LOCATION CHESTNUT NC+GA TN VAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Coarse-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Typic Dystrudepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Chestnut gravelly loam--forested. (Colors are for moist soil)
0i--0 to 2 inch; slightly decomposed organic matter and leaves, twigs, and roots.
A--2 to 8 inches; dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) gravelly loam; weak medium granular structure; very friable; many fine and medium roots; 20 percent granite gneiss gravel by volume; few fine flakes of mica; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (1 to 10 inches thick)
Bw--8 to 32 inches; yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) gravelly loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very friable; common fine roots; 20 percent granite gneiss gravel by volume; few fine flakes of mica; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (10 to 30 inches thick)
Cr--32 to 74 inches; multicolored weathered granite gneiss that can be dug with difficulty with hand tools; rock structure; partly consolidated in place; few fine roots in cracks; cracks are more than 4 inches apart; few fine flakes of mica; very strongly acid. (10 to 50 inches thick)
R--74 inches; hard granite gneiss.
TYPE LOCATION: Caldwell County, North Carolina; 2.5 miles south of Blowing Rock on Globe Road (State Road 1367); 0.6 mile north of Tolbert Cemetery; 500 feet northwest of USFS trail; on north side of trail.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 15 to 39 inches. Depth to paralithic contact at the upper boundary of the Cr horizon ranges from 20 to 40 inches below the surface. Depth to lithic contact is more than 40 inches. Reaction is extremely acid to moderately acid. Content of rock fragments ranges from 0 to 35 percent by volume throughout. Content of mica flakes is few or common throughout.
The A or Ap horizon has hue of 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 2 to 6, and chroma of 1 to 6. Where value is 3 or less, this horizon is less than 7 inches thick.. The A horizon is loam, fine sandy loam, or sandy loam in the fine-earth fraction.
Some pedons have an AB or BA horizon. Hue is 7.5YR to 2.5Y, value of 3 to 5, and chroma of 3 or 4. Textures are the same as for the A horizon.
The Bw horizon, and BC horizon where present, has hue of 5YR to 2.5Y, value of 4 to 6, and chroma of 2 to 8. It is dominantly sandy loam, fine sandy loam, or loam in the fine-earth fraction. Some pedons have thin subhorizons of sandy clay loam.
The C horizon, where present, is similar in color to the Bw horizon or is multicolored. It is saprolite that is loam, sandy loam, fine sandy loam, loamy sand, or loamy fine sand in the fine-earth fraction.
The Cr horizon is multicolored weathered felsic to mafic igneous or high-grade metamorphic rock such as granite, hornblende gneiss, granodiorite, gneiss, high-grade metagraywacke, and high-grade metasandstone. It is partly consolidated but can be dug with difficulty with hand tools. The upper boundary is considered as a paralithic contact where root spacing is greater than 4 inches.
COMPETING SERIES: These are the Ashe, Brookfield, Buladean, Cardigan, Charlton, Delaware, Ditney, Dutchess, Edneyville, Foresthills (T), Gallimore, Greenbelt (T), Lordstown, Newport, Riverhead, Soco, St. Albans, Stecoah, Steinsburg, Wakeman, and Yalesville series. Ashe soils have lithic contact within depths of 20 to 40 inches. Brookfield and Edneyville soils are very deep. Buladean and Stecoah soils have paralithic contact with weathered bedrock at depths of 40 to 60 inches. Cardigan, Lordstown, Steinsburg, and Yalesville soils have hard sedimentary or metasedimentary bedrock at depths less than 40 inches and contain fragments of those rocks. Charlton soils are very deep and formed in glacial till derived mainly from schist, gneiss, or granite. Delaware soils are very deep and formed in postglacial alluvium, mainly from areas of sandstone, shale, and siltstone. Ditney, Soco and Stecoah soils formed from materials weathered from low-grade metasedimentary rocks and contain fragments of those rocks. Dutchess and St. Albans soils are very deep and contain coarse fragments of sedimentary rocks such as sandstone and shale. Foresthills (T) and Greenbelt (T) soils are very deep and have mantles of humanly transported materials. Gallimore soils are very deep and formed in loamy over sandy outwash on outwash plains. Newport soils have C horizons of dense glacial till. Riverhead have a lithologic discontinuity in the upper 40 inches.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Chestnut soils are gently sloping to very steep and are on ridges and side slopes of the Blue Ridge (MLRA 130). Elevations range from about 1,400 to 5,000 feet. Slopes are generally between 15 and 95 percent, but range from 2 to 95 percent. Chestnut soils formed in residuum that is affected by soil creep in the upper part and weathered from felsic or mafic igneous or high-grade metamorphic rocks such as granodiorite, granite, hornblende gneiss, biotite gneiss, and high-grade metagraywacke. Mean annual air temperature ranges from 46 to 57 degrees F., and mean annual precipitation ranges from 48 to 64 inches.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: In addition to the competing Ashe, Buladean, and Edneyville series, these are the Brevard, Brownwood, Cashiers, Chandler, Cleveland, Cowee, Cullasaja, Edneytown, Evard, Fannin, Greenlee, Haywood, Huntdale, Micaville, Pigeonroost, Plott, Porters, Saluda, Saunook, Tate, Thunder, Trimont, Tuckasegee, Tusquitee, Unaka, and Watauga soils. Brevard, Cowee, Edneytown, Evard, Pigeonroost, Saluda, Saunook, Tate, Trimont, and Watauga soils have an argillic horizon. Brownwood, Cashiers, Chandler, Fannin, Micaville,and Watauga soils are in a micaceous or paramicaceous family. Cleveland and Saluda soils have bedrock within a depth of 20 inches. Cullasaja and Greenlee soils are in a loamy-skeletal family. Haywood, Plott, Porters, Tuckasegee, and Unaka soils have umbric epipedons. Huntdale, Thunder, and Tusquitee soils have thicker humus-enriched ochric epipedons with color value of 3 or less. All these soils are on ridges and side slopes except for Brevard, Cullasaja, Greenlee, Haywood, Saunook, Tate, Thunder, Tuckasegee, and Tusquitee soils which are on colluvial benches, toe slopes, and fans. Also, soils on cooler, more humid north to east aspects on the ridges and side slopes are Cashiers, Huntdale, Plott, Porters, Trimont, and Unaka.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained; moderately rapid permeability. Runoff class is low on gentle slopes, medium on strong or moderately steep slopes, and high on steeper slopes. Runoff is much lower where forest cover is intact.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most of the soil is in forest. Common trees are scarlet oak, chestnut oak, white oak, black oak, hickory, eastern white pine, Virginia pine, and pitch pine. Yellow poplar and northern red oak are common in the northern portions of MLRA 130. The understory species are dominantly rhododendron, mountain laurel, flowering dogwood, sourwood, chestnut sprouts, and buffalo nut. A small acreage is cleared and used for pasture, small grain, and hay.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: The Blue Ridge (MLRA 130) of North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia and possibly South Carolina. This series is of large extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Lexington, Kentucky
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Caldwell County, North Carolina, 1983.
REMARKS: The series was formerly included with the Ashe series. Field studies indicate that Chestnut soils have significantly higher forest productivity than Ashe soils. A dominance of pedons have clay contents around 18 percent. Similar soils with clay contents that would be in a fine-loamy family are associated on some landscapes. These would be taxadjuncts to the series or included similar soils in map units.
The 12/97 revision changes the family placement to coarse-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Typic Dystrochrepts per the 7th Edition of Keys to Soil Taxonomy (1996). The CEC activity class placement is based on three pedons; S88-NC-121-005; S91-NC-111-002; and S77-TN-171-004. All three pedons have control section clay contents over 18%. Two of the three are in the active family while one is in the semiactive family. Since these soils may best fit Pigeonroost, additional future lab data may place Chestnut soils in a semiactive family. Horizon depths and runoff class were also revised at this time. The 2/99 revision updates classification to 8th Edition of Keys to Soil Taxonomy.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon - the zone from the surface to a depth of 8 inches (Oi and A horizons)
Cambic horizon - the zone between depths of 8 and 32 inches (Bw horizon)
Paralithic contact - The occurrence of soft bedrock at a depth of 32 inches (upper boundary of the Cr horizon)
ADDITIONAL DATA:
MLRA: 130 SIR(s): NC0166, NC0242 (Stony)
Revised: 10/92-JMO,AG; 12/97-DHK; 2/99, 6/00, 8/01-MKC