LOCATION BULKHEAD NYTentative Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Mixed, dysic, thermic Typic Udifolists
TYPICAL PEDON: Bulkhead fibric soil on a 1 percent slope. (Colors are for moist soil unless noted differently.)
Oi- 0 to 15 inches; very dark brown (10YR 2/2) fibric soil material; 85 percent slightly decomposed needles and branches and 15 percent wood chips; single grain; loose; few very fine roots; abrupt smooth boundary. (2 to 20 inches thick.)
2Ckqm-- 15 to 23 inches; slightly weathered concrete; massive; (2 to 10 inches thick.)
3C-- 23 to 65 inches; light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) sand; massive; very friable.
TYPE LOCATION: Kings County, New York; Gateway National Recreation Area from The Floyd Bennett Field Ryan Visitors Center 2000 feet due Northeast; USGS Coney Island topographic quadrangle; Latitude 40 degrees, 35 minutes, 23.7 seconds N. and Longitude 73 degrees, 53 minutes, 28.5 seconds W. (Rockwell GPS Receiver); NAD 83.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: The thickness of the organic fill materials ranges from 10 to 20 inches thick. The anthropotransported organic fill may be any organic material, but is dominantly wood chips. Fragments range from 0 to 10 percent and include concrete, asphalt, coal ash, slag, metal, plastic and natural rock fragments. The anthropotransported organic fill is mainly fibric material that has undergone minimal decomposition. Consistence is loose.
The Oi horizon in the anthropotransported soil have hue 7.5YR through 10YR, value of 2 through 4, and chroma of 1 through 6. It has single grain or massive structure and is defined by minimally decomposed organic soil materials. Reaction is expected to be dysic, although at minimal levels of decomposition this can be difficult to measure. Windblown sand may be present.
The 2Ckqm horizon is asphalt, concrete, or other anthropogenic material. It is rigid and weatherable only over extended periods of time. The horizon designation will vary depending on the nature of the rigid layer.
The 3C horizon hue 10YR to 5Y, value 4 to 6, chroma 1 to 6. It is commonly sand or loamy sand.
COMPETING SERIES: There are no competing series within the same family.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Bulkhead soils are on nearly level to moderately steep slopes of artificially created or modified landforms. The anthropotransported soil is relatively clean of human made and natural rock fragments. The anthropotransported organic soil material is dominantly wood chips. Slope ranges from 0 to 3 percent. The microtopography in these units can undulate extremely over short distances depending on whether the organic fill was leveled after deposition. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 40 to 50 inches. Mean annual air temperature ranges from 45 to 63 degrees F.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are Barren (T), Bigapple (T), Breeze (T), Fortress (T), Hooksan, Jamaica (T), Shea (T), and Verazano (T) soils. Barren, Bigapple, Breeze, Fortress, Hooksan, Jamaica, and Verazano do not have concrete layers within their series control section. Shea soils form in mineral anthrotransported soil materials.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY: Well drained. Permeability is very rapid in the surface, very slow in the 2Ckm, and very rapid in the 3C.
USE AND VEGETATION: These soils are mainly used for recreational and wildlife habitat purposes. These soils once they are deposited are somewhat quickly colonized by pioneer species such as dandelions, foxtail, goldenrod, locusts, bayberry, mustard grass, poison ivy, multiflora rose, begger tic, mugwort, Virginia creeper, and willow tree.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: These soils occur on modified landscapes in and near major urbanized areas of the Northeast. MLRA 144A, 149B. The soils of this series are of small extent.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts.
SERIES PROPOSED: Kings County, New York; 1999.
REMARKS: Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
a. Fibric soil material - the 0 to 8 inch zone has 85 percent slightly decomposed and 15 percent undecomposed wood chips.
b. 2Ckqm horizon - rigid human-made concrete layer. It is proposed to establish an H horizon to deal with human made materials in anthropogenic soils. This would be a 2Hkm, if this proposal is approved. The k is assigned because the material is a standard carbonate based concrete, m is assigned because the material is cemented, and the q is assigned because the sand and gravel materials in the concrete are silica.
c. Thermic temperature regime is estimated due to a high rate of organic matter decomposition. However, rate of organic matter decomposition may decrease over time.
d. A very shallow phase has been mapped.
e. The classification of this series is provisional until new Taxonomic classifications are developed for Anthropogenic soils.