LOCATION MARDIN NY PAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Typic Fragiudepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Mardin channery silt loam, on a 5 percent slope in a meadow. (Colors are for moist soil.)
Ap-- 0 to 8 inches; brown (10YR 4/3) channery silt loam; moderate fine granular structure; friable; many fine roots; 20 percent channers; very strongly acid; clear, smooth boundary. (6 to 12 inches thick.)
Bw-- 8 to 13 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) channery silt loam; weak medium and fine subangular blocky structure; friable; many fine roots; 20 percent channers; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (4 to 18 inches thick.)
E-- 13 to 19 inches; pale brown (10YR 6/3) channery silt loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; firm; common fine roots; 15 percent channers; many medium faint light brownish gray (2.5Y 6/2) redoximorphic depletions; strongly acid; clear, wavy boundary. (0 to 8 inches thick.)
Bx1-- 19 to 26 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) channery silt loam, prism faces are pale brown (10YR 6/3) with yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) borders; strong very coarse prismatic structure parting to weak coarse subangular blocky, prism faces are wider at the top becoming narrower with increasing depth; very firm and brittle; few fine roots along prism faces; common fine pores with few faint clay films; 25 percent channers; common medium distinct dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) redoximorphic depletions in the matrix and common fine prominent light gray (N 7/0) redoximorphic depletions along prism faces; strongly acid; diffuse, irregular boundary.
Bx2-- 26 to 42 inches; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) channery silt loam, prism faces are pale brown (10YR 6/3) with yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) borders; strong very coarse prismatic structure, 10 to 12 inches across, parting to weak coarse subangular blocky; very firm and brittle; few fine pores with few faint clay films; 30 percent channers; common medium faint brown (10YR 4/3) redoximorphic depletions; moderately acid; diffuse irregular boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bx horizon is 15 to 56 inches.)
C-- 42 to 72 inches; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) very channery silt loam; massive; firm; 45 percent channers; moderately acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Chemung County, New York; Town of Erin, one half mile east of Langdon Hill Rd. and 1,200 feet north of State Route 223. Elevation 1300; USGS Erin, NY topographic quadrangle; Latitude: 42 degrees, 10 minutes, 57 seconds N. and Longitude 76 degrees, 41 minutes, 55 seconds, W., NAD 1927.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 38 to 72 inches. Depth to the top of the fragipan ranges from 14 to 26 inches. Depth to bedrock ranges from 60 inches to 20 feet or more. There is 60 percent or more silt plus very fine sand in the fine-earth fraction above the fragipan. Rock fragments are dominantly channers, flagstones, or gravel, and range from 5 to 35 percent in the horizons above the fragipan, and commonly from 15 to 60 percent in the Bx and C horizons. Some pedons do not have rock fragments in layers below a depth of 60 inches.
The Ap horizon has hue of 7.5YR through 2.5Y, value of 3 or 4, and chroma of 2 through 4. Texture of the fine-earth fraction is silt loam. Structure is weak or moderate granular. Consistence is friable or very friable. Some pedons in uncultivated areas have a dark A horizon 1 to 5 inches thick. Reaction ranges from extremely acid through moderately acid, unless limed.
The Bw horizon has hue of 7.5YR through 2.5Y, value of 4 through 6, and chroma of 3 through 8. Texture of the fine-earth fraction is loam or silt loam. Structure is very fine through medium subangular blocky or granular. Consistence is very friable through firm. Reaction ranges from extremely acid through moderately acid, unless limed.
The E horizon has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 5 through 7, and chroma of 2 or 3. Texture of the fine-earth fraction is loam or silt loam. Structure is subangular blocky or platy. Consistence is friable or firm. Reaction ranges from extremely acid through moderately acid. The E or Bw horizons have redoximorphic features in some part above 20 inches, but are not distinct or prominent within 12 inches.
The Bx horizon has hue of 7.5YR through 5Y, value of 3 through 5, and chroma of 2 through 4 with faint to prominent redoximorphic features. Texture of the fine-earth fraction is loam or silt loam. The Bx horizon has weak through strong very coarse prismatic structure. Consistence is firm or very firm. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid through slightly acid. Some pedons have a BC or a CB horizon.
The C horizon has hue of 7.5YR through 5Y, value of 3 through 5, and chroma of 2 through 4. Textures are similar to the Bx horizon except silty layers that do not have rock fragments are in some pedons below a depth of 40 inches. The C horizon is massive, or has weak plate-like divisions. Consistence is firm or very firm. Reaction ranges from strongly acid through neutral in the upper part, but can range to slightly alkaline below a depth of 60 inches in some pedons. Some pedons lack C horizons.
COMPETING SERIES: The Bath, Braceville, Broadalbin, Ira, Lackawanna, Rushford (T), Sodus, Swartswood, Wellsboro, and Wurtsboro series are in the same family. Bath soils do not have redoximorphic features in the B or E horizons above 20 inches and are slightly deeper to the fragipan. Braceville soils have stratified sand and gravel in the substratum. Broadalbin soils have rock fragments dominated by soft black shale, granite and gneiss. Ira, Swartswood, and Wurtsboro soils have less than 60 percent silt plus very fine sand in the fine-earth fraction above the fragipan. Lackawanna and Wellsboro soils have hues of 5YR or redder in the fragipan. Rushford (T) soils lack rock fragments in the 2Bx and 2C horizons. Sodus soils lack distinct or prominent redoximorphic features above 30 inches.
The Canaseraga, Langford, Marilla, and Mosherville series are similar soils in related families, but these may change as series are reclassified. Canaseraga soils have a coarse-silty particle-size control section. Langford and Marilla soils have fine-loamy particle-size control sections. Mosherville soils have redoximorphic features within 12 inches of the soil surface and formed in deposits derived from granite and gneiss.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Mardin soils are nearly level to very steep with slopes ranging from 0 to 50 percent. These soils developed in till, and are on slightly convex parts of dissected glaciated uplands. Mean annual temperature ranges from 45 to 52 degrees F. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 30 to 45 inches, and mean annual frost-free season ranges from 120 to 160 days. Elevation ranges from 800 to 1800 feet above sea level.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: Bath soils are well drained and occupy higher, more convex parts of adjacent landscapes. Somewhat poorly drained Volusia soils and poorly drained Chippewa soils are drainage associates, and occur on footslopes, toeslopes, level hill tops and in depressions. Arnot, Greene, Lordstown, Nassau, and Tuller soils are in nearby areas where depth to bedrock is less than 40 inches. Valois soils do not have a fragipan and are commonly on nearby lateral and end moraines. Alton, Chenango, Hoosic, Howard, and Otisville soils are on nearby glaciofluvial terraces.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Moderately well drained. The potential for surface runoff is medium to high. Permeability is moderate in the surface layer, subsurface layer, and upper part of the subsoil; and slow or very slow in the lower part of the subsoil (fragipan) and the substratum.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas have been cleared and are used for producing silage corn, small grains, hay, and pasture. A significant acreage is idle or has reverting to brush and trees. Woodlots contain sugar maple, beech, white ash, black cherry, hemlock, and occasionally red oak and white pine.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Southern New York and northern Pennsylvania. MLRA 100, 101, 140, and 144A. The series is extensive.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Tioga County, Pennsylvania, 1929.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and other features recognized in the typical pedon are:
1. Ochric epipedon - the zone from 0 to 8 inches (Ap horizon).
2. Cambic horizon - the zone from 8 to 13 inches (Bw horizon).
3. Fragipan - the zone from 18 to 42 inches (Bx1 and Bx2
horizons).
4 Udic soil moisture regime.
5 Estimated CEC activity class to be active, but of 6 pedons sampled in NY from 1982 to 1991: 3 were superactive, 2 were semiactive, & 1 was active.