LOCATION QUONSET MA+NH RI VTEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Sandy-skeletal, mixed, mesic Typic Udorthents
TYPICAL PEDON: Quonset sandy loam on a 13 percent slope in a forested area. (Colors are for moist soil.)
Oi--0 to 1 inches; slightly decomposed plant material (fibric material) derived from oak leaves and pine needles.
Oa--1 to 2 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 2/2) highly decomposed plant material (sapric material).
A--2 to 4 inches; black (10YR 2/1) sandy loam; weak fine granular structure; very friable; many medium and fine roots; 5 percent shale channers and gravel; extremely acid; abrupt smooth boundary. (1 to 4 inches thick)
Bw1--4 to 7 inches; dark brown (10YR 4/3) channery sandy loam; weak fine and medium granular structure; very friable; many medium and fine roots; 15 percent shale channers and gravel; very strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary.
Bw2--7 to 14 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) channery loamy sand; massive; very friable; common medium and fine roots; 20 percent rock fragments, mainly shale and phyllite channers; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bw horizon is 6 to 18 inches)
BC--14 to 22 inches; light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) very channery loamy sand; single grain; loose; common medium and fine roots; 40 percent shale and phyllite channers, 2 percent flagstones; 25 percent dark sand in the sand fraction; very strongly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick)
C--22 to 65 inches; olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) to dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) extremely channery sand; single grain; loose; few medium roots; 65 percent shale and phyllite channers and 2 percent granitic gravel and cobbles; 30 percent of the sand fraction consists of dark sand; strongly acid.
TYPE LOCATION: Plymouth County, Massachusetts; Town of Norwell, 3 1/2 miles northwest of Norwell Village and 1 3/4 miles north of Assinippi Village. Lat. 42 degrees 11 minutes 05 seconds N., and long. 70 degrees 51 minutes 18 seconds W., NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 15 to 37 inches. The volume of channers and gravel ranges from 0 to 50 percent in the A horizon, 15 to 50 percent in the B horizon, and 10 to 70 percent in the C horizon. Rock fragments greater than 3 inches range from 0 to 5 percent throughout the soil. Dark minerals dominate the lithology, ranging from 25 to 75 percent of the rock fragments and 15 to 50 percent of the sand fraction. Reaction, where not limed, ranges from extremely acid through strongly acid in the A horizon, from extremely acid through moderately acid in the B horizon and from strongly acid through slightly acid in the C horizon.
The A horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 2 to 3, and chroma of 1 to 3. Some pedons have Ap horizons that have hue of 10YR, value of 3 or 4, and chroma of 2 to 4. Texture is fine sandy loam, sandy loam, or loamy sand in the fine-earth faction. Consistence is friable or very friable.
The upper part of the Bw horizon has hue of 7.5YR or 10YR, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 3 to 6. Texture is fine sandy loam, sandy loam, loamy sand, or sand in the fine-earth fraction. Structure is granular or the horizon is structureless.
The lower part of the Bw horizon and the BC horizon, where present, have hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 to 6. Texture of the fine-earth of these horizons is loamy sand. Structure of the B horizon is granular or it is structureless. Consistence is very friable or loose.
The BC horizon, where present, has hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, value of 4 or 5, and chroma of 3 to 6. Texture of the fine-earth is loamy sand. Structure is granular or it is structureless. Consistence is very friable or loose.
The C horizon has hue of 10YR to 5Y, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 2 to 4. Texture is sand or coarse sand in the fine-earth fraction and the horizon is normally stratified.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Bonaparte, Hinckley, Manchester, Mecosta, Multorpor, Otisville, and Riker series. Mecosta and Multorpor series are from outside LRR R and S.
Bonaparte soils do not have allow loamy textures in the upper part and have carbonates within a depth of 40 inches. Hinckley soils have rock fragments dominated by granite, gneiss, and schist. Manchester soils have hue of 5YR or redder. Mecosta and Multorpor soils are from outside of Region R. Mecosta soils have a calcareous C horizon. Multorpor soils have hue OF 10YR and chroma of 1 or 2 throughout. Otisville soils have rock fragments dominated by siltstone and shale. Riker soils formed in a mixture of unburned coal and coal ash and have carboliths, pieces of coal or coal slag in the soil.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Quonset soils are on nearly level to very steep slopes on terraces, outwash plains, deltas, eskers, and kames. Slope ranges from 0 to 70 percent. The soils developed in water-sorted sand, gravel, subrounded channers, and flagstones. All were derived dominantly from acid dark phyllite, shale or slate, and some schist and gneiss. Mean annual temperature ranges from 45 to 52 degrees F. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 40 to 50 inches. The frost free period ranges from 120 to 180 days.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Warwick, Bernardston, Dutchess, Nassau, and Pittstown soils on nearby landscapes. Warwick soils are loamy and are somewhat excessively drained. Bernardston, Dutchess, Nassau, and Pittstown are loamy soils formed in till on adjacent uplands.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Excessively drained. Permeability is moderately rapid or rapid in the solum and very rapid in the substratum.
USE AND VEGETATION: Mostly in forest or idle land. Forest is mainly oaks, white pine, and gray birch. Cleared and improved areas are used principally for hay, pasture, and silage corn and to a small extent, for truck crops. A few areas are used for urban development.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Glaciofluvial landforms in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; MLRAs 144A and 145. The series is moderately extensive, estimated to be about 15,000 acres.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Kent and Washington Counties, Rhode Island, 1934.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
1. Ochric epipedon - the zone from the mineral soil surface to a depth of 4 inches (A horizon).
2. Sandy-skeletal feature - have 35 percent or more (about 54 percent) weighted average volume of rock fragments in the particle-size control section.