) horizon has hue of 5YR or 7.5YR, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 3 or 4. It is fine sandy loam, sandy loam, or coarse sandy loam in the fine-earth fraction. They have weak or moderate, fine, medium, or coarse subangular blocky structure, and some pedons have weak platy structure. Consistence is very friable to firm.
The BC horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 3 to 6. It is fine sandy loam, sandy loam or coarse sandy loam in the fine-earth fraction. They have weak or moderate, fine, medium, or coarse subangular blocky structure, and some pedons have weak platy structure. It is friable to firm.
Bedrock is anorthositic gneiss (metamorphosed anorthosite).
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Esther, Hartnit, Isella, Partofshikof, and Sitka series. The Esther series is very deep. The Harnit, Isella, Partofshikof, and Sitka series are formed at least in part from volcanic ash and are outside Region R.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Wallface soils are on summits, shoulders, and backslopes of mountains and ridges at elevations greater than 3000 feet. Slope ranges from 15 to 35 percent. The soils formed in till overlying anorthositic gneiss bedrock. The mean annual temperature ranges from 30 to 43 degrees F., and the mean annual precipitation ranges from 45 to 80 inches. The frost-free season ranges from 80 to 110 days. Elevations range from 3000 to 5400 feet above mean sea level.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Esther, Santanoni, Skylight, Couchsachraga, and Ricker soils. Esther soils occupy similar postitions on the landscape and are very deep. Santanoni soils occupy steeper areas and are sandy-skeletal. Skylight and Couchsachraga soils are generally on higher and steeper areas of the landscape, are shallow and very shallow respectively, and are sandy. Ricker soils are thin organic soils over bedrock in convex positions.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained. The potential for surface runoff is high. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high to very high in the organic surface and mineral subsurface, and moderately high or high in the mineral solum.
USE AND VEGETATION: Forest. Balsam fir, mountain paper birch, red spruce and American mountain ash grow throughout the elevation range. Yellow birch, mountain maple and striped maple commonly grow at the lower elevations.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Mountains of New York. MLRA 143. The series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Essex County, New York, 2007.
REMARKS: 1. This series was established to recognize Andic soil properties in tills of the cryic areas in the Adirondack High Peaks Region of New York. Some pedons lacking E horizons will key out as Pachic or Typic Fulvicryands. These are similar soils in use and management to the Andic Humicryods concept.
Diagnostic horizons and feature recognized in this pedon are:
a. Albic horizon - the zone from 9 to 10 inches (E horizon).
b. Spodic horizon - the zone from 10 to 35 inches (Bhs horizons).
c. Humic feature - have more than 6 percent organic carbon throughout the upper 4 inches of the spodic horizon.
d. Andic feature - andic soil properties throughout horizons that have a total thickness of 10 inches or more within 30 inches either of the mineral soil surface or of the top of an organic layer with andic soil properties, whichever is shallower (Bhs1, Bhs2, and Bhs3 horizons).
ADDITIONAL DATA: NSSL laboratory data is available for the following pedons: S93-NY-031-001, S93-NY-031-006 (OSD pedon), S93-NY-031-007, and S94- NY-031-002.