LOCATION BERKSHIRE MA ME NH NY VTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, isotic, frigid Typic Haplorthods
TYPICAL PEDON: Berkshire fine sandy loam, very stony, on a 28 percent north facing slope in a forested area. (Colors are for moist soil.)
Oe-- 0 to 1 inch; moderately decomposed plant material comprised of needles, leaves and twigs. (0 to 5 inches thick)
Ap-- 1 to 7 inches; dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) fine sandy loam; weak fine and medium granular structure; very friable; many fine medium and coarse roots; 10 percent gravel; extremely acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (5 to 10 inches thick)
E-- 7 to 9 inches; gray (5YR 6/1) fine sandy loam; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many fine medium and coarse roots; 10 percent gravel; extremely acid; abrupt broken boundary. (0 to 12 inches thick)
Bs1-- 9 to 10 inches; dark reddish brown (2.5YR 2/4) fine sandy loam; weak fine granular structure; friable; many fine and medium roots; 10 percent gravel; extremely acid; abrupt broken boundary.
Bs2-- 10 to 14 inches; yellowish red (5YR 4/6) fine sandy loam; weak fine and medium granular structure; very friable; many fine and medium roots; 10 percent gravel; extremely acid; clear wavy boundary. (combined thickness of the Bs horizon is 2 to 13 inches)
BC-- 14 to 23 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) gravelly fine sandy loam; weak fine and medium granular structure; friable; many fine and few medium roots; 15 percent gravel; extremely acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 20 inches thick)
C-- 23 to 65 inches; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) gravelly fine sandy loam; massive; friable; few fine roots in upper 6 inches; 15 percent gravel; very strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Franklin County, Massachusetts; Town of Rowe, 1/2 mile east-southeast of Monroe Bridge; about 100 feet south of Monroe Hill Road and about 50 feet east of powerline right of way, at an elevation of 1378 feet. Latitude 42 degrees 43 minutes 12 seconds N., longitude 72 degrees 55 minutes 56 seconds W., NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum ranges from 16 to 36 inches. The O horizon is slightly, moderately, or highly decomposed plant material. The A horizon contains 5 to 20 percent gravel or channers, 0 to 10 percent cobbles, and 0 to 40 percent stones or boulders by volume. The B and C horizons contain 5 to 20 percent gravel or channers, 0 to 10 percent cobbles, and 0 to 5 percent stones. Reaction ranges from extremely acid to moderately acid unless limed.
The Ap horizon has hue of 10YR to 5YR, value and chroma of 2 to 4. Unplowed pedons have an A horizon that is neutral or has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 2 or 3, and chroma of 0 to 3. It is up to 5 inches thick. Texture of the fine-earth fraction of the Ap or A horizon is loam, very fine sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or sandy loam.
The E horizon, where present, is neutral or has hue of 2.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 0 to 2. Texture of the fine-earth fraction is loam, very fine sandy loam, fine sandy loam or sandy loam.
The Bs horizons have hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 4 to 8. Some pedons have Bhs horizons with hue of 2.5YR to 7.5YR and value and chroma of 3 or less, and/or Bh horizons with hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 2 to 3, and chroma of 1. Bhs and Bh horizons are up to 4 inches thick. Texture of the Bs, Bhs and Bh horizons is loam, very fine sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or sandy loam in the fine-earth fraction. Structure is weak granular or subangular blocky. Maximum combined thickness of the spodic horizon is 16 inches.
The BC horizon, where present, has hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 2 to 4. Texture of the fine-earth fraction is loam, very fine sandy loam, fine sandy loam or sandy loam.
The C horizon has hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 3 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 6. Texture of the fine-earth fraction is loam, very fine sandy loam, fine sandy loam or sandy loam. Some pedons have individual layers of loamy coarse sand or coarse sand below a depth of 40 inches. The C horizon is dominantly friable but some pedons have discrete firm masses or strata.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Houghtonville, Groveton, Rawsonville, and Tunbridge series. Houghtonville soils have a spodic horizon greater than 16 inches thick and are generally at higher elevations than Berkshire soils. Groveton soils formed in glaciofluvial material. Rawsonville and Tunbridge soils are moderately deep to bedrock and Rawsonville soils have a Bhs or Bh horizon more than 4 inches thick.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Berkshire soils are gently sloping to very steep soils on glaciated uplands. Slope ranges from 3 to 75 percent. The soils developed in till of late Wisconsin age, derived principally from acid, gray to black or olive mica schist with some phyllite, granite and gneiss. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 35 to 50 inches and mean annual temperature ranges from 38 to 45 degrees F. Mean annual growing season ranges from 90 to 160 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Hermon, Lyman, Monadnock, Peru, and Tunbridge soils. Hermon soils are sandy-skeletal and are somewhat excessively drained. Lyman soils are shallow to bedrock and are somewhat excessively drained. Monadnock soils have sandy substrata. Peru soils formed in dense till and are moderately well drained. Tunbridge soils are moderately deep to bedrock.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Permeability is moderate or moderately rapid.
USE AND VEGETATION: Largely forested with beech; paper, black, and yellow birch; sugar and red maple; eastern hemlock, red spruce, balsam fir, eastern white pine, red pine, white ash, and basswood. Cleared areas are used for growing grasses and legumes for hay and pasture, corn for silage used in support of dairying, and potatoes. A few areas are in urban uses.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Maine, western Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont; principally in the White and Green Mountains, the Berkshire hills, the Vermont Piedmont, and northeast highlands of Vermont; MLRAs 143, 144A and 144B. The series is extensive.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Berkshire County, Massachusetts, 1923.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
a. Ochric epipedon - the zone from the mineral soil surface to a depth of 7 inches (Ap horizon).
b. Albic horizon - the zone from 7 to 9 inches (E horizon).
c. Spodic horizon - the zone from 9 to 14 inches (Bs1 and Bs2 horizons).
d. Coarse-loamy feature - The zone from 10 to 40 inches contains more than 15 percent sand that is coarser than fine sand including gravel or channers, and about 5 to 10 percent clay.
ADDITIONAL DATA: Berkshire is a benchmark soil. Nine pedons have been characterized in Massachusetts and Vermont. Data is unpublished.