LOCATION GUYANDOTTE WV+KYEstablished Series
The Guyandotte series consists of very deep, well drained soils with moderate to moderately rapid permeability. They formed
in colluvium derived mostly from sandstone but including shale and siltstone. Guyandotte soils are on mountain coves, side
slopes, and foot slopes. Slope ranges from 35 to 90 percent but is dominantly 45 to 80 percent. Mean annual precipitation is
about 47 inches and mean annual temperature is about 53 degrees F at the type location.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy-skeletal, mixed, active, mesic Humic Dystrudepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Guyandotte sandy loam, on a 65 percent, slightly concave, north-facing slope in a very stony forested area. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)
Oi--2 to 0 inches; undecomposed hardwood leaves.
Oa--0 to 1 inch; black (10YR 2/1) well decomposed organic material. (Combined thickness of the O horizon is 1 to 5 inches)
A1--1 to 3 inches; black (10YR 2/1) very channery sandy loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) dry; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many fine, medium, and coarse roots; 55 percent channers and stones; very strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary.
A2--3 to 8 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) very channery sandy loam, dark brown (10YR 3/3) dry; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many fine, medium, and coarse roots; 40 percent channers and stones; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
A3--8 to 13 inches; dark brown (10YR 3/3) very channery sandy loam, dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) dry; moderate fine granular structure; very friable; many fine, medium, and coarse roots; 40 percent channers and stones, strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the A horizon is 10 to 20 inches)
BA--13 to 24 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4 and 10YR 4/6) very channery sandy loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; very friable; many fine, medium, and coarse roots; 55 percent channers and stones; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (0 to 14 inches thick)
Bw1--24 to 39 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) very channery sandy loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; friable; common fine, medium and coarse roots; 55 percent channers and stones; moderately acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bw2--39 to 65 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) extremely channery sandy loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine, medium and coarse roots; 65 percent channers and stones; moderately acid. (Combined thickness of the Bw horizon is 30 to 56 inches)
TYPE LOCATION: Wyoming County, West Virginia; about 1,000 yards southwest of Ivy Knob Fire Tower and WV 99.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness is 50 to 70 inches or more. Depth to bedrock is more than 5 feet. Thickness of the umbric epipedon is 10 to 20 inches. Rock fragments consisting of channers, flagstones, and stones range from 15 to 70 percent in individual horizons, but average 35 percent or more in the particle-size control section. Texture of the fine earth fraction of the 10 to 40 inch particle-size control section typically averages less than 18 percent clay, but ranges to 27 percent. Reaction is very strongly acid to neutral in the A horizons, and very strongly to moderately acid in the B and C horizons.
The A horizon has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 2 or 3, (3 through 5 dry) and chroma of 1 through 3. Texture of the fine earth is sandy loam, loam, or silt loam. Some pedons have weak medium or fine subangular blocky structure in the lower parts of the horizon. Some pedons have A-dominated transitional horizons (e.g. AB or A/B) with colors having hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 3 or 4, and chroma of 3 or 4.
The BA and Bw horizons have hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 3 through 5, and chroma of 3 through 6. Texture of the fine earth is sandy loam, loam, or silt loam. Structure is weak or moderate, fine to coarse subangular blocky. Some pedons have a BC horizon. Some pedons have thin discontinuous silt or clay films on rock fragment surfaces in the lower part of the B horizon.
The C horizon, when present has hue of 10YR or 7.5YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 through 6. Texture of the fine earth is loam, silt loam or sandy loam.
COMPETING SERIES: The tentative Prybar series is the only other series in the same family. Prybar soils are moderately deep to bedrock and formed in materials weathered from high-grade igneous and metamorphic rocks. The tentative
Skoly and
Steever series are in a superactive CEC activity class. These soils formed in material weathered from basalt or other mafic rocks, have MAAP of 70 inches or more, and average more than 18 percent clay in the particle size control section. Soils in closely related families are the
Brightwood,
Cullasaja,
Harrington,
Klickitat,
Milbury,
Spivey,
Swedeheaven and
Wauld series. All of these soils have isotic mineralogy. The Brightwood, Harrington, Milbury, Swedeheaven and Wauld soil series are less than 40 inches to bedrock. Cullasaja and Spivey soils formed in colluvium weathered from high-grade metamorphic or igneous rocks. Klickitat soils formed from material weathered from basalt.
Additionally,
Sharondale soils are closely related and have base saturation greater than 50 percent in all horizons and have a mollic epipedon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Guyandotte soils are mostly on steep and very steep, north facing mountain slopes of long, wide to narrow coves, drainageways, side slopes, and foot slopes. Slopes are dominantly 45 to 80 percent but range from 35 to 90 percent. Guyandotte soils formed in colluvium derived from acid and neutral sandstone, shale, and siltstone. Most areas of Guyandotte have 3 percent or greater stone cover. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 40 to 60 inches, and mean annual temperature ranges from 52 to 59
degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are
Berks,
Cloverlick,
Cutshin,
Dekalb,
Gilpin,
Handshoe,
Highsplint,
Lily,
Matewan,
Pineville, and
Sharondale soils. Berks, Dekalb, Gilpin, Lily, and Matewan soils formed in residuum and have bedrock at less than 40 inches and lack an umbric epipedon. The colluvial Cloverlick, Cutshin, Handshoe, Highsplint and Pineville series lack an umbric epipedon, and the colluvial Sharondale soils have a mollic epipedon. Cutshin and Pineville soils contain less than 35
percent rock fragments.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Runoff class is medium or high. Permeability class is moderate or moderately rapid. C horizons have moderate to slow permeability at depths of 60 inches or more.
USE AND VEGETATION: Guyandotte soils are in forests of mixed stands of Northern red oak, sugar maple, hickory, American basswood, cucumber tree, yellow poplar, black oak, white oak, black locust, white ash, black cherry, yellow buckeye, Ohio buckeye, black walnut, and umbrella magnolia.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Mainly above 1,200 feet in elevation in the Cumberland Mountains of southern West Virginia and eastern Kentucky. The extent is moderate.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Morgantown, West Virginia
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Wyoming County, West Virginia. 1984
REMARKS: The 7/2002 revision updates Guyandotte soils to the 8th Edition of the Keys to Soil Taxonomy (1998). The CEC activity class placement (active) is based on nine NSSL characterization pedons. Five are active, two each are semiactive and superactive.
NSSL mineralogy data from seven West Virginia pedons of Guyandotte indicate mixed mineralogy, but are close to siliceous. Coarse silt and fine sand fraction grain counts range from 69 to 93 percent resistant minerals for individual horizons, but all seven pedons are classified as mixed with weighted averages from about 75 to 89 percent.
Diagnostic horizons and features present in the profile are:
a.) Umbric epipedon - 1 to 13 inches (A1, A2 and A3 horizons.)
b.) Cambic horizon - 13 to 65 inches (BA, Bw1, Bw2 horizons).
ADDITIONAL DATA: Refer to NSSL characterization pedons S86WV-109- 002 (typical pedon), S82KY-195-012, S84KY-095-007, S86WV-005-001, S86WV-005-002, S86WV-045-002, S86WV-059-001, S86WV059-004, and S86WV-067-001 for laboratory data.
SOIL INTERPRETATION RECORD: WV0069
Revised 1/93- BLW-JCL-ART; 7/2002-ABJ,DHK