LOCATION WESSER NC+TNEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy-skeletal, mixed, mesic Humaqueptic Fluvaquents
TYPICAL PEDON: Wesser sandy loam on a 1 percent slope, elevation 4,050 feet -- rhododendron thicket. (Colors are for moist soils unless otherwise noted.)
Oa--0 to 3 inches; highly decomposed plant material; many very fine to coarse, and common very coarse roots; extremely acid; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 6 inches)
A--3 to 6 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) sandy loam; moderate medium granular structure; very friable; common fine and medium prominent strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) irregularly shaped soft masses of redoximorphic iron accumulations throughout; few coarse manganese concretions throughout; many fine to coarse, and common very fine roots; few fine mica flakes throughout; extremely acid; clear wavy boundary. (2 to 6 inches thick)
Cg1--6 to 13 inches; black (10YR 2/1) loamy fine sand; single grained; very friable; few medium and many coarse distinct very dark brown (7.5YR 2.5/3) irregularly shaped soft masses of redoximorphic iron accumulations throughout; few coarse manganese concretions throughout; few fine and common medium roots; few fine mica flakes throughout; extremely acid; clear wavy boundary.
Cg2--13 to 19 inches; black (10YR 2/1) sand; single grained; loose; few medium prominent strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) irregularly shaped soft masses of redoximorphic iron accumulations throughout; few coarse manganese concretions throughout; 5 percent gravel by volume; few fine roots; few fine mica flakes throughout; extremely acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Cg horizon is 6 to 14 inches)
2C--19 to 62 inches; black (10YR 2/1) extremely gravelly sand; single grained; loose; few fine mica flakes throughout; 63 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles and 5 percent stones by volume; very strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Swain County, North Carolina; Alarka Creek. USGS topographic quadrangle Greens Creek; south of Whittier in Alarka Creek watershed; from Whittier on Secondary Road 1173 to Secondary 1193; west on Secondary Road 1193 to Secondary Road 1177, south on Secondary Road 177 to USFS Road 86; south on USFS Road 86 to Wesser Gap; about 1.1 miles from Wesser Gap on USFS Road 86; west of USFS Road 150 feet along small branch. Latitude 35 degrees, 20 minutes, 6 seconds N., Longitude 83 degrees, 21 minutes, 18 seconds W., NAD27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Depth to bedrock is more than 5 feet. Content of mica flakes ranges from few to common throughout. Reaction is extremely acid to strongly acid. Fragment content in the Cg horizon ranges from 0 to 10 percent and in the 2C horizon from 65 to 90 percent. Fragments are metasedimentary gravels, cobbles and stones.
The O horizon forms under rhododendron thickets in hanging coves and appears as a thick root mat. In cleared areas on floodplains, the O horizon is absent or very thin. Extent and type of vegetative cover influences the thickness of the O horizons.
The A horizon has a hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 to 3. The texture is very fine sandy loam, fine sandy loam, sandy loam or loam.
The Cg horizon has a hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 2 to 4, and chroma of 1 or 2. The texture is loamy fine sand, loamy sand, or sand.
The 2C horizon has a hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 1 or 2. The texture is loamy sand or sand in the fine earth fraction.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no known competing soil series.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Wesser soils are on nearly level parts of floodplains and in hanging coves in the Blue Ridge (MLRA 130). Normally located in the upper reaches of watersheds, these hanging coves occur where the cove floor is relatively wide for some distance before narrowing at a lower elevation. The lower terminus is usually characterized by a waterfall. Seeps and springs also are common features of these areas. Micro relief is hummocky on the less sloping portions of these hanging coves, and Wesser soils are commonly on the lower, nearly level parts of hummocks. On floodplains, Wesser soils are in areas that are wetter and more flood-prone, including small depressions. Wesser soils formed in coarse textured alluvium and the underlying skeletal alluvial strata deposited by high energy flooding events. The elevation ranges from 2,500 feet to 5,000 feet. Near the type location, mean annual temperature is 55 degrees F., and mean annual precipitation is 70 inches. Slope ranges from 0 to 3 percent.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Alarka, Cataloochee, Cheoah, Chestnut, Cullasaja, Dellwood, Edneyville, Guyot, Jeffrey, Oconaluftee, Plott, Santeetlah, Soco, Spivey, Stecoah, Tuckasegee, Wayah, Whiteoak, and series. Of these, only Alarka and Dellwood soils are found in hanging coves or floodplains. Alarka soils are poorly drained, in a fine-loamy over sandy or sandy skeletal particle size family, and are on higher, more sloping parts of hummocks. Dellwood soils are better drained and on higher parts of the floodplain or nearer to stream channels. Cataloochee, Guyot, Oconaluftee, and Wayah soils are on ridges and side slopes in frigid temperature regimes. Cheoah, Chestnut, Edneyville, Jeffrey, Plott, Soco, and Stecoah soils are on ridges and side slopes in mesic temperature regimes. Cullasaja, Santeetlah, Spivey, Tuckasegee, and Whiteoak soils are well drained and on benches, foot slopes, toe slopes, drainageways, and fans in nearby coves.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Poorly and very poorly drained; moderately rapid permeability. The 2C horizon is normally saturated throughout the year.
USE AND VEGETATION: Where Wesser occurs in hanging coves, all of the acreage is in woodland, primarily in National Forest or in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. These areas are critical habitat for amphibians, especially salamanders. The dominant vegetative cover is rhododendron thicket, which provides shading and are located where seepage water provides moisture for the development of the thick organic mat. Evergreen trees such as hemlock, white pine, and red spruce are common over story species. Where Wesser occurs on floodplains, use and vegetation are variable. Some areas are used for pasture and hay. Idle areas are commonly in alders, sedges, rushes, and weeds. Common trees in forested areas are yellow poplar, sycamore, hemlock, white pine, red maple, and yellow birch.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The Southern Blue Ridge (MLRA 130B) of North Carolina and Tennessee. The series is of small extent.
MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Great Smoky Mountain National Park, 2007
REMARKS: Soils of the Wesser series in hanging coves were mapped as part of the Humaquepts map unit in the Haywood County Area, NC Soil Survey. However, due to the small size and variability of the map units, no series were established. In these hanging coves, Wesser soils are mainly mapped in a complex with the poorly drained Alarka series. Some soils may have a frigid temperature regime. However, the small extent and unique properties of these soils do not warrant a separation of series based on temperature at this time. This soil was sampled and analyzed by the National Soil Survey Laboratory in Lincoln, NE
Sample Number S99NC-173-002.
Revisions made 9/07(HCD) adjusts the OSD to reflect Lab Data.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon 0 to 6 inches (Oa, and A horizons)
Sandy-skeletal particle size class the zone from 10 to 40 inches (Cg1, Cg2, and 2C horizons)
Humaqueptic subgroup feature materials in the upper 6 inches that have color value, moist, of 3 or less and base saturation of less than 50 percent in some part within 40 inches of the mineral soil surface