LOCATION CHIPPEWA NY NJ PAEstablished Series
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Typic Fragiaquepts
TYPICAL PEDON: Chippewa channery silt loam on a 1 percent slope in a pastured area. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted).
Oe-- 0 to 1 inch; partially decomposed organic matter; many very fine and fine roots; abrupt smooth boundary. (0 to 2 inches thick.)
Ap-- 1 to 8 inches; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) and dark gray (10YR 4/1) mucky silt loam; weak coarse subangular blocky structure parting to weak fine and medium granular; friable; many fine and common medium roots; many medium and coarse prominent strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) masses of iron accumulations within the matrix; very strongly acid; clear wavy boundary. (3 to 9 inches thick.)
Eg-- 8 to 12 inches; dark gray (N 4/0) flaggy silt loam; weak medium platy structure; friable; common fine roots; common fine tubular pores; many medium and coarse prominent strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) masses of iron accumulation within the matrix; 30 percent rock fragments; very strongly acid; abrupt irregular boundary. (0 to 10 inches thick.)
BE-- 12 to 17 inches; grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) channery silt loam; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure parting to moderate fine granular; friable; common fine and few medium roots; common fine tubular pores; many medium and coarse prominent red (2.5YR 4/6), many coarse distinct light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4), and many coarse prominent light olive brown (2.5Y 5/6) masses of iron accumulation within the matrix; 30 percent rock fragments which includes 5 percent flagstones; moderately acid; abrupt wavy boundary. (3 to 17 inches thick.)
Bx1-- 17 to 38 inches; gray (5Y 6/1) channery silt loam; very coarse prismatic structure parting to weak medium subangular blocky; very firm and brittle; many fine and medium vesicular pores and few medium tubular pores; few fine roots along faces of prisms; streaks that separate the prisms are 1 inch wide, and are 18 inches apart, with very dark gray (N 3/0) interiors and dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) edges; many coarse prominent dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6), and common coarse prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) masses of iron accumulations within the matrix; 25 percent rock fragments which includes 5 percent larger than 3 inches in diameter; neutral; clear smooth boundary.
Bx2-- 38 to 47 inches; olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) channery silt loam; very coarse prismatic structure; very firm and brittle; few fine and medium tubular pores; common very dark brown (10YR 2/2) iron-manganese coats; streaks that separate the prisms are 1 inch wide, and are 18 to 36 inches apart with very dark gray (N 3/0) interiors and dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) edges; many medium and coarse prominent gray (5Y 6/1) areas of iron depletion in the matrix and common medium and coarse distinct light olive brown (2.5Y 5/6) masses of iron accumulation within the matrix; 25 percent rock fragments which includes 5 percent larger than 3 inches in diameter; neutral; gradual wavy boundary. (Combined thickness of the Bx horizons is 8 to 36 inches.)
Cd-- 47 to 72 inches; olive brown (2.5Y 4/4) channery silt loam; weak very thick platy structure; firm; common fine and medium prominent dark yellowish brown (10YR 3/6) masses of iron accumulation within the matrix; 25 percent rock fragments; neutral.
TYPE LOCATION: Otsego Co., New York; Town of Morris, 3,800 feet north of the intersection of NY Route 23 and Hillsinger Road, and 500 feet west of Hillsinger Road. USGS New Berlin South, NY topographic quadrangle; Latitude 42 degrees, 33 minutes, 57 seconds N. and Longitude 75 degrees, 16 minutes, 38 seconds W., NAD 1927.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: Solum thickness ranges from 30 to 56 inches. Depth to bedrock is greater than 60 inches. Depth to the top of the fragipan ranges from 8 to 20 inches. Rock fragments range from 0 to 35 percent by volume above the Bx horizon, and from 0 to 60 percent in the Bx and C horizons.
Some pedons may have an O horizon.
The A or Ap horizons have hues of 10YR and 2.5Y, values of 2 through 4, and chroma of 1 or 2. They are loam or silt loam in the fine earth fraction. Some pedons have a mucky modifier. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to slightly acid. The thickness of A horizons is 2 to 6 inches.
The Eg horizon has hue of 10YR through 5Y or it is neutral, value of 4 through 6, and chroma of 0 or 1. They are loam, silt loam or light silty clay loam in the fine earth fraction. They have very weak to moderate, subangular blocky or platy structure, or the horizon is massive. Consistence is friable or firm. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to slightly acid.
The BE horizon has hue of 10YR through 5Y, value of 3 through 6 and chroma of 1 or 2. Texture of the fine earth fraction is loam, silt loam, clay loam, or light silty clay loam. Structure is very weak to moderate, fine to coarse subangular blocky or granular. Consistence is friable or firm. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to slightly acid.
Some pedons may have a Bg horizon. It has hue of 10YR through 5Y, value of 3 through 6 and chroma of 1 or 2. Texture of the fine earth fraction is loam, silt loam, clay loam, or light silty clay loam. Structure is very weak to moderate, fine to coarse subangular blocky or granular. Consistence is friable or firm. Reaction ranges from very strongly acid to slightly acid.
The Bx horizon has hues of 10YR through 5Y, value of 3 through 6, and chroma of 1 or 2 except in some pedons, subhorizons below a depth of 30 inches have chroma of 3 or 4. The Bx horizons range from light silty clay loam to fine sandy loam in the fine earth fraction. They have weak to strong very coarse prismatic structure parting to very weak to moderate subangular blocky or platy structure, or the material within the prisms is massive. In some places the primary structure is weak, medium or coarse prismatic. They range from firm to extremely firm consistence and are brittle. Reaction ranges from strongly acid to neutral.
The C or Cd horizon is similar to the Bx horizon in color. Textures range from silty clay loam to sandy loam. The material is massive, or has weak or moderate platy structure. The C horizon is firm or very firm. Reaction ranges from moderately acid to moderately alkaline. Some pedons have a 2Cg horizon that is more friable than the C horizon and ranges to a sandy loam in the fine-earth fraction with up to 60 percent rock fragments.
COMPETING SERIES: The Norwich series is the only competing series in the family. Norwich soils have redder hues of 7.5YR through 2.5YR throughout the fragipan.
Alden, Ashville, Cabot, Dannemora, Erie, Lyons, Menlo, Morris, Norchip, Ridgebury, Scriba, Sun, Volusia, and Whitman series are members of similar families. Alden, Ashville, Lyons, and Sun soils lack fragipans. Cabot, Dannemora, and Norchip soils have a frigid temperature regime. Erie, Morris, Ridgebury, Scriba, and Volusia are drier and have some horizon within a depth of 30 inches that is dominated by chroma of 3 or higher. Menlo soils have a Histic epipedon and lack a fragipan. Whitman soils have a coarse-loamy particle-size control section.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Nearly level areas with concave surface shapes. The Chippewa soils developed in till deposits dominantly sandstone, siltstone, and shale rock fragments. Slope ranges from 0 to 8 percent in gradient. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 30 to 45 inches. Mean annual temperature ranges from 45 to 50 degrees F., and the mean frost-free season ranges from 110 to 150 days. The elevation ranges from 800 to 1800 feet above sea level.
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Alden, Arnot, Bath, Lordstown, Mardin, Norchip, Swartswood, Tuller, Valois, Volusia, and Wurtsboro soils. Alden soils have a fragipan. Arnot, Lordstown and Tuller soils developed in similar deposits but with bedrock at depths of less than 40 inches. Bath, Mardin, Swartswood, Valois, Volusia, and Wurtsboro soils are well to somewhat poorly drained soils that form a drainage sequence with Chippewa soils. The competing Norchip soils are in similar landscape positions at higher elevations.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Poorly drained and very poorly drained. Internal drainage is very slow. The potential for surface runoff is very low and very high. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high or high in the mineral soil above the fragipan and moderately high to low in the fragipan and substratum.
USE AND VEGETATION: Most areas are forested. Most cleared areas are pastured or are reverting to woodland. Natural vegetation is red and silver maple, white and black ash, swamp elm and hemlock.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Glaciated Allegheny Plateau of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. MLRA 101, 140, and 144A. The series is moderately extensive.
MLRA OFFICE RESPONSIBLE: Amherst, Massachusetts
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Tompkins County, New York, 1920.
REMARKS: The Chippewa series now encompasses the reaction range that was formerly used to differentiate it from the Ellery series - thus the Ellery series has been made inactive.
Organic carbon content of the Ap to a depth 25 cm is less than 12 percent.
The structure in the TP Cd horizon looks like it may be best called a BC horizon. This needs investigation.
Diagnostic horizons and other features recognized in the typical pedon are as follows:
(1) Ochric Epipedon - the zone from 0 to 12 inches (Ap and Eg horizons).
(2) Cambic horizon - the zone from 12 to 17 inches (Bg horizon).
(3) Fragipan - the dense compact zone from 17 to 47 inches. (Bx1 and Bx2 horizons).
(4) Aquic moisture regime - evidenced by low chroma matrix colors and redox features in the Eg, Bg and Bx horizons.
(5) Typic subgroup - evidenced by 60 percent low chroma in the matrix in all subhorizons to a depth of 30 inches.