LOCATION MUNDALITE NYEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, isotic, frigid Oxyaquic Haplorthods
TYPICAL PEDON: Mundalite fine sandy loam, very bouldery, on a 20 percent east facing slope in a wooded area. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted).
Oa-- 0 to 1 inch, black (5YR 2.5/1) highly decomposed plant material. (0 to 3 inches thick.)
E-- 1 to 3 inches, reddish gray (5YR 5/2) fine sandy loam; weak medium and fine subangular blocky structure; very friable; many fine and very fine, and few medium roots; 7 percent rock fragments; extremely acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 to 3 inches thick.)
Bh-- 3 to 5 inches, dark reddish brown (5YR 2.5/2) fine sandy loam; weak medium and fine subangular blocky structure; very friable; many fine and very fine roots; strongly smeary; 7 percent rock fragments; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bs1-- 5 to 14 inches, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) fine sandy loam; weak medium and fine subangular blocky structure; very friable; many fine and very fine, and few coarse and medium roots; many fine and very fine pores; moderately smeary; 10 percent gravel; strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Bs2-- 14 to 27 inches, dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) cobbly fine sandy loam; weak coarse and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common very fine and fine roots; common fine and very fine pores; moderately smeary; 15 percent rock fragments (including 5 percent gravel); very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bh, Bhs and Bs horizons is 18 to 36 inches.)
Cd1-- 27 to 37 inches, dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/4) very cobbly fine sandy loam; weak thick and very thick platy structure with loamy sand lenses between plates; very firm; few very fine roots in the upper part; common fine and very fine pores; 35 percent rock fragments (including 10 percent gravel); strongly acid; clear wavy boundary.
Cd2-- 37 to 72 inches, dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) very cobbly loamy sand; massive; very firm; common fine and very fine pores; few fine and medium distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) soft masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; 40 percent rock fragments (including 20 percent gravel); strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Clinton County, New York; in the Town of Dannemora, about 1.9 mile south of the intersection with State Route 374 and 1.0 mile west of Chazy Lake Road; USGS Moffitsville, NY topographic quadrangle; Latitude 44 degrees, 43 minutes, 27 seconds N. and Longitude 73 degrees, 50 minutes, 38 seconds W, NAD 1927.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Thickness of the solum and depth to dense basal till ranges from 25 to 40 inches. Rock fragments range from 0 to 25 percent in the solum and from 5 to 50 percent in the substratum. The spodic horizon typically is greater than 18 inches thick. Reaction ranges from extremely acid to moderately acid in the solum, and from very strongly acid to slightly acid in the substratum.
The O horizon consists of slightly to highly decomposed plant material. It is neutral or has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 2 or 2.5, and chroma of 1.
The A horizon, where present, has hue of 5YR to 10YR, value of 2 to 3, and chroma of 0 to 2, or the horizon is neutral. Texture of the fine earth fraction is loam, fine sandy loam or sandy loam. Structure is weak or moderate granular. Consistence is very friable.
The E horizon has hue of 2.5YR to 10YR, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 0 to 3, or is the horizon neutral. Texture of the fine earth fraction is loam, fine sandy loam, or sandy loam. Structure is weak granular or subangular blocky. Consistence is very friable.
The Bh horizon has hue of 10R to 7.5YR, value of 2 to 3, and chroma of 0 to 2, or it is neutral. Texture of the fine earth fraction is loam, fine sandy loam, or sandy loam. Structure is weak or moderate granular, or subangular blocky. Consistence is very friable or friable.
Some pedons have a Bhs horizon up to 20 inches thick. It has hue of 10R to 7.5YR, value of 3 or 4 and chroma of 2 or 3; or hue of 10YR with value and chroma of 2 or less. Texture of the fine earth fraction is loam, fine sandy loam, or sandy loam. Structure is weak prismatic or subangular blocky. Consistence is dominantly friable, but may also have firm masses.
The Bs horizon has hue of 10R to 7.5YR, value and chroma of 3 to 5. Texture of the fine earth fraction is loam, fine sandy loam, or sandy loam. Structure is weak subangular blocky. Consistence is dominantly friable, but some pedons have firm masses in the upper part.
Some pedons have a BC horizon that has hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 or 5 and chroma of 2 to 6. Texture of the fine earth fraction is fine sandy loam, sandy loam, loamy fine sand or loamy sand. Structure is subangular blocky or platy. Consistence is friable or firm.
The Cd horizon has hue of 10YR to 5Y, value 3 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 4. Texture of the fine earth fraction ranges from loamy sand to fine sandy loam. Structure is weak or moderate platy, or it is massive. Consistence is firm or very firm.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Becket, Marlow, Mundal, and Plaisted series. Becket, Marlow, and Plaisted soils typically have spodic horizons that are less than 18 inch thick. Also, Marlow and Plaisted soils have higher silt contents in the solum. Mundal soils have a greater duration of saturation in the subsoil.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Mundalite soils are gently sloping to very steep soils formed in loamy till with a dense substratum. They are usually on convex backslopes and upper footslopes of glaciated uplands. Most areas have boulders covering from 0.1 to 3 percent of the soil surface. Slope ranges from 3 to 60 percent, but is dominantly 8 to 35 percent. Mean annual precipitation ranges 30 to 50 inches; mean annual temperature is 35 to 45 degrees F; and the frost-free period ranges from 60 to 120 days. Elevation ranges from 1800 to 3200 feet above sea level.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Hogback, Rawsonville, Knob Lock, Ampersand, and Wilmington soils. Hogback soils have bedrock at 10 to 20 inches deep. Rawsonville soils have bedrock at 20 to 40 inches deep. Knob Lock soils are dominantly organic deposits in areas of bedrock controlled landforms. The somewhat poorly drained Ampersand and poorly drained Wilmington soils are on the lower part of footslopes or on toeslopes.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained. The potential for surface runoff is low to high. Estimated saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high or high in the mineral solum and moderately low or moderately high in the dense substratum.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are in woodland. Native vegetation is sugar maple, American beech, yellow birch, balsam fir, red oak, and striped maple.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Adirondack Mountain region of New York; MLRA 143. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Clinton County, New York, 1994.
REMARKS: The separation of the Mundalite and Mundal series has been clouded by the reclassification of the Mundal series. Further work is needed to regarding the separation.
Diagnostic horizons and other features recognized in the typical pedon are:
1) Albic horizon - the zone from 1 to 3 inches (E horizon).
2) Spodic horizon - the zone from 3 to 27 inches (Bh, Bs1 and Bs2).
3) Oxyaquic subgroup - redoximorphic features within 40 inches of the mineral soil surface (Cd2 horizon).
4) Redoximorphic Features - soft masses of iron accumulations (Cd horizon).