LOCATION RAWSONVILLE VT+ME NH NYEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, isotic, frigid Typic Haplohumods
TYPICAL PEDON: Rawsonville very fine sandy loam, on an 32 percent southwest facing slope in a very rocky wooded area. (Colors are for moist soil.)
Oe-- 0 to 2 inches; very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) rubbed, moderately decomposed plant material; many very fine roots; abrupt wavy boundary.
Oa-- 2 to 6 inches; black (N 2.5/0) highly decomposed plant material; weak fine granular structure; very friable; few coarse and many fine and very fine roots; extremely acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (The combined thickness of the O horizon is 0 through 8 inches.)
E-- 6 to 7 inches; dark gray (5Y 4/1) very fine sandy loam; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; common very fine and fine roots; 5 percent rock fragments; very strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 through 8 inches thick.)
Bhs1-- 7 to 10 inches; very dusky red (2.5YR 2.5/2) very fine sandy loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; very friable; few medium and common very fine and fine roots; 7 percent rock fragments; moderately smeary; very strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary.
Bhs2-- 10 to 15 inches; dark reddish brown (5YR 3/3) very fine sandy loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; very friable; few medium and common very fine and fine roots; 7 percent rock fragments; moderately smeary; strongly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (The combined thickness of the Bhs horizon is 4 through 16 inches.)
BC-- 15 to 32 inches; dark grayish brown (2.5Y 4/2) very fine sandy loam; weak fine subangular blocky structure; very friable; few very fine and roots; 10 percent rock fragments; weakly smeary; strongly acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (0 through 11 inches thick.)
R-- 32 inches; schist bedrock.
TYPE LOCATION: Caledonia County, Vermont; town of Stannard; 2500 feet northwest of Stannard Pond and 1200 feet south of the Wheelock Town line; USGS Stannard topographic quadrangle; latitude 44 degrees 32 minutes 09 seconds north, longitude 72 degrees 10 minutes 24 seconds west, NAD 27.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The thickness of the solum and depth to bedrock range from 20 to 40 inches. Reaction ranges from extremely acid through strongly acid throughout the mineral soil. Rock fragments are mostly gravel, cobbles or channers and range from 0 through 20 percent in the upper part of the solum and 5 through 30 percent in the lower part of the solum.
Some pedons have an A horizon that is neutral or has hue of 5YR through 10YR, value of 2 through 3, and chroma of 0 through 2. It is fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, silt loam, or loam in the fine-earth fraction.
The E horizon has hue of 5YR through 5Y, value of 3 through 6, and chroma of 1 through 3. It is sandy loam, fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, loam, or silt loam in the fine-earth fraction.
The Bhs horizon has hue of 2.5YR through 7.5YR with value and chroma of 3 or less.
Some pedons have a Bh horizon that is neutral with value of 2 or less or has hue of 10YR, value of 3 and chroma of 1.
Some pedons have a Bs horizon with hue of 5YR through 10YR, value of 3 or more and chroma of 4 or more.
The Bhs, Bs, and Bh horizons are sandy loam, fine sandy loam, very fine sandy loam, silt loam, or loam in the fine-earth fraction. They are moderately or weakly smeary.
The BC horizon has hue of 7.5YR through 5Y value of 3 through 5, and chroma of 2 through 4. It is sandy loam, fine sandy loam or very fine sandy loam in the fine-earth fraction.
Some pedons have a C horizon with hue of 10YR through 5Y, value of 3 through 5, and chroma of 2 through 4. It is sandy loam, fine sandy loam or very fine sandy loam in the fine-earth fraction.
Bedrock is slightly weathered schist, gneiss, phyllite, granite, or anorthisite.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no other series in this family.
The Glebe, Hogback and Tunbridge series are in related families. Glebe soils have a cryic temperature regime. Hogback soils are shallow. Tunbridge soils has less organic carbon in the spodic horizon.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Rawsonville soils are on glaciated uplands. They are on mountain tops, mountain side slopes, ridges, hill tops, and hill slopes. Slope ranges from 3 through 70 percent. The soils formed in loamy glacial till of Wisconsin age. Mean annual precipitation ranges from about 34 through 60 inches, and the mean annual temperature ranges from 38 through 45 degrees F. The frost-free season ranges from about 60 through 120 days. Elevation is typically between 1,500 and 3000 feet.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: The shallow Hogback and very deep Houghtonville soils are on similar landscapes. The very deep Mundal soils are moderately well drained, have a dense substratum, and are on slightly lower positions on the landscape. The very deep Wilmington soils are poorly drained, have a dense substratum, and are on nearly level to sloping, concave, or depressional areas.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Well drained. Estimated saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high or high in the mineral soil.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are wooded. The common trees are white ash, American beech, yellow birch, paper birch, red maple, sugar maple, balsam fir, red spruce, white spruce, and eastern hemlock.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Vermont New Hampshire, Maine and New York. The series is of moderate extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Windham County, Vermont, 1984.
REMARKS: 1. The classification and type location is changed with this revision. Recent investigations in northern New England show that many moderately deep soils previously mapped as Orthods meet the organic carbon requirement for the Humods suborder. The former classification was Coarse-loamy, isotic, frigid Typic Haplorthods.
2. Albic horizons are often discontinuous because of tree throw and other disturbances.
3. The diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
a. Folistic epipedon - the zone from 0 through 6 inches (Oe and Oa horizons).
b. Spodic horizon - the zone from 7 through 15 inches (Bhs horizon).
c. Lithic contact - bedrock at 32 inches from the soil surface.
ADDITIONAL DATA: This series is based on field profile descriptions and laboratory data from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York.