LOCATION WOTALF NY
Established Series
Rev. LAH-RBT-DAS-JTI
04/2017
WOTALF SERIES
The Wotalf series consist of shallow, well drained soils formed in a loamy mantle of supraglacial melt-out till overlying serpentinite bedrock. They are nearly level to very steep soils on ridges and hills on glaciated uplands. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high or high. Slope ranges from 0 to 75 percent. Mean annual temperature is 12 degrees Celsius and mean annual precipitation is 1165 millimeters.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, superactive, mesic Lithic Eutrudepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Wotalf loam, on a 42 percent slope in an idle sideslope. (Colors are for moist soil unless specified otherwise.)
A-- 0 to 8 centimeters; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) loam; strong medium granular structure; very friable; many very fine and fine and common medium and coarse roots; 4 percent gravel and 1 percent cobbles; moderately acid (pH 5.7); clear wavy boundary. (7 to 25 centimeters thick.)
AB-- 8 to 20 centimeters; dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) gravelly loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common very fine and fine and few medium and coarse roots; 15 percent gravel and 5 percent cobbles; slightly acid (pH 6.2); clear wavy boundary.
Bw-- 20 to 43 centimeters; reddish brown (5YR 4/4) extremely gravelly loam; moderate medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; friable; common very fine and fine roots; 50 percent gravel and 10 percent cobbles; neutral (pH 7.1); abrupt irregular boundary. (5 to 41 centimeters thick)
2R--43 centimeters; greenish gray (10Y 6/1) serpentinite bedrock.
TYPE LOCATION: Richmond County, New York; From intersection of Richmond Hill Road and Old Mill Road, 1000 feet West on Old Mill Road, then 75 feet North on a South facing sideslope of 42 percent; USGS Arthur Kill topographic quadrangle; Latitude 40 degrees, 34 minutes, 23.4 seconds N. and Longitude 74 degrees, 09 minutes, 2.5 seconds W., NAD 1983. (Rockwell GPS Receiver)
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness and depth to serpentinite bedrock range from 25 to 50 centimeters. Rock fragments range from 0 to 85 percent by volume with a weighted average of more than 35 percent rock fragments in the control section. The soil texture is sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or loam in the fine-earth fraction. The soil reaction ranges from moderately acid to slightly alkaline.
The Ap, A, or AB horizon has hue of 5YR to 2.5Y, value of 2 to 4, and chroma of 2 or 3. It has weak to strong granular structure. Consistence is very friable or friable.
The Bw horizon has hue of 2.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 3 to 6. It has moderate subangular blocky structure. Consistence is friable.
Some pedons have a C horizon with similar color, texture, and consistence to the Bw horizon. It is structureless and massive.
The 2R horizon is light green to dark green serpentinite. Some pedons have a 2Cr horizon consisting of weathered serpentinite bedrock with a lower hardness value than the underling 2R horizon.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series. The
Benson and
Umpcoos series are in closely related families. Benson soils are shallow to limestone or calcareous shale. Umpcoos soils are shallow to sandstone or siltstone.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Wotalf soils are nearly level to very steep soils on serpentinite bedrock-controlled ridges and hills on glaciated uplands. They developed in a thin mantle of supraglacial melt-out till of Wisconsinan age mainly derived from serpentinite and red acid sandstone, siltstone, and/or shale. Slope ranges from 0 to 75 percent. The climate is humid and temperate. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 1011 to 1283 millimeters, and mean annual temperature ranges from 8 to 17 degrees Celsius. The frost-free period is 210 to 235 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the
Boonton,
Branford,
Cheshire,
Haledon,
Hasbrouck,
Ludlow,
Manchester,
Penwood,
Todthill,
Wethersfield, and
Wilbraham soils. Boonton, Haledon, and Hasbrouck soils formed in till derived from red sedimentary rocks and basalt and contain argillic horizons and fragipan restrictions. Cheshire soils formed in melt-out till derived from red sedimentary rock and/or basalt and are very deep to bedrock. Branford, Manchester and Penwood soils form in glaciofluvial deposits derived from red sedimentary rocks and/or basalt. Ludlow, Wethersfield and Wilbraham soils developed in lodgment till derived from red sedimentary rocks and/or basalt. Todthill soils formed in the same parent materials as Wotalf and are moderately deep to serpentinite bedrock.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained. The potential for surface runoff is medium to high. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high or high.
USE AND VEGETATION: Mainly used for urban development and recreation. Some areas are managed as open space or woodland and are used for recreational purposes. Dominant native vegetation includes little bluestem, Indiangrass, winged sumac, northern bayberry, tulip tree, and oak. Non-native vegetation includes common wormwood, honeysuckle, oriental bittersweet, black locust, and tree of heaven.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: These soils occur on glaciated upland landscapes associated with serpentinite bedrock on Staten Island, NY and in Hoboken, NJ in MLRA 144A. The soils of this series are of small extent.
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Richmond County, New York, 2014.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and other features associated with the typical pedon include:
1. Ochric Epipedon - the zone from the surface to 20 centimeters (A horizon).
2. Cambic horizon - the zone from 20 to 43 centimeters (Bw horizon).
3. Lithic subgroup - serpentinite bedrock contact at 43 centimeters.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Full characterization data for sample no. S1995NY085030. Pedon analyzed by the NSSL, Lincoln, NE.
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.